JHZR2
Staff member
Perhaps I’ve gotten a bug…. Or at least a stopgap.
We were driving home from the beach yesterday and I found a JX75 that looked pretty good. Starts first pull, good paint, only minor deck pitting (though there are three tiny holes). Kawasaki engine with pressurized oil system (no filter though I think I can add one).
I decided to get it and bring it home. It starts up great, blade clutch works, but is missing a spring (which is included in a plastic bag). It mows well. Blade was very sharp, propulsion works fine (I usually don’t use it), etc.
It does need some work. The paint on the top of the handle isn’t great, the spring loaded release on the blade clutch bail doesn’t work (blade clutch releases immediately if I manually pull the bail up).
The one thing that it needs, which I’ve never done before, is some carburetor work. And maybe some throttle cable adjustment.
It will start from cold first pull. No problems. When the blade clutch is engaged, it goes perfectly, takes the load, and runs. It will generally run indefinitely at that point. But if I disengage the clutch, then re-engage it, it will bog down and either stall or just be unrecoverable.
See here:
So essentially, leave it alone and it will run for the most part indefinitely. I did get it to stall once when mowing tilted on a hill, but the fuel tank is low, fwiw.
So, what should my steps be? I’ve never messed with these small engines much besides servicing them. Spark plug, air filter, and fuel filter seem fine though the tank does have a bit of junk in it.
I’m thinking I need to service the carb. What parts?
The deck is pretty clean underneath, but I pulled one old plug of grasss and saw some pitting.
Note the silver specs in the grass lump. So I want to clean the deck underneath to then plug the small holes and paint everything. What’s my best bet for this aluminum? Pressure washer? Plastic scraper? Obviously where I patch I’ll need to wire brush or get to real metal.
What else?
The mower rear wheels have zerks. I assume it uses JD polyurea grease; any thoughts on if schaeffers 238/273/219 are ok? I have no way to know what was actually in these. And i also don’t know if pumping new in will actually flush out the old.
Needs new tires I guess, but the propulsion works up my steep short hill area so they’re not holding it back. It is heavy compared to my craftsman flathead. It can be felt. It’s heavy enough that mowing across the hill isn’t possible because it will slide down, which the lighter craftsman wouldn’t. But going straight up and down with propulsion is a nice assist.
So… where to start? What are your recommendations?
It will be a fun project (time waster ai don’t need but anyway…) until I find a permanent mower (or maybe this is it?).
Thanks!
We were driving home from the beach yesterday and I found a JX75 that looked pretty good. Starts first pull, good paint, only minor deck pitting (though there are three tiny holes). Kawasaki engine with pressurized oil system (no filter though I think I can add one).
I decided to get it and bring it home. It starts up great, blade clutch works, but is missing a spring (which is included in a plastic bag). It mows well. Blade was very sharp, propulsion works fine (I usually don’t use it), etc.
It does need some work. The paint on the top of the handle isn’t great, the spring loaded release on the blade clutch bail doesn’t work (blade clutch releases immediately if I manually pull the bail up).
The one thing that it needs, which I’ve never done before, is some carburetor work. And maybe some throttle cable adjustment.
It will start from cold first pull. No problems. When the blade clutch is engaged, it goes perfectly, takes the load, and runs. It will generally run indefinitely at that point. But if I disengage the clutch, then re-engage it, it will bog down and either stall or just be unrecoverable.
See here:
So essentially, leave it alone and it will run for the most part indefinitely. I did get it to stall once when mowing tilted on a hill, but the fuel tank is low, fwiw.
So, what should my steps be? I’ve never messed with these small engines much besides servicing them. Spark plug, air filter, and fuel filter seem fine though the tank does have a bit of junk in it.
I’m thinking I need to service the carb. What parts?
The deck is pretty clean underneath, but I pulled one old plug of grasss and saw some pitting.
Note the silver specs in the grass lump. So I want to clean the deck underneath to then plug the small holes and paint everything. What’s my best bet for this aluminum? Pressure washer? Plastic scraper? Obviously where I patch I’ll need to wire brush or get to real metal.
What else?
The mower rear wheels have zerks. I assume it uses JD polyurea grease; any thoughts on if schaeffers 238/273/219 are ok? I have no way to know what was actually in these. And i also don’t know if pumping new in will actually flush out the old.
Needs new tires I guess, but the propulsion works up my steep short hill area so they’re not holding it back. It is heavy compared to my craftsman flathead. It can be felt. It’s heavy enough that mowing across the hill isn’t possible because it will slide down, which the lighter craftsman wouldn’t. But going straight up and down with propulsion is a nice assist.
So… where to start? What are your recommendations?
It will be a fun project (time waster ai don’t need but anyway…) until I find a permanent mower (or maybe this is it?).
Thanks!
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