Simple Lawn Mower
Repair and Blade Maintenance
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Do you have trouble starting your lawnmower up in the
spring? Before deciding to take your lawn mower in for repair and maintenance, try these few
simple suggestions. After completing them most of the time your lawn mower will
fire up and run like a champ.
Pull and clean the Lawn Mower Spark Plug
Most of the time simply cleaning the spark plug will solve
your lawn mower maintenance woes. To do this, disconnect the wire attached
to the end of the spark plug. Then using a wrench or a Ratchet/Socket, remove
the spark plug.
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If the spark plug is black or wet looking, you have
probably found your problem on why the lawn mower is not starting.
Using fine grit sandpaper, sand the top of the spark plug
down to bare metal. Make sure you sand all around the edges of the piece of
metal (tab) that sits just above the electrode. Make sure that there is a gap
between the metal tab and the electrode. If you still have the lawnmower manual
and a feeler gauge you can adjust the gap to the specifications. However, if
there is a small gap it is probably sufficient for the spark plug to operate
correctly.
Make sure the spark plug is free of dust and dry. Then
screw it back into the cylinder and connect back the wire to the end of the
spark plug. Then try starting the lawn mower.
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Check for Oil
Make sure there is oil in the lawn mower and that it is at
the proper level.
Check for fuel
Make sure there is gas in the lawn mower. If you have old
gas in the lawnmower and did not put in a fuel stabilizer at the end of the
season, replace the gas. If you had drained the gas tank at the end of the
previous season, then fill the tank at least half full with new gas.
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Check the fuel line
Like many of us, at the end of the previous lawn mowing
season we turn off the fuel line switch. Make sure it is in the on position. If
you have done all of the above and the engine will not fire, then check to see
if the fuel is getting to the carburetor. Temporarily disconnect the fuel hose
from the carburetor and see if gas pours out. If so reconnect the hose. If not,
then check the fuel line. It may be gummed up or the fuel filter is clogged.
Check the Air Filter
Make sure the Air Filter is clean. If it is dirty and oily
then replace it. If it just dirty shake it and knock out some of the dust. This
may solve your problem; however I would still recommend replacing it.
Clean the Carburetor
First turn off the fuel line. Disassembling and cleaning
the carburetor is not as bad as you may think. Usually there is a nut on the
underside of the carburetor. Remove this and pull the bottom portion of the
carburetor off. Clean the inside of this lower portion of the carburetor and
then make sure the float valve moves up and down freely. The float valve is a
plastic object about 1.5” in diameter that hangs down when you remove the lower
portion of the carburetor.
Reconnect the lower portion of the carburetor and turn on
the fuel line again.
Try restarting the lawnmower. If it still does not work
after performing all of these procedures, then take it to a repair shop.
However, from personal experience these procedures usually solve the problem.
Sharpen the Lawn Mower blade
Finally, make sure you sharpen the blade. This will ensure
you minimize the torque on the engine while cutting the grass. Not to mention,
your lawn will get a more even cut.
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