gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
Received this ~ 10 year-old mower that has been maintained reasonably well, but not perfectly. I just moved from a condo and haven't had to maintain a mower since I was a kid, and that was just watching dad mostly - looking for some help.
The mower ran very well (except only on choke) when I started it for my mother-in-law this past summer. She's too small to push it around and the recoil-start is a bit much for her, so she's now using another mower and we get this one.
The known issues:
1. While slowly turning the blade by hand, there's a slight scraping noise. The blade does not look bent (it looks great, albeit dull) and it does not appear to be contacting the deck at all.
2. Fuel is of unknown age - it's likely from summer 2016. The mower took a while to start this past summer (after sitting for a year), but ran fine, albeit only on choke. There is no visible buildup or varnish in the tank.
3. Someone else took care of mowing for her, so the maintenance history is unknown. The person who maintained it is pretty handy, but likely not even close to BITOG levels
4. Oil is of unknown age. It's full on the dipstick and still amber in color, which is a good sign.
To-Do List:
1. I purchased new air and fuel filters, a new spark plug, and a new blade, as well as Seafoam spray and liquid. All have arrived, except the new blade. I can sharpen and balance the old blade for now.
2. I plan to dump the age-unknown fuel and add fresh, Stabil-treated gas, as well as add a shot of Seafoam.
3. I plan to clean the deck (top and bottom) as well as the gunky carb (outside only, for now), using SimpleGreen
4. The manuals says to use light oil at various points, but I'm not 100% sure what the best lube would be. I typically use 3-in-1 for bearing-type surfaces where additives aren't needed, silicone spray for pivot points, and/or dry-lube (graphite-based) for anything that is sensitive to gunking up and doesn't require a lot of lubrication. What do you guys think?
5. Oil change: Manual says that 10W-30 is preferred, but 10W-40 is shown in the chart as better or >100F ambient temp use, which is possible here, but rare. I currently have some leftover GC 0W-30, as well as new Edge 0W-40, though they might be overkill. Recommendations?
6. Once cleaned and lubed, I plan to add a spritz of Seafoam into the intake, then start and warm-up the mower, then introduce a few sprays of Seafoam in to distribute throughout the engine. Finally, stall the engine with a nice shot of Seafoam. Let sit for 30 minutes.
7. I'll replace the air filter right away, but I'm not sure about the fuel filter and spark plug. Should I run a tank or so of gas through before replacing these to prevent fouling?
//
Thanks in advance for advice. I'm not looking to overdo this. I simply want to get this mower to a known baseline, then simply follow the manual and good engineering practices from then on.
The mower ran very well (except only on choke) when I started it for my mother-in-law this past summer. She's too small to push it around and the recoil-start is a bit much for her, so she's now using another mower and we get this one.
The known issues:
1. While slowly turning the blade by hand, there's a slight scraping noise. The blade does not look bent (it looks great, albeit dull) and it does not appear to be contacting the deck at all.
2. Fuel is of unknown age - it's likely from summer 2016. The mower took a while to start this past summer (after sitting for a year), but ran fine, albeit only on choke. There is no visible buildup or varnish in the tank.
3. Someone else took care of mowing for her, so the maintenance history is unknown. The person who maintained it is pretty handy, but likely not even close to BITOG levels
4. Oil is of unknown age. It's full on the dipstick and still amber in color, which is a good sign.
To-Do List:
1. I purchased new air and fuel filters, a new spark plug, and a new blade, as well as Seafoam spray and liquid. All have arrived, except the new blade. I can sharpen and balance the old blade for now.
2. I plan to dump the age-unknown fuel and add fresh, Stabil-treated gas, as well as add a shot of Seafoam.
3. I plan to clean the deck (top and bottom) as well as the gunky carb (outside only, for now), using SimpleGreen
4. The manuals says to use light oil at various points, but I'm not 100% sure what the best lube would be. I typically use 3-in-1 for bearing-type surfaces where additives aren't needed, silicone spray for pivot points, and/or dry-lube (graphite-based) for anything that is sensitive to gunking up and doesn't require a lot of lubrication. What do you guys think?
5. Oil change: Manual says that 10W-30 is preferred, but 10W-40 is shown in the chart as better or >100F ambient temp use, which is possible here, but rare. I currently have some leftover GC 0W-30, as well as new Edge 0W-40, though they might be overkill. Recommendations?
6. Once cleaned and lubed, I plan to add a spritz of Seafoam into the intake, then start and warm-up the mower, then introduce a few sprays of Seafoam in to distribute throughout the engine. Finally, stall the engine with a nice shot of Seafoam. Let sit for 30 minutes.
7. I'll replace the air filter right away, but I'm not sure about the fuel filter and spark plug. Should I run a tank or so of gas through before replacing these to prevent fouling?
//
Thanks in advance for advice. I'm not looking to overdo this. I simply want to get this mower to a known baseline, then simply follow the manual and good engineering practices from then on.
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