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My 25 year old 21” self propelled walk behind mower has finally reached the point of me being DONE with repairs, so I have retired that machine and selected this Toro as the replacement. Hopefully it will outlast me.

This Toro 21386 Personal Pace SMARTSTOW Super Recycler 21” mower is a very nice machine. One feature that helped steer my selection was the “military grade” cast aluminum deck, so that I enjoy the durability and impervious to rust of aluminum over steel.

After I got this mower, I discovered many features I liked.

The best feature is that everything is performed without tools.

The handle has two large (blue) ¼ turn flip toggles to release / engage the locks that secure the handle in the operating or stowed position.

The mower configuration is changed w/o tools. The side discharge chute slips on / off w/ a lever release. The rear bag is retained by hooks, under a large spring loaded door. The rear recycling plug is slid in / out and retained by a lever.

The machine may be stored vertically. I haven’t used that feature yet.

My after usage cleaning uses the easy flip it up feature to expose the bottom for garden hose cleaning. I have found that removal of the recycling plug and releasing the side discharge door permits full garden hose access that eliminates all grass residue. The machine has a female garden hose fitting and instructions for usage, but I have not used that garden hose connection feature.

The engine is running before completing the first pull. The machine is quiet, powerful and consumes much less fuel than my prior mower.

The mower provides a very nice cut. I have used both side discharge and recycling. I have not yet used the rear bagging feature.

The Personal Pace self propelled feature works very well. It is very intuitive. I have never operated it at maximum speed.

The blade cutting height is changed by moving a lever at each wheel. I cut at the middle setting.

The Briggs and Stratton model 104M020254F1 engine is touted as “No Oil Changes” required, just check and maintain the level. For Old School troglodytes, oil changes are possible by tipping the mower and dumping the old oil out the fill hole.

The engine pull cord handle is positioned near the safety bail / speed monitoring / operation handle.

The engine has no choke and no throttle. Just go and stop.

The machine has a rubber flap hanging below the rear axle that fell off / broken on my mower after just a few short uses. I think this is a safety feature to help prevent slipping under the rotating blade. The manufacturer requires bringing it into a shop for warranty service replacement, but I haven’t had an opportunity for that repair as I don’t deem it essential.

So far I like this machine and would not hesitate to recommend this machine to others.

As a Toro guy I agree with your assessment of the unit, but have two things to add for long life. #1. Change the oil at the beginning or end of your cutting season. I would never trust that “no change” oil statement. #2. Before you store it vertically I always recommend removing as much fuel from the engine as possible. On mine I run the tank dry, remove the air filter, tip the engine so the carb is down for about 30 seconds. Yes, I know that you should never tip an engine with the carb down, but if you are careful this will not hurt anything. You will be able to get more fuel out of the carb and with the air filter off it will not become oil soaked. Finally, allow the engine to sit outside or in an out building on a sunny day for a couple of hours, with the gas cap off. This will allow any remaining fuel to evaporate before storing. I’ve been doing this and when I start the next season with fresh fuel unit starts like new.

wingless said:

My after usage cleaning uses the easy flip it up feature to expose the bottom for garden hose cleaning. I have found that removal of the recycling plug and releasing the side discharge door permits full garden hose access that eliminates all grass residue. The machine has a female garden hose fitting and instructions for usage, but I have not used that garden hose connection feature.

Click to expand...

This machine has been flawless w/ dozens of uses on my three properties. I always use recycling cut, not side discharge or bagging.

After usage I clean the machine by raising to vertical and garden hose then scrub the bottom clean, also using Simple Green.

The deck accumulates compacted grass on one side of those red pyramids, the side of the belt cover and on the deck surface, that I scrub off. I also remove the recycling plug prior to cleaning, it fills w/ clippings. I also open the side door to remove clippings.

Update, this continues to be a VERY nice machine. Continues to provide 100% reliability and GREAT low gas consumption.

Still zero hesitation w/ my recommendation on this machine.

wingless said:

My 25 year old 21” self propelled walk behind mower has finally reached the point of me being DONE with repairs, so I have retired that machine and selected this Toro as the replacement. Hopefully it will outlast me.

This Toro 21386 Personal Pace SMARTSTOW Super Recycler 21” mower is a very nice machine. One feature that helped steer my selection was the “military grade” cast aluminum deck, so that I enjoy the durability and impervious to rust of aluminum over steel.

After I got this mower, I discovered many features I liked.

The best feature is that everything is performed without tools.

The handle has two large (blue) ¼ turn flip toggles to release / engage the locks that secure the handle in the operating or stowed position.

The mower configuration is changed w/o tools. The side discharge chute slips on / off w/ a lever release. The rear bag is retained by hooks, under a large spring loaded door. The rear recycling plug is slid in / out and retained by a lever.

The machine may be stored vertically. I haven’t used that feature yet.

My after usage cleaning uses the easy flip it up feature to expose the bottom for garden hose cleaning. I have found that removal of the recycling plug and releasing the side discharge door permits full garden hose access that eliminates all grass residue. The machine has a female garden hose fitting and instructions for usage, but I have not used that garden hose connection feature.

The engine is running before completing the first pull. The machine is quiet, powerful and consumes much less fuel than my prior mower.

The mower provides a very nice cut. I have used both side discharge and recycling. I have not yet used the rear bagging feature.

The Personal Pace self propelled feature works very well. It is very intuitive. I have never operated it at maximum speed.

The blade cutting height is changed by moving a lever at each wheel. I cut at the middle setting.

The Briggs and Stratton model 104M020254F1 engine is touted as “No Oil Changes” required, just check and maintain the level. For Old School troglodytes, oil changes are possible by tipping the mower and dumping the old oil out the fill hole.

