Problems With Keeping Your Old Mower Going
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
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Thanks for watching. Keeping an old mower going sounds good until you have to try and fix it.
Believe me, it is much more worth it to just keep the old stuff running than to replace it with new equipment. The new stuff is nowhere near as well built as the older equipment. And don’t get me started on the electric equipment, let’s just say that they are nowhere near as reliable and simple as they look. I do contract work with a lot of my surrounding big box stores, when a customer returns a piece of outdoor power equipment for warranty work, it comes to me. I see a lot of electric equipment in this line of work. There are a variety of PCBA controllers and other really sensitive electronics inside of this equipment and oftentimes those are what fail most often. That is the main reason I don’t trust a lot of this new stuff.
you are absolutely correct. I'd be more likely to put $100 into a 20 year old mower than a 2 year old one.
The mower I use is 34 years old. It’s a little classic Briggs and Stratton 3.5 horsepower classic with a 20” deck. There are no rust holes or anything else, and starts on the first pull.
wow! you're taking really good care of it!
Some folks enjoy outdoor power equipment for other reasons than making a profit.
I understand that your channel is guidance from a business person.
I appreciate that!
Quality equipment, quality oils, and gas combined with properly maintaining your machine. Usually adds up to an extremely long life. Not using equipment for jobs it isn't designed to do is also the key to longevity. I enjoy your videos, very informative 👍👍
thank you I appreciate it.
My first used push mower 1986 lasted 10 years, my next self propelled lasted 20 years 2016, hopefully my will last at least 10 years. The engines still ran but the steel body rotted out👍
wow , it seems like your taking excellent care of you them!
Good afternoon sir! I have a Troy-Bilt 21” with a 6.5 Briggs that I purchased in 2005. With only regular maintenance it still runs like a champ! I should get at least 20 years out of this machine.😊
wow nice! You're definitely doing a great job of caring for it.
@@HomeGaragechannelThank you for your response and your excellent channel!
anytime
When it’s time for a new it’s time for a new one. 👍🙏👍🙏great video
You got that right!
The mowing deck of a snapper is many times worth saving even if the motor is dead ,the motor can be replaced in a couple of hours but the deck of at least an older one is the best part of the machine
I like the way you put that!
I still run my 1976 Snapper regularly. I quite like it, the magnesium (I think) deck is really overbuilt. I am still on the orignal engine on that one. I also have a 1993 Snapper with a steel deck which is also very heavy duty as far as construction goes, very rigid and tough. That one still has the original briggs quantum engine as well. If either of those two ever fail, I will take the engine off of one of my other mowers with flimsier decks and save the old decks.
I have the same exact lawn mower that I've had for 26 years now. It is a Poulan mower with a Briggs and Stratton engine on it and it still starts on one pull. I'd say i got my money's worth because this mower is going to last another 20 years. 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤷🏿♂️
I'd have to agree with you, You did great!
i'll will never let my 1982 2 cycle self-propelled LAWNBOY Stay dead. If i cant find parts i needs Then thanks to good Frindships CC machines, and 3d printers. I will run long after I am gone. Great Video as always. 👍👍
I like this comment!
In Australia, getting any repair shop to even glance at the mower is going to cost you probably $80 before any repair. So unless it is an expensive mower, most home owners send them to the kerb. Great for handy people, expensive for owner. And yes, the older mowers seem better build quality than the plastic type ones of today.
great point
I had to watch both videos I like to see what you say on both videos thank you for the video
no problem and I appreciate that you watched the repair video
Thank you for another great video.🎉
Its a shame its missing parts for the drive
Ive worked on these types of drives and they are a bear.
You did good getting rid if it.
Other than that they are good mowers .
I got a free 1983 Ariens mower at an estate sale, the last day, with the same drive system but with a tecumseh carb and engine.
The exhaust and intake valves were sticky. It had a new carb and a new belt
Spun the valves through the sparkhole and hit em with pb blaster
That thing roared back to life.
The drive system seemed stuck.
Used some liquid barkeepers friend and polished the drive wheel.
Removed all the gunk, cleaned it up til you could basically eat off it 😂
That drive system then worked like a new mower.
Netted a cool chunk of $ from it.
wow nice work!
Never saw a spark plug checker before. Neato.
it's just a parlor trick, but it is cool to look at.
Five seasons? I've got old 30 year old flatheads that are still going strong. Today however, what you said might be right they don't want it to last too long.
you got that right, the flatheads are great engines. Too bad they had to go
Most lawn mowers are killed by gas can that has water in it. Put it in a jar occasionally and look for Water.
very good advice
I have a snapper high vac with a kawasaki engine going on fifteen years and it's still going strong
very nice!
