I suffered a severe injury to my arm and shoulder unrelated to work. I can't do anything at all, and sadly, I am not improving. I can't do any physical activity, which drives me crazy.

Would it be helpful if users shared their owner and workshop manuals?

I have the workshop manual for the Mountfield 725M ride-on, which has a lot of helpful information.

@Mick is there a way to share them?

Okay, so it isn't on my bench, but I am working on one 

A local garden maintenance business asked me to look at the mower; their client wanted it running.

The machine requires some TLC, but it seems workable. I tried the usual suspects, spark plug. Air filter, Carburettor by using easy start, checking the spark. I noticed the breather pipe missing, but I couldn't see that being the issue. I started cleaning the cr@p to allow a better view of things, and the client came out to see how I was getting on. I noticed a significant gap on one side of the magneto, so I adjusted it. I pointed out some of the shoddy work from a recent "service" and asked the client if he had driven over a rock. His reply gave me a clue because he said his son hit a huge rock which bent the blade beyond repair! 

I dropped an absolute clanger because I didn't have my impact wrench. The drive is clutch controlled so that I couldn't wedge something against the blade 

I assume that if his son hit a massive rock as he did, the engaged drive would shift the flywheel key.

It has a B&S Intek Pro 65 OHV engine, but I couldn't find an engine number despite a search on the crankcase and engine. @Mick, please tell me if there is a significant variance in flywheel keys. I'm hoping I can obtain some keys without too much bother.

If someone has a link for the keys, please could they share it?

TIA

Changy

I cannot believe someone would give a mower like this away, but they did.

I cleaned it, fitted a new spark plug, and it started first pull 

I sold it the same day for a tidy profit.

A Hayter Spirit arrived this morning; it starts and dies almost immediately. I suspect the fuel input is blocked as it primes okay and then does nothing more. The rear roller auto drive is also faulty. The guy says he's owned it for 12 years and it's never been serviced 

I think the gasket between the carburettor and the fuel tank is flimsy and known for causing issues.


I am finishing a Stihl 545 and will get onto the Hayter later today.


Does anyone have experience of these?

Hi all,

I have two Stihl RM545.0T mowers (Briggs and Stratton EVC300) in for service. One has a Champion XC92YC spark plug, but the other has an NGK BPR5ES.

Both of the mowers start first or second pull and run well. I checked the Briggs & Stratton site, and they list the Champion plug.

My question is, what is the difference between these two plugs? Physically the NGK protrudes more, but the boot fits securely.

I'm not sure what to make of it. 

What oil do you recommend for modern 4-stroke mower engines? I planned to put 5w30 fully synthetic in a B&S EVC300, but must it be the B&S version, or can I use Fully Synthetic car oil like Castrol or Valvoline?

TIA

Yet another one with a dodgy pinion gear. The belts needed adjusting because the blades wouldn't engage correctly.

 

I'm trying to repair this mower for a family member; this Hyundai is the first one I've worked on.

It would start, but it needed 20-30 pulls, and once you stopped it, the damn thing wouldn't start again unless you were lucky and could withstand another 30-40 pulls 

I removed the carburettor and gave it a good clean; it wasn't too bad. I changed the spark plug and tested the coil with a multimeter. I finally managed to start it, but it will not restart after running.

I reassembled it without the plastics and noticed a fuel leak from the tank. It is a Red Herring unless it introduces air into the fuel line; the crack is high on the tank.

I am thinking perhaps the ignition coil is breaking down under load.

I am going insane and would appreciate some advice. I have usually got a Hayter, Stihl or Honda running by now 

Thanks all,