Sometimes it just doesn't work

 Last year, the engine on my circa 1993 craftsman riding mower gave up
the ghost.  It was close to fall and I let it sit as a lawn ornament
in the field.

This spring, I bought a used motor, cleaned out the mouse nests,
replaced the oil, cleaned and mounted the carb, and after much
invoking of gods and curses, managed to get it installed.  It worked
great for a couple of mowings and then died.  

I was able to get a second replacement motor from the same fellow for
a minimal amount, and with a bit fewer invocations, was able to get
that cleaned spotless, re-carbed, oiled up and installed.  

It worked fine, sounding even smoother than the first replacement.
But since it was working, I then hit a guy cable hidden by the road
and broke one of the mandrels on the mower deck.  

Back to the old feller and picked up a replacement mower deck at a
reasonable price.  It came with a rear grass catcher, which is a
s---load of black plastic parts and some metal square tubing.  Got it
on and it worked fine.  Gently and slowly, so as to not overload the
mower, I mowed the front part of one of my lawns.  

The engine sounded a bit off, so I drained and replaced the oil again.
Got back started mowing again, and the motor conked out within ten
minutes.  I think I'm being told something.

What is the going rate for scrap metal like this?  I'm in the market
for an inexpensive used compact tractor with a bushhog/haying
attachment.  The grass here appears to be a mite tough.

On the plus side, I did get about 15 years out of the mower, and was
only out about $200 on the recent repairs.  Still...

  hchickpea@hotmail.com wrote:


<snip>

You're being told to stop mowing your lawn.....

Marsha/Ohio

 On Jun 7, 9:23 pm, hchick...@hotmail.com wrote:

You had a good streak followed by a bad streak. And it wouldn't have
been so bad if you didn't hit that wire.
Motors don't just conk out one after another without a reason. I'd
want to know what those reasons were. Your source of parts may be
cheap, but not dependable. Are these motors warranted for a season at
least?
Still, you don't have much expense involved. You know this machine in
and out (except for the motor). Why spend lots of money on a used one
with similar problems? Find a better motor with a minimal guarantee.
Maybe you should stock your own parts or have two mowers because of
your need.

 On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 04:22:15 -0700 (PDT), Al Bundy


DW and I were talking over the situation last night and this morning.
In pointing out the differences between a tractor and bush hog and a
riding mower, I suddenly remembered that bush hogs have a shear bolt
that breaks to protect the tractor motor from sudden stoppages of the
blades.  Riding mowers have a direct belt drive to the mower deck and
no protection from those piston rod jarring stops.  Hitting the cable
end and breaking the mandrel likely started the damage on the latest
engine, and the load of cutting heavy grass finished the job.

I can't think of a way to include a shear or cotter or slip-clutch on
the mower deck without some serious welding and re-engineering, and
belly mowers are a pain to work on anyway.  I'm thinking I need to
re-evaluate options and find the right tool for the job.  Using a
screwdriver as a cold chisel and breaking it is cheap.  Doing the same
with a mower is not.

 On Jun 8, 10:44 am, hchick...@hotmail.com wrote:

Good points, but you got by nicely for over 15 years with that old
mower. Has something changed?
I was unfamiliar with the bush hog design. That  does sound better
long term.