The engine pull cord handle is positioned near the safety bail / speed monitoring / operation handle.

The engine has no choke and no throttle. Just go and stop.

The machine has a rubber flap hanging below the rear axle that fell off / broken on my mower after just a few short uses. I think this is a safety feature to help prevent slipping under the rotating blade. The manufacturer requires bringing it into a shop for warranty service replacement, but I haven’t had an opportunity for that repair as I don’t deem it essential.

So far I like this machine and would not hesitate to recommend this machine to others.

Click to expand...

wingless said:

Update, this continues to be a VERY nice machine. Continues to provide 100% reliability and GREAT low gas consumption.

Still zero hesitation w/ my recommendation on this machine.

Click to expand...

Glad you like your new mower. Just one comment: I think that flap is there to protect you from debris that might get flung back at you, like rocks, sticks, pine cones. I would replace it if I were you. I have two Toros, one is a 1984 20672, the other is a 1991 20320 with the Suzuki 4 cycle engine. I use both in the summer when mulching. The flaps are original and intact on both these ancient Toros. I would change the oil no matter what Briggs claims, but as you can tell, I like to keep my equipment for a long long time.

I have a problem with my slightly older model than you folks. Mine is a Toro 20383 (not 6) and I have a very basic problem.

The REAR DRIVE wheel, that’s on the side of the AXLE where the SELF PROPEL “clutch” is “FELLL OFF”
= the NUT on the end of the BOLT that holds the WHEEL ON came loose and now I can’t use the machine.

All I think I need to do to repair it, is simply reassemble it back onto the machine and tighten the NUT ... back onto the BOLT that holds the wheel on to the machine.

It seems like it should be a simple fix but for some reason, when I put the BOLT through the WHEEL and then through the machine frame … there isn’t enough THREAD exposed on the BOLT’s end for me to be able to put on the WASHER + NUT ... and finally tighten the WHEEL onto the machine.

These 2 pictures show what I’m trying to describe. Does anyone know why what I’m trying to do isn't working. Since the BOLT is original it doesn't make sense that I can't get a WASHER + NUT and TIGHTEN the NUT again.

Any suggestions appreciated.

1st pic shows the loose wheel.
2nd pic shows a closeup of the bit of THREAD that’s exposed.

PS: I'm a newbie to posting pics on this site and am struggling to figure out how to attach the 2 pics and when I do I'll add them.

But I'm hoping someone that's familiar with the TORO WHEEL connection I've tried to describe in words, might recognize the problem ... why there's so little thread available + how do you even tighten the NUT in the very limited space that's available.

Does the entire wheel assembly maybe need to be removed from the machine as a unit, then mounted back onto the machine? (Hard to imagine TORO would make it that difficult).

Does this manual help you out? https://www.toro.com/getpub/22446

Johnny,
The nut sits inside the cavity in the fitting. You tighten the bolt from the outside while holding the nut in place with your finger in order to secure the wheel. You may have lost the original nut and washers when the wheel fell off. You need to replace those with original Toro parts.

Thanks. I have the equivalent manual for my 20383

Oddjob said:

Johnny,
The nut sits inside the cavity in the fitting. You tighten the bolt from the outside while holding the nut in place with your finger in order to secure the wheel. You may have lost the original nut and washers when the wheel fell off. You need to replace those with original Toro parts.

Click to expand...

Thanks Oddjob ! That's the "magic" answer I was looking for. It's the only one that make's sense. (And I guess TORO made that connection as difficult as possible :-( It's sure not obvious.)

At least I know what I have to do next. Order the >>TORO<< WASHER + NUT for the other end of my ORIGINAL BOLT. Start to look at the machine and see how to do what you explained.

You tighten the bolt from the outside while holding the nut in place with your finger in order to secure the wheel.

Click to expand...

Thanks very much.

canuckjohnny2023 said:

Thanks. I have the equivalent manual for my 20383

Thanks Oddjob ! That's the "magic" answer I was looking for. It's the only one that make's sense. (And I guess TORO made that connection as difficult as possible :-( It's sure not obvious.)

At least I know what I have to do next. Order the >>TORO<< WASHER + NUT for the other end of my ORIGINAL BOLT. Start to look at the machine and see how to do what you explained.

Thanks very much.

Click to expand...

Welcome. There are exploded diagrams for your mower on many parts sites. Or, you can carefully take the opposite wheel off and observe what the parts look like and where they go.

canuckjohnny2023 said:

Thanks. I have the equivalent manual for my 20383

Thanks Oddjob ! That's the "magic" answer I was looking for. It's the only one that make's sense. (And I guess TORO made that connection as difficult as possible :-( It's sure not obvious.)

At least I know what I have to do next. Order the >>TORO<< WASHER + NUT for the other end of my ORIGINAL BOLT. Start to look at the machine and see how to do what you explained.

Thanks very much.

Click to expand...

Welcome. There are exploded diagrams for your mower on many parts sites. Or, you can carefully take the opposite wheel off and observe what the parts look like and where they go.

Oddjob said:

Welcome. There are exploded diagrams for your mower on many parts sites. Or, you can carefully take the opposite wheel off and observe what the parts look like and where they go.

Click to expand...

I've seen the exploded wheel diagrams for my machine. Unfortunately this particular wheel is associated with the "Personal Pace" function (i.e. it also has drive gears that let's it "Self Propel" at my walking pace ... or disengage when I need to pull it backwards a bit etc.) The other 3 wheels are just "normal" wheels on axles and are easy to put on or take off. Now I just need to SEE, if I can actually get at the "hidden compartment" where they need to be sitting, when I thread in the BOLT.