New Timemaster!

gotomow

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Happy to report that the Timemaster is finally mine. Been thinking, dreaming of owning for over a year. My lot is big enough for a small rider and I'd been going back and forth between the Timemaster and either the 38" Husqvarna or a 42" Cub Cadet.
I had wandered over to Home Depot to pick up some more of the 5 quart oil they had for $9.88. Of course I had to look at the mowers before purchasing the oil. That's when I spotted the Timemaster sitting next to one of the JD riders. It had a clearance tag on it that they use for returned equipment. OMG I thought this is my ticket to the Timemaster. I looked it over good, checked the oil and pushed it out the garden area and started it up. It started on the first pull and sounded great. Whenever it stops raining here I'll report back on how the Timemaster and I get along.
 

7394

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Cool, must'a been meant to be yours. Enjoy the new machine :thumbsup: Always nice getting a great deal.
 

gotomow

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The Timemaster is back at Home Depot. It turns out that the engine has a massive oil leak. I'm thinking the first owner returned it because of the oil leak. Before I bought it the HD tech said it was returned because of hard starting when warm. Hmmm, ok maybe but when I had it running without mowing everything was fine. 15-20 minutes into my backyard and I'm seeing smoke coming from the engine. After stopping I could see that there was oil everywhere, OMG. I almost cleaned it off before returning it but I thought I'd let them see first hand the amount of oil gushing. Seems only to spew when mowing so if they cleaned it up after the first owner and then just ran it a bit without mowing everything probably was fine. I got the Timemaster for a great price and if I was in love with it I'd give them a couple of chances to fix it. But I found out my yard it not suited for the Timemaster. While I do have a big yard there are areas that require too much uphill maneuvering that requires one to grab for the blue "boost" handle too much. Home Depot handled the return very nicely and since I have a trailer, lugging the oily mess back to HD was easy. Plus I live less than a mile away, LOL. While I'm a bit bummed it proved to be a super opportunity to try out the Timemaster and prove to myself that it's not for my yard after all.
 

7394

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Well, good you were able to return it then. Best to find out now.
 

gotomow

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When down to Home Depot to pick up some fence boards. OMG the Timemaster is back on the sales floor sitting over by the JD riders. One of the places I noticed it leaking before I bought it was at the base of the dipstick tube. When I wheeled it over to the service area I mentioned this to the tech who took it apart. While disassembled he cleaned the o ring and the base where the o-ring seats and reassembled. He started it up and there was no leak. When I took the Timemaster home I'm sure it was leaking there and other places because the oil was everywhere, but who knows. So on this latest trip I decided to take a look at the base of the dipstick tube and I could see oil was weeping from around the base. This things not even running and it's leaking oil. Are they kidding me?? How can they keep putting this defective stuff back on the sales floor?? Some poor fool will buy it and it will run out of oil and they will blame him.
 

7394

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"Some poor fool will buy it and it will run out of oil and they will blame him."

Sounds like that's what they are counting on. That's a shame.
 

Blaine B.

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So all it needs is a new O-ring? The dipstick tube is the only place where the oil is leaking?

Sign me up, I'll take it off your hands HOME DEPOT!
 

Blaine B.

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For the right price, sure, I'll deal with the cheap-o wheels.

Not buying new, no way no how, not with the issues my Dad's 2009 Personal Pace Recycler has experienced. I have two Personal Pace Recyclers from 2004 and 2007 that I will try to hold on to for a long time. However, my yard is a bit big for a 22" mower. It takes me hours to cut, someday I think I would like to cut down on that time.
 

Rivets

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I’ll bet the unit your dad has is one of the cheaper steel deck units. Second I’ll bet you replaced the wheels yourself and purchased them at the B.B. store without the aid of a dealership. If you would have talked to a good dealer or tech they would have told you there is a kit to solve that problem. For your info, the cast deck units and the TimeMasters have metal on metal drive gears, but I’ll bet you knew that because of your great knowledge.
 
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