Need help with lawnmower, please....

[Import Eater]

Okay, my jon deere lawnmower has always been a pain but up until now, it was running like new after a new blade, etc.

Anyway, I went to fire it up the other day and at first it wouldn't start right away; once I did get it running, it would run rather rough, and then struggle while trying to mow, and no it's no the height of the grass!!!

I am a moron when it comes to mechanical stuff, my speciality is small electronic repair.

Thanks

Smiley

[1973Swinger]

Time for a tune up possibly? New spark-em up plug, air filter, oil and filter and a fuel filter if it has one might do the trick.

[TK]

Originally Posted by Import Eater

Okay, my jon deere lawnmower has always been a pain but up until now, it was running like new after a new blade, etc.

Anyway, I went to fire it up the other day and at first it wouldn't start right away; once I did get it running, it would run rather rough, and then struggle while trying to mow, and no it's no the height of the grass!!!

I am a moron when it comes to mechanical stuff, my speciality is small electronic repair.

Thanks

Smiley

is it kohler powerd?

[Dick]

Did you hit anything?

[dwc43]

My Kawasaki 15 ho twin engine had dirt in the jets in the carb. Cleaned them out and it ran fine. Yours is acting just like mine did.

[TK]

Yup, I was gonna say the same thing, but getting to the float bowls on a kohler is a pain...............why I asked.

[DanL]

Yep. If it ran well last time you used it, it's probably something simple. Start with new gasoline. Throw in a new spark plug and air filter, and make sure your choke (if you have one) and throttle cables are rigged and working correctly. I'm assuming the engine is less than 20 years or so old, meaning it probably doesn't have points and condenser. If it does have them, though, it would be a good idea to open them up to have a look.

[Dick]

The reason I asked if it hit anything is because those are the same symptoms of a slipped flywheel which can happen if you hit a solid object.

[DanL]

Good point, Dick. I just helped my brother with that same exact problem last summer. His wouldn't run at all, though, since the key sheared and the flywheel was close to 90 degrees out of time.

[Madman Stephan]

Did you, by any chance, flip the thing upside down recently to do some maintenance? Some of these will leak oil all over your air filter and, of course, clog it up so it'll run like sh!t. Remove the air filter and start 'er up. If it doesn't work, remove the spark plug and clean it up. And if it still doesn't work, maybe it's time for and engine swap. How about a hemi?....

[Import Eater]

The flywheel key was the culprit. My neighbor helped me replace it, and then we sharpened the blade, etc. Running real well, now. You know, for a Jon Deere.....

[Dick]

You are lucky that a new key was all it took to fix.

Back when I was a teenager and not old enough to drive, I used to fix lawnmowers out of my parents' garage as a sideline during the summer.

The local lawnmower shop where I bought my parts asked me to come work for them, because they weren't getting any service calls in my neighborhood anymore.

So............I learned a fair amount of stuff. This shop sold Toro mowers. A well known brand that could be sold for big bucks.

A common mishap with mowers is running over a brass hose nozzle. Do that with a Toro of that vintage and they would stop short and could not be started again.

I saw many Toros come back in for warranty for that same complaint. Every one had sheared the safety pin in the blade bushing, or slipped the friction clutch if so equipped. Every one also had a flywheel with the keyway ripped right out of the hub. No repair possible. New flywheel at $13.00 each.

Sorry for the long reply. Nostalgia, you know.

[1973Swinger]

Nice, glad you found the problem. I have a John Deere, and I love it, havent had a problem with it yet. Its a 95 175 hydro, and the only things ive replaced were some worn out belts. Ive never had any luck with any mowers besides John Deere. My dad's White field boss is pretty nice, though thats a compact tractor, but he still mows with it. Yes, he has a huge lawn lol.

[DanL]

And, for anyone else who runs across this problem with the woodruff key in the flywheel:

When you put the flywheel back on the crankshaft, make sure the taper on the shaft and in the flywheel are clean and dry, and the nut is on tight. The taper takes most of the load, the key is only there to get things in time, and the nut must be torqued to engage the taper tightly.

I say this because my brother replaced the key on his Cub Cadet and it immediately sheared the key again. And again. Turns out, since the flywheel was so hard to get off in the first place, he put a nice coating of WD-40 on the taper so it would be easy to get off again. Also, he wasn't putting the flywheel nut on tightly until he saw if it would run. Now, every time he cranked it, the taper wouldn't take the load and the key would shear. As soon as I told him to use some carb cleaner to remove the oil from the taper, and put the flywheel nut on tight (two grunts and a fart is enough torque), it ran just like new.

Best part is that he got this mower from the dump. Apparently somebody decided that a new tractor was in order because this thing wouldn't start.....

[Import Eater]

Originally Posted by 1973Swinger

Nice, glad you found the problem. I have a John Deere, and I love it, havent had a problem with it yet. Its a 95 175 hydro, and the only things ive replaced were some worn out belts. Ive never had any luck with any mowers besides John Deere. My dad's White field boss is pretty nice, though thats a compact tractor, but he still mows with it. Yes, he has a huge lawn lol.

I have been mowing with this mower on a farm with close to 20 some odd acres. Anyway, say what you will bout John Deeres, but even with little problems, it has outlasted all of our others, and then some. I think we bought this one about 4-5 years ago at Home Depot.