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Hi Folks,

Being older Lawn Boy enthusiasts, we purchased a Lawn Boy 8237 off craigs list some time ago. The self propel was broken down at the back wheels so we decided to remove the self propel mechanism entirely. The problem now, we realized, is that the self propel rod that comes out of the engine (The rod that goes perpendicular to the crankshaft) is not held on by anything and of course popped out when we started the mower. We're assuming of course that this will either affect compression or cause an air leak or both, as the mower has always been hard to start when it's warm. (It starts in 3-5 pulls when cold). Is there some way anyone has done previously that we could permanently fasten this self propel rod into its hole so it won't pop out any more? Of course if this rod being out doesn't affect starting/compression/etc we're fine to leave it out.

Thanks and if I can provide more information let me know.

If you already removed the transmission you don't need the drive-shaft. There is a seal in the block at the PTO, so there is no need to worry about loosing crankcase pressure there. Your hot restarting problem is most likely bad crankcase seals and PTO seal.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff! So to be clear, if you look at the parts diagram below, the part we removed is #60 ... You're saying it's okay to have that removed and it won't affect compression or the mower in general? It seems like it needs to be in there because around it is another seal (part #59)... If something does need to be in there we need to figure a way to plug it or hold that shaft (#60) in there some other way, and was looking for suggestions on how best to do that - Lawn Boy 8237 - Lawn-Boy Walk-Behind Mower, 1978 (SN: 800000001-899999999) ENGINE GROUP-F140 MODELS: 8237 Diagram and Parts List | PartsTree.com

Hmmmm. I figured the PTO shaft was secured in the engine block, but I now see the drive-shaft tube holds it in place. No, you would have a crankcase leak if you tried to run it without the shaft in place. One option might be to remove the seal and try to find a plastic plug to seal the hole. Or something like an electrical conduit cap.

jp1961 said:

Hmmmm. I figured the PTO shaft was secured in the engine block, but I now see the drive-shaft tube holds it in place. No, you would have a crankcase leak if you tried to run it without the shaft in place. One option might be to remove the seal and try to find a plastic plug to seal the hole. Or something like an electrical conduit cap.

Click to expand...

Fitting a plug and sealing the hole is the way to go.