Greetings!
I was given a Murray model 42828X8B for free and I am going to use it to teach my kids about engines and maintenance. The previous owner said the mower hasn't run in 4 years. The "Mfg. Date" is 96057, so I believe that would be in March 1996? The engine (Tecumseh Enduro OHV16 204211B) appears to be in decent shape, but the body has quite a bit of rust and the tires are dry rotted since it was stored outside. I haven't tried to start the engine. The gas tank was flooded with water. Both it and the carburetor are fouled up with nasty black tar, but the engine oil was clean enough. The carburetor bowl has a pin hole rusted thru it, and was filled with something that looked like sand. I don't think I can rebuild it, I'll have to buy one.
The owner didn't have the key. I assume this is no big deal; I can either 'hot-wire' a new switch into it, or possibly even turn it with a screwdriver. Any ideas?
Any advice, warnings, etc before starting this project would be appreciated. I don't intend to sink a lot of money into it, but I don't mind the labor. My shop is reasonably equipped with standard tools. Let me know if there are any specialty tools I must have.. I'm sure I'll be posting several requests for assistance in the near future.
Thanks!
-Steve