Starting lawn mower that sat for 12 years

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I'm being given a lawn mower that has been sitting for about 12 years. It was purchased in about 2003. It is a Toro 6.5HP, 22" deck, self propelled recycler mower. I plan on dumping the oil, and putting fresh gas in it to see what happens. Is there any other kind of maintenance I need to do first or should I just stick to those two things?
 
Before you start the engine, remove the spark plug, spray some light lube in there and crank the engine for 10-15 seconds to get some oil circulated. A can of good carburetor cleaner is likely in your near future. Good luck. That's a good mower.
 
theres a difference between repair and maintenance.

if youre in the repair phase just get it working first.
then you can consider what you want to so for maintenance.

e.g. filter, blades, spark plugs, fuel treatment, oil. paint
 
If fuel with ethanol was left in it there's a good chance you'll find a "nose picking's worth" of plastic clogging the fuel jet.

If you're lucky, it'll start right up.
 
Dont forget to dump that 12yrs old gasoline too
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Plan on rebuilding the carb to get it running properly.


I doubt it needs a rebuild after with so little wear and tear, but you will most likely need to clean the main jet.
 
I'll assume it has a Tecumseh engine on it. If so, don't bother cleaning the carb. These are hard to clean in my opinion. Here's a link to a genuine Tecumseh carburetor. Make sure it's the one for your motor if you do buy one.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-TECUMSEH-WITH-GASKET-640350-640303-640271-LV195EA-LEV100-LEV105-LEV120/251939869314?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
 
Originally Posted By: maxdustington
Originally Posted By: Donald
Plan on rebuilding the carb to get it running properly.


I doubt it needs a rebuild after with so little wear and tear, but you will most likely need to clean the main jet.



What he said. Carb will likely need cleaning. Wire, solvent & compressed air. No magic elixirs required.
 
Id second the spraying a little lube down the cylinder, or at least pulling the park plug wire off to get some oil splashing around before starting.
 
If it has oil, then try and pull start it. Who knows, maybe it will fire and run on the old gas. If it doesn't run then go down the list, fuel, air, spark. Its a lawnmower here people, not the space shuttle. Maybe he should load up the seafoam in the fuel, amsoil in the crankcase changed at 5 hour intervals. Don't over think this.
 
I'd bet a paycheck if gas was left in it you'll have to clean it first before it will run. The gas will be orange and it will smell different. Marvels Mystery Oil is a good cylinder soak for engines that haven't been run in a long time. Take the plug out and pour it in and let it sit a while pull the rope several times then replace plugs. I have revived many small engines like this,,, dirt bikes, lawn mowers, generators.
 
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Originally Posted By: Kamele0N
Dont forget to dump that 12yrs old gasoline too
smile.gif



Gas tank is bone dry.

Originally Posted By: boom10ful
I'll assume it has a Tecumseh engine on it. If so, don't bother cleaning the carb. These are hard to clean in my opinion. Here's a link to a genuine Tecumseh carburetor. Make sure it's the one for your motor if you do buy one.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-TECUMSEH-WITH-GASKET-640350-640303-640271-LV195EA-LEV100-LEV105-LEV120/251939869314?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649



Yes a Tecumseh 6.5HP. I'll keep this is mind if it's all gummed up.
 
If it was a Honda, I would have said just fill the tank and pull the cord. I would clean and gap the plug, check the oil level, get some fresh gas in the tank and give it a pull. Maybe a little shot of Quick Start to coax it.
 
Originally Posted By: boom10ful
I'll assume it has a Tecumseh engine on it. If so, don't bother cleaning the carb. These are hard to clean in my opinion. Here's a link to a genuine Tecumseh carburetor. Make sure it's the one for your motor if you do buy one.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-TECUMSEH-WITH-GASKET-640350-640303-640271-LV195EA-LEV100-LEV105-LEV120/251939869314?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649



Very simple to disassemble and clean. Done it many times w/o problems.
 
Originally Posted By: Sealbilly
I'd bet a paycheck if gas was left in it you'll have to clean it first before it will run. The gas will be orange and it will smell different. Marvels Mystery Oil is a good cylinder soak for engines that haven't been run in a long time. Take the plug out and pour it in and let it sit a while pull the rope several times then replace plugs. I have revived many small engines like this,,, dirt bikes, lawn mowers, generators.


If the cylinder is horizontal like most lawnmowers it might make sense to drain the oil and gas first, and tip the lawnmower on end to get the piston top horizontal. Otherwise you are just soaking the lower part of the piston rings. Make sense?
 
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I’d pull the spark plug, and spray some sort of fogging oil in the cylinder and spin it a few times. Change the oil first if it’s gross.

Add fresh gas, reinstall the spark plug and see what happens. You said the gas tank is dry so odds are the mower was run empty before storage which is about the best way to store one long term.
 
Really under powered dog of an engine. Terrible engines. I cannot STAND Tecumseh push mower engines. Id get it running, and sell it, and use the money to buy a better push mower if you need one.
 
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