| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| riccbhard |
Posted - Apr 20 2006 : 8:26:38 PM
I got a self-propelled (knew it would be a problem from the start) lawnmower for free from somone that had bought a new mower. It's been taken care of, no rust, kept inside, etc...
The first thing I did was change the oil since he said it hadn't been changed since it sat after the new one was bought. So I got that changed and exactly right on the Full line.
I started it up and it ran fine for about 5 feet and then while pushing I decided to engage the self propel system with the "Drive Engage" handle. I pushed it forