Riding Lawnmower Rescue Lifegaurd needed-Sharks are circling!

DjDrew

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  • / Riding Lawnmower Rescue Lifegaurd needed-Sharks are circling!
Start the mower then go around to the carb.
manually work the governor lever.
If you can slow the engine down to proper speeds then the governor is incorrectly adjusted or broken internally.

Thanks for that tip, I checked and when putting the new carb back on, I had gotten the idle linkage stuck a bit between the breather housing and the idle shaft plate so it had stuck open and would not decelerate when I would raise the throttle rpm. I rerouted it and got it lose and it worked until it failed to start at all on the second try. refer to my last post above for updates since. Thank you for that tip though.
 

DjDrew

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  • / Riding Lawnmower Rescue Lifegaurd needed-Sharks are circling!
I had not heard anything at all back from my last post here for a while so I figured I would have to take a different frontal attack defense/offensive mentality to get anywhere with this problem. LOL

I found a good Craigslist ad and went that route and bought two riders all in one setting. the photos are included.

I bought the light grey MTD 12HP B&S 36" cut for $45 since it had swappable parts for the motor pretty much...

Then I got the Craftsman (green) 16.5HP OHV 42" cut rider. from the same man and considered it a good buy on both..

and I think it was a lucky find but will accept any opinion input from anyone.

What is the Craftsman worth on sale for a fair price?

After finding out that the Murray replacement coil was still bad again after the second coil which proved bad after two starts, I figured it was a bad batch from China and a bad company to do business with.

So now at least I will be able to pull the working coil off the MTD, and install it on the Murray and find out if that resolves my problem, then if it does simply buy a better quality coil from a reputable seller warehouse and have that cured.
Then I found that the MTD simply needed a battery and maybe a carb rebuilt later on, but in truth it had been in the guy's barn for three years. A bit of smoke when you first start it, and the famous idle surge B&S are famous for but that is all I found wrong with it.

I had tested the old coils on the Murray by cranking the engine with the Key on, and holding the spark plug wire with an insulated set of pliers against first the spark plug, then the grounded engine main shroud. No spark at all even after the second coil had started and run the engine just fine for two or three successful tries then went deader than a door nail after that and still won't fire a spark at all. Cheap Chineee crap they are tho.

The Craftsman green rider was in his barn too and shows it from the great condition it is in. The MTD was his son's, and the other Craftsman was his son-in-law's who had just upgraded to a new rider to replace this one. It needs a drive belt and a tuneup but both mowers cut smooth and clean and sound good when they run, especially the Craftsman.

SO guys if you would please, give me an idea what the Craftsman is worth IYHO a fair price please ... and of course any and all advisory input is welcomed. A fair price means one that isn't if it's you're buying offer low ball haha. Not even sure if I would sell it given I now have two riders plus a third Murray I have yet to fix. Just wondered if I got a good deal on the buys.

Thanks all for sticking with me on this and being patient throughout my lost phase of learning. haha

Drew
 

DjDrew

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  • / Riding Lawnmower Rescue Lifegaurd needed-Sharks are circling!
whoops, sorry...here are the photos.....
 

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cpurvis

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  • / Riding Lawnmower Rescue Lifegaurd needed-Sharks are circling!
If you thought you got a good deal on it, that's all that matters.

That's the beauty of a free market transaction--you valued his mower more than your money; he valued your money more than his mower. Both parties got what they wanted.
 

LarryJohnson

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  • / Riding Lawnmower Rescue Lifegaurd needed-Sharks are circling!
Drew, you might get more responses if you post your questions regarding the motor in the Briggs and Stratton section in this forum. Wish I could help you. I just did my first resurrection a few weeks ago.
 

DjDrew

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  • / Riding Lawnmower Rescue Lifegaurd needed-Sharks are circling!
Thanks everyone for the abundant help. I finally gave up and replaced with an authentic Briggs coil, paid the extra and got it from a more reputable company.
Fixed my problems and ran lie it was new.
Thanks again for the help.
 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Riding Lawnmower Rescue Lifegaurd needed-Sharks are circling!
Thanks everyone for the abundant help. I finally gave up and replaced with an authentic Briggs coil, paid the extra and got it from a more reputable company.
Fixed my problems and ran lie it was new.
Thanks again for the help.

Just so you, and those who might read this post at a latter date know.
The coil has a chip in it that controls the spark much like the old points used to.
There are several different chips used that cause the plug to fire at different times.
There are also modules with different length high tension leads
So if you see any coil that the vendor says will fit almost any engine they are talking through the wrong end of their body.
I use good quality after market modules from reputable suppliers and I have around 20ish Briggs ones.

Secondly the mark ups in China are very small so no factory can afford to toss anything in the scrap bin.
Thus all the ones that Kohler, Brigs , Honda , Kawakasi reject get sold on the secondary market and most find their way back to the retail market after passing through a 1/2 dozen hands.
 
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