Project Toro Super Recycler

[Silverado12]

I got a free mower to play with, so I made it a project for the past week since work is slow and I'm bored. New gas tank, brake/start cable, carburetor (the one that was there was for a choke; this mower is supposed to be primer). I had to get new screws for the filter housing as the Amazon carb wasn't the same thread pitch. In case anyone ever replaces their Briggs carb with a Chinese knockoff the thread pitch is #10-32.

 

[jeepman3071]

Nice mower, those are great for mulching and definitely worth fixing up!

 

[ZebRuaj]

Nice! I stumbled upon SR4s this year. I wanted to upgrade from my basic push mower so I started collecting free Mowers and trying my hand at small engine repair. Found a couple older primer models and started flipping them to make some extra money. Think I went thru 8 or 9 this season. Ended the mowing season keeping a Chonda powered SR4 from 2015. None of the electric start or blade brake frills but I don't really care for those.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Mine (looks like yours) has two Grease Fittings for the Rear Wheels.

 

[Silverado12]

It has the aluminum deck and needed under $100 in parts to fix, but this will be my main push mower from now on. Gas tank was 40, cable was 20 something USD and some misc parts. I'll look for the grease fittings as I missed that. Didn't realize anything had them anymore.

 

[super20dan]

hope its not personal pace

 

[jkasch]

Love my personal pace SR. 10 seasons, never a problem.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted by super20dan
hope its not personal pace

Yes it is. Everything seems to work well, though. Your username reminds me of the best saxophone I ever played, a King Super 20 with the silver neck.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by ZebRuaj
Nice! I stumbled upon SR4s this year. I wanted to upgrade from my basic push mower so I started collecting free Mowers and trying my hand at small engine repair. Found a couple older primer models and started flipping them to make some extra money. Think I went thru 8 or 9 this season. Ended the mowing season keeping a Chonda powered SR4 from 2015. None of the electric start or blade brake frills but I don't really care for those.



I agree, the blade brake and electric start are nice but they basically just make the mower more heavy.

The personal pace is a great self propel system on the super recycler and recycler mowers. I rarely see any issues with them outside of cable adjustments, and they are the most user friendly and comfortable in my experience.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

OP, I've had my Personal Pace for 8 years - never a problem.
I will NEVER go back to actually pushing a mower / personal pace is the way to go.

Using the Personal Pace Mower is like "a walk in the Park".

 

[MasterSolenoid]

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
OP, I've had my Personal Pace for 8 years - never a problem.
I will NEVER go back to actually pushing a mower / personal pace is the way to go.

Using the Personal Pace Mower is like "a walk in the Park".


+1

 

[ZebRuaj]

I think a lot of the bad experiences with the personal pace system is 1) too slow/fast - cable adjustment needed 2) can be hard pulling the mower back - cable adjustment again 3) it not working - the regular recyclers have plastic drive gears in the drive wheels. The teeth strip out over time. You can replace the wheels as needed, buy the plastic gear itself and DIY the repair, or swap to the SR4 gear set

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by ZebRuaj
I think a lot of the bad experiences with the personal pace system is 1) too slow/fast - cable adjustment needed 2) can be hard pulling the mower back - cable adjustment again 3) it not working - the regular recyclers have plastic drive gears in the drive wheels. The teeth strip out over time. You can replace the wheels as needed, buy the plastic gear itself and DIY the repair, or swap to the SR4 gear set


Yup, exactly. I maintain/fix a lot of mowers and I've never seen a personal pace transmission fail except for the Timemasters. Two of them had actual transmission failures and one was definitely used commercially and was already on it's second engine. All of the other issues were fixed with cable adjustments or a new belt.

Mower self-propel units are pretty simple to begin with and rarely completely fail unless abused. Most of the time the deck rots out before the engine or drive breaks.

 

[ZebRuaj]

Just looked thru all my local ads for this season. SR4 #7 and #8. I kept the Chonda powered one on the right as my personal mower.

 

[Silverado12]

Nice. It's a shame Toro went with a Chinese engine instead of the Briggs. My 2007 Briggs runs well now that it has a new correct carburetor. I'm actually impressed with how the Chinese do stuff as cheap as they do; the knockoff carb runs as well as an original Briggs carb.

 

[super20dan]

Originally Posted by Silverado12
Originally Posted by super20dan
hope its not personal pace

Yes it is. Everything seems to work well, though. Your username reminds me of the best saxophone I ever played, a King Super 20 with the silver neck.

I chose my screen name because I played super 20 saxes for most of my music carrier. have sivlersonic alto and tenor still. have rare bari but its just all brass.

 

[Duffyjr]

Originally Posted by Silverado12
Nice. It's a shame Toro went with a Chinese engine instead of the Briggs. My 2007 Briggs runs well now that it has a new correct carburetor. I'm actually impressed with how the Chinese do stuff as cheap as they do; the knockoff carb runs as well as an original Briggs carb.

Hard for me to compare the B&S to the Toro because I had the B&S on a regular Recycler and the Toro 159cc on the SR4 so 22 inch vs 21 inch but the Toro seems to have a little better ability to mulch taller grass. This also could be due to the design difference and it being an inch smaller.

 

[Clayslayer]

Fun isn't it? I've performed CPR on a half dozen mowers in the last couple years with excellent results. My personal favorite was the Honda HRX217 that I put a Predator engine on. (the Honda engine was beyond destroyed). I kept the Chonda powered Honda for personal use and have put hours and hours and hours on it with zero issues. I love the darn thing. Predator 173. Excellent engine.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted by Clayslayer
Fun isn't it? I've performed CPR on a half dozen mowers in the last couple years with excellent results. My personal favorite was the Honda HRX217 that I put a Predator engine on. (the Honda engine was beyond destroyed). I kept the Chonda powered Honda for personal use and have put hours and hours and hours on it with zero issues. I love the darn thing. Predator 173. Excellent engine.


Are the Chonda engines clones of the Honda enough to swap parts? FWIW I have a Chonda on a Craftsman tiller and it's been a really good engine. I just prefer Briggs because they're American for the most part.