Tell me about it. I had a 1996 Buick Roadmaster station wagon. I absolutely loved that car. Mine had an extremely rare option package that deleted the wood grain paneling on the doors. It made the car look much better, but all of the exterior parts were specific to cars from that year with that option package. Less than 200 were sold, and only 5200 of these cars were sold total. In 2012, a guy rear ended me and damaged the rear cargo door. It was no longer manufactured, so my only option was to find one of those cars in a junk yard (impossible), or to have one fabricated. The cheapest price I could find to have one fabricated was $3600. This was almost the Blue Book value of the car, and it had other minor issues that also needed to be addressed. I was going to get it fixed until I got hit in the front end by another person. Even though the car still ran great and the damage was minor, it far exceeded the value of the car due to the scarcity of parts. It sucked. I loved that car.
what did you end up doing with it?
In my head my 20 year old machine is the nice new one 😂 & without doing the math and looking at the date code I would say it was 4 years old but its 20 years old.
Seems like the code date was 08
@@lewiemcneely9143 sorry for confusion. Was referring to my mowers
No confusion, Patrick. I think when he showed the numbers the code read 08. I had an aluminum deck job that had a reverse on the drive. The rubber wheel would go on the other side of the drive disc. Even had a notch in the speed lever for it but that was years ago. It still cut fine but took a short block because the old motor was just barely there. My dad bought a new one with a 5 horse flathead that was a beast. Blessings to you!@@patricksquires77
great point
Another great video sir. Personally, I don't care about the self drive. I had so many mowers that were just push. I'm old and tired now, so I use a riding mower. It's a Murray 2004. The original Briggs engine was blowing oil out. Took it apart to fix, top compression ring was broken in 3 places. The cylinder was wore out, would need over size piston. After considering everything, I found a Kohler V twin 25 horsepower. So I replaced 12.5 Briggs. I know double the horsepower has a few disadvantages. Like one blade stopped and the engine didn't bog down, the blade adapter, and drive pulley were destroyed. Fortunately I had enough parts on hand to repair. I did buy 2 new blade adapters. I figure it could happen again. Still I'm happy with my mower.
wow that's a lot of power there.
That snapper is a lot like my John Deere mower deck as well as the one you worked on. I can’t say anything about the transmission because I’ve never looked into it. But they have the same engines too and high vac design and bags. I have put some money into my John Deere because they don’t make mowers this good anymore unless you buy commercial. Just “Check and add” gimmick and plastic carburetors. I’m gonna keep fixing my old mower because I know it is gonna last.
completely agree with you
my commercial Honda from ‘99 is still going strong as well with just normal maintenance. Doesn’t even burn oil. And it starts first pull. But taking into account that it cost the previous owner 2.500 Euros when it was new, it just passed the 100€ a year mark lol Sadly though, the blade clutch might be going out as it makes a high pitch noise when engaging the blade.
yes blade clutches unfortunately don't last forever even if the engine does.
TY for Sharing
Thanks for watching!
A quick question out of the blue, does it matter if you add a little extra 2 stroke oil in the fuel mixture or no?
not really, although you have to be careful because it could cause more carbon build up in the combustion chamber. I would put more effort into keeping the oil level to full, then adding 2 stroke to the gasoline.
I working on a Snapper machine with an identical self propel system. The vertical disk that was missing on the machine in this video is seized to the shaft on mine. Do you know any tricks to break it loose?
yes I made a comment about it already
For me, remove all salvagable parts in hopes of using them on another machine. No guarantees bit at least try. I have that situation now. Two working mowers but old enough to start having parts available. Often times, I manage to figure out a new way to use where it is good enough and still safe to use.
I like your approach
Question: When you adjust valves, it looked like both valves were in the same position? i thought on past videos, one valve was down while adjusting the other..maybe I missed something or its a different type eng...Please let me know..Thanks!!! Great video's as always!!!
you make a good point. In this particular video, I do believe that I made a point that the manual recommends that you put the engine to Top Dead Center, and check the valves at the same time. But you are correct, I don't do this as much because I find it a lot easier doing them one at a time.
8.75 motor I don't think I've seen one that hp before ! Should sell for the engine alone !!!
wow, I didn't even notice it was that much
What kind of spark plug tester is that at 2:51 of the video?
you can get them on amazon, they're more of a gimmick but it's fun to use to see if there's something wrong with the plug.
If it is not a machine I plan on selling, whether I invest in the repair depends on how attached to it I am. For instance, I have a Briggs branded push mower that is about 15 years old, and runs great. Unfortunately, through my own stupidity, I caused what could be considered catastrophic damage to it. I moved recently and loosened the handle to aid in transporting it. I forgot to tighten it back up after I got to my new place, and when I attempted to use it a couple of months later, the handle slipped downwards, and the blade chewed up the bottom of the handle. The engine appears to be ok, but the handle is ruined. The machine is practically worthless at that age, but I am going to find a handle for it. I could not imagine parting it out, even though that is probably the right thing to do.
you should be able to find a "suitable" replacement in the way of a piece of metal tubing from the hardware store. Just flatten one end, and drill the holes you want
My expectations for any equipment is at least 10 years with no major repairs and generally I’d say I get that.
nice!
Idk, all my stuff is 30 yrs plus.
Repower, repair, restore, because you know what is coming.
Snapper parts are easy to find...
you make a good point
MORE VIDEO LIKE THIS bud
sure thing
I keep my old mowers going but I feel that pretty soon parts for oil and gas power equipment will be obsolete due to bans and government green energy theory A lot of manufactures are pushing towards battery powered junk
I don't see it that way. As long as overseas companies can make money on the machines that are still running, they'll sell them here, until the last one breaks down. They'd have to get rid of gasoline to make these machines obsolete
Hey bro what's up? My answer to your question is to get rid of it if it cannot be repaired.
done and done... thank you Sir!
the way to keep things alive longer then the manufacturer intends is ebay/china they reproduce parts for briggs engines years after genuine parts dry up i brought and restored a 1989 rover rancher ride on for my dads 60th birthday i must have taken the carb apart 5 or more times kept filling the crank case with fuel while the engine was off got the shits opened up ebay typed in briggs/vanguard 17.5hp carb and it popped right up 3 days later it arrived and the 33 year old engine was fixed planned obsolescence really pisses me off nothing worse then perfectly serviceable machines melted down and turned into white goods for lack of parts
it would seem that they don't want stuff to last nowadays
Dumped for parts to be recycled there is no more we can do…..
very good point
10-4 Sir…..
EVERYTHING manufactured today is just crap. although there may be some "feel good" issues (environmental?) to use modern equipment, none of it is worth the cost of lost reliability......
it certainly feels that way doesn't it
Great thoughts today, my mower is living on borrowed time and I plan to just keeping up on the maintenance....oil change, spark plug cleaning, checking lash, air filter check, lubing wheel hinges and cables and keeping the blade sharp. My $200 craftsman with a Briggs motor is going on it's 10th season and seems to be doing well.
nice, you're doing a fantastic job on the maintenance
Well I guess my string trimmer has outlasted most at this point. I bought it for $10 at an auction over 10 years ago. It is an Echo it was made in the 90's so it wasn't new then. I'm not saying it's in mint condition but it's defiantly paid for itself many times over. When I got it it needed a fuel system overhaul new carb and fuel lines. It's still going and I don't plan on replacing it anytime soon. I guess what I'm saying is if you take care of things and maintain them they will last you longer.
completely agree with you on that!
I have four old school Snappers just like this example. Two of my own & two inherited from parents. One goes back to 1997. Snapper oem parts are readily available, but they are expensive. Since these are my mowers and I enjoy working on them, I've never hesitated to repair them. If you maintain an old school Snapper it will last forever. All depends on how much you want to spend and how hard you want to work...
you're absolutely right about that! These are great mowers.
The build quality and aesthetics of the old are superior to the new and worth repairing.
agreed
Right now I just keep up with it until I can't anymore as of now it is good , but some useful info sir
thank you!
@@HomeGaragechannel your welcome
Interesting question. At some point repairing stuff will exceed its worth (new/used ones are cheaper). Unless sentimental meaning is warranted then it becomes parts, educational value (autopsy) or trash.
I usually can keep my stuff running until they are in their teen years. I try to find dumpster or cheap used units that match or are close enough to what I have and try and keep them running or as donor units. Lately though I have been finding fixable dumpster cases that are newer than my go to stuff. It’s a real shame people don’t try and take care of stuff or learn to fix them. Two years ago I picked up two self-propelled mowers for $20 that only needed some cable adjustments and a belt. I don’t lose much if they blow up this coming season.
you are correct, it's a real shame and the only thing we can hope for is that when they give it away, it's still usable for the rest of us to fix. Thanks for this great comment
I am currently working on a 21 year old Bolens non self propelled push mower with a Briggs 4.5 hp flathead engine. I bought it new, used it 3-4 years, passed in on to my father inlaw when I switched to a riding mower, and he used it as a trim mower for well over a decade. He then offered it back to me when he stopped using it a few years ago and now it will no longer start due to sitting idle for too long. I brought it home and am in process of bringing it back so I can use it for a trim mower again. Coil still worked but the plastic carb is gummed up and the blade is dull. I think I paid $99.00 and tax for it new, at the “big box store” all those years ago. Personally, I have never cared for a self propelled mower; for me, I have always live on a flat lots, so they either move faster or slower than I do. They also represent more parts to eventually fail and cost me more work time and money to fix. A cheap little plain push mower, without a bagger system, has always been plenty light weight enough for me to easily push around. If your lucky enough to have one with tall rear wheels, then all the better! This old mower was definitely never babied, but received regular oil changes and repaired/serviced when it required it, along with a sharped or new blade when it got dull or damaged and that was about it. Probably, like most everything else, the machines made 15 or more years ago were of far superior quality than anything available now. Probably most machines that go to the local dump could be made running again with a hour or less worth of work and less than $35.00 in parts and oil. People simply don’t know how to work on them, don’t want to be bothered or waste their time to learn/try, and understand that shop charges will cost more than the value of the machine. It’s too bad really; such a waste!
couldn't have said it any better than this.
Most of my equipment is kept for five to ten years and maintained yearly. Older equipment is complicated to find parts for; some discontinue those models, a Homelite chain saw, for ten years and then continue that saw.
you make a good point
I would try to make it last as long as possible,. Once the time has come for it to move on then l would get a commercial unit and try to make that last as long as possible
great idea!
How often do you use that Sparking Plug Tester? I want one. Do you recommend one of these?
I mainly use it when a machine doesn't start. In the last month, out of 10 repairs I probably used it twice. Yes. I do recommend getting one.
HG what was the issues with the drive
this was missing parts. The bearings had failed on it, and the previous owner removed several parts probably in hope to get it fixed one day. But that day never came
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
thank you!
So my craftsman mowers that I bought in 2018 for $140 is still running like a champ. Never change the filter, never change, spark, plug, just fuel with fuel stabilizer in it and top off oil. Talking with my neighbors this morning he just bought a craftsman on sale for $300 and his old cub cadet crapped out I guess for bad gas. Insane how much these new mowers cost. Don’t even get me started on my weedeater. My used $50 toro lasted 6 years, I wasn’t even mad at it. I dished out the money for a new echo srm 225, one of your videos sold me on it.
nice, seems like what you're doing is working out great for you.
@@HomeGaragechannel well after watching all of your videos I figure I’ll finally do the maintenance on it. I also got my Toro self-propelled running with new carburetor. I’ll do maintenance on both so I can sell one or the other.
I recieved a Scott's mower with the exact same engine. it has a horizontal drive for the transmission. everything is pristine. except... it has a bend crank shaft. only ones I've found available are 120$+.. so it's basically a pretty paper weight until I find one. although I do have a Deere mower with the same engine but I am not sure if the crank is the same without taking it apart or trying to look up the OEM part numbers. needless to say,it's just sitting under a tarp
the deere engine is vertically driven transmission that runs off the crank unlike the scotts that has a separate transmission shaft
Some shops have a crank straightener. Check around.
have you considered trying to bend the crank back to shape?
@@HomeGaragechannel I have the tools and heat to do it. but just haven't really put thought into it.
Hello, where are you located? I am in Florida and I have an trimmer I would like to give. I will ask my dad and if he says yes i can reply and tell you. If you are also in Florida it would be great! The trimmer is a home-lite curved shaft trimmer, it was in a flood and the carburetor needs some adjustments, I am not sure if there are any other problems. The trimmer was given to me by uncle. Thank you
unfortunately I'm a long away from Florida, but I really appreciate the offer.
No worries, Thank you for replying! I am very confident in fixing the trimmer. If you have an home-lite curved or a normal home-lite trimmer, are you able to make a video on how to adjust the carburetor? thank you.@@HomeGaragechannel
I've already made several videos with curved shaft homelites on this channel or my other channel "Inside house Garage"
Oh, I haven't noticed. Thank you@@HomeGaragechannel
I'd buy that mower in a second. Oregon has the missing part(s) and I probably have a spare with some wear on it. The differential is the only costly part but you can get the whole thing or individual parts and that is the GOOD drive system and deck. You use OO grease in the plug in the middle and the rest is minor except for the overkill of that engine. I've had them do a wonderful job with a 3 1/2 horse Briggs on a REALLY old one. And all you need to keep one going is drip a little oil on the bearing surface where it's turning and it'll go for years. My 85 will attest to that. STILL going! That'll make someone a FINE mower. Blessings
you are correct, I can't remember off the top of my head what the total was, but it was a bit more than what most people would pay for parts.
Probably but if you oil the bearings they'll last a long time IF you keep the grass and grit blown out. And you can get the rubber friction disc separate.@@HomeGaragechannel