Popular Post RowdyRebel Posted April 16, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted April 16, 2022 Ain't got through a single year without a breakdown...from the front axle snapping in two, to the sheet metal on the deck tearing...just been one thing after another. Didn't even get a single blade mowed and found another problem. Had pulled it out to charge up the battery I just put in last year (waited too long to plug it into the charger last fall and those new digital chargers are crap...couldn't even bump them with jumper cables off the battery in the pickup without the charger kicking off again as soon as the cables were removed.) Found an old style charger at the new Rural King in town, and it let me get the thing started. So there I am topping off the tank, and I notice the front left wheel looks a little off. Damn outer bushing is gone. So, ordered up the bearing conversion...putting inner & outer bearings on the front wheels instead of the bushings...but they won't be here until later in the week. Had to borrow my neighbor's mower to get the weeds knocked down so my POS Massey-badged-Simplicity won't be overwhelmed next weekend. Hell, even the push mower needed the crank case drained & refilled. When I checked the oil, it was WAY over-filled & the gas tank (which was still probably 1/2 full or better when I last put it up) was empty...apparently the carburetor has a stuck float or needle and it drained the tank, overflowed the bowl, flooded the cylinder, which drained into the crank case over the winter. Guess until I get around to tearing into it, I'll do my push mowing around the trees & such before I do the rest with the rider...and just mow 'til it runs out of gas. I figure if there's no gas in the tank, it can't overflow the carb & drain into the oil. All I can say is this is getting ridiculous. Never had this much trouble with the old '83 Craftsman...need to find a new motor for it, though. Parts for a rebuild were up to the price of this POS Massey, which is why we bought it. Craftsman has a worn out 18HP Briggs...I know Harbor Freight USED to have a vertical shaft 22HP motor, but I haven't seen it in quite a while. Be nice to drop that into the old Craftsman & get it going again...not as wide of a deck, but a MUCH better cut...and go back to a gear-drive mower instead of that stupid hydrostatic. Anyway, guess I'd better go get things put up for the night. Wife has dinner going and it'd be nice to not have to go outside to put things away after dinner. 1 2 1 Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onyx610 Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Sorry that had me laughing at your expense. Glad to know it’s not just me…My old neighbor use to always say “it’s always something” As I get older it’s becoming more and more relevant… 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Nice hot meals should make you feel better ha ha that’s sucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjc transport Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 i stopped buying mowers a few years ago after the introduction of "garbage gas" the ethanol crap eats carbs. i could not get 1 full year out of a carb, and only two years before the deck rotted out. three years ago i bought a kobalt 80 volt cordless string trimmer and just use that for the whole yard. takes about the same amount of time as the mower did. Quote when you are up to your armpits in alligators, it is hard to remember you only came in to drain the swamp.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACKS Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 I broke down and bought this mower five years ago and never looked back,built to near commercial specs,installed the mulching kit and haven’t raked a leaf since and let me tell you I have a chit load of leaves every fall,it just pulverize them,awesome machine.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Mack Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 I know how you feel Rebel, those are the days were it is best for me to just stop trying to fix anything,,,, I laughed at youre expense as well.. Probably just jinxed myself, I'm about to do some brake work on my Old '48 International. BTW, I have 3 Harbor Frieght predator engines and they all run great,, I have a small one that sat for 2 years, I puled it once with the choke on and it fired right up,, I even had a witness, he couldnt beleive it either.. I hope you enjoy a hot meal.... Jojo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Freightrain Posted April 17, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted April 17, 2022 I still run my 1974 cub cadet tractor. Still original motor, purrs like a kitten. I used to poke around looking at new stuff until I found this about 7 yrs ago. The new plastic crap is chit. The carb will drain the fuel if you leave the petcock open, so I make sure to turn it off just before parking it. 3 Quote Larry 1959 B61 Liv'n Large...................... Charter member of the "MACK PACK" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA_Dave Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 I'm not laughing, because I have been there, but with cars, not mowers. Sometimes, the harder you try, the worse it gets. Best move is to call it a day! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1958 F.W.D. Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 (edited) www.pure-gas.org Edited April 19, 2022 by 1958 F.W.D. 1 Quote TWO STROKES ARE FOR GARDEN TOOLS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted April 19, 2022 Author Share Posted April 19, 2022 10 hours ago, 1958 F.W.D. said: www.pure-gas.org There are a couple stations around here on that list...and I use them exclusively for my motorcycles. Unfortunately, it's only "premium" offered w/o the corn additive, and that $#!+ is expensive. Bikes are high compression & need the high octane. Mowers, not so much. Push mower could probably be replaced for the difference in cost over the 7 or 8 years it's been since I bought it...wasn't a very expensive mower to begin with, & it was on clearance as a discontinued previous year's model. Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavCut Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 I run with the pre-mixed 100% dinosaur from the hardware store in my small 2 stroke engines. I only go through a gallon or 2 a year so it's a small premium to pay to know that they will start every time I need them. For the lawn tractor I only buy 2 gallons at a time and dose it up with a stabilizer. Seems to do the trick so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Freightrain Posted April 19, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted April 19, 2022 Been lucky, never had issues with any vehicle or equipment that sits with regular gas in it. Just got the old cub out last weekend after 6 months and it lit off like it was run the day before. 3 Quote Larry 1959 B61 Liv'n Large...................... Charter member of the "MACK PACK" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 I use the additive myself it works real well gasoline last a long time I am the same way I don’t have a large area 2 gallon jug is usually all I need for all my machines for the whole season and that includes my five horse Briggs & Stratton air compressor.. bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjc transport Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 i mix the crap they call gas here in joisey with double dose of marine stabil, and double dose of regular stabil. 5 gallon can will last me close to 2 years and still be good. if left untreated it will be bad in under 4 months. i have to run the gas tank dry on the plow truck, otherwise it will not start after 4 months if untreated gas in in it. 1 Quote when you are up to your armpits in alligators, it is hard to remember you only came in to drain the swamp.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 No it’s not worth a shit I bought a car years ago that sat for 16 years with a full tank of regular leaded gasoline would you believe that car would skid the tires when I gas it after I ran that tank out car didn’t have anywhere near the power that 16 year old gasoline did to tell you the truth I didn’t even think it was going to run at all with that old gas instead it was the other way around the shit was like rocket fuel… bob 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 62 Galaxy with a 390 . Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjc transport Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 my 66 7 litre had a full tank of 10 year old gas when i got it too. was just as good as new. Quote when you are up to your armpits in alligators, it is hard to remember you only came in to drain the swamp.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 Well then I guess you know I’m not telling you stories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1958 F.W.D. Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 13 hours ago, RowdyRebel said: There are a couple stations around here on that list...and I use them exclusively for my motorcycles. Unfortunately, it's only "premium" offered w/o the corn additive, and that $#!+ is expensive. Bikes are high compression & need the high octane. Mowers, not so much. Push mower could probably be replaced for the difference in cost over the 7 or 8 years it's been since I bought it...wasn't a very expensive mower to begin with, & it was on clearance as a discontinued previous year's model. I can get 87 or 89 Octane corn free around here, I think I saw earlier today it was 4.71 a gallon. It's all I will run in my small engines, the smaller the engine (blower or trimmer) the better it runs on corn free. And around the end of September I start to fill the F.W.D. exclusively with corn free so that by the time I park it for winter hibernation at the end of October, all it has in the tank is corn free. Don't wish to have to rebuild that carb again. 2 Quote TWO STROKES ARE FOR GARDEN TOOLS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other dog Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 I used to use StaBil- well, actually I still do, but I read that Sea Foam also keeps gas from "going bad" so I put that in in too. I fill two cans a year with ethanol free gas, one for the lawn mower, a push mower, and one that I mix for my 2 cycle engines- chain saw, leaf blower, and weed eater. I put both Sta Bil and Sea Foam in both of them. I used to put a can of Sea Foam in that 4 cylinder Ranger I used to have periodically and you could definitely tell the difference. 1 Quote Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RowdyRebel Posted April 24, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 24, 2022 So the wheel bearings showed up this week. Didn't take long to put 'em on. Greased the zerks on the chassis & deck, aired up the tires, sharpened the blades, and did some mowing. Didn't do too bad, but it was only a week's growth. Amazing the difference bearings vs bushings make, and for the $20 it cost for the "conversion kit" (included washers, E-clips, & dust covers in addition to the bearings), it's ridiculous they put the bushings in to begin with. Then after we got the yard mowed, the boy wanted to be pushed around on the push-cart my grandpa built when I was a kid...so of course I hooked it up to the mower to push him around. Video is from last year...had my daughter on my lap today while we were pushing the boy around, so couldn't really get a new video. 6 Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 The way you set it up it looks like he is pulling you ha ha thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyRebel Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 1 hour ago, mowerman said: The way you set it up it looks like he is pulling you ha ha thanks for sharing LOL...with the reliability of this mower, he just might be...😜🤦♂️ Quote When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1958 F.W.D. Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 25 minutes ago, RowdyRebel said: LOL...with the reliability of this mower, he just might be...😜🤦♂️ That is freakin' awesome! Just as much fun for dad too I bet! Quote TWO STROKES ARE FOR GARDEN TOOLS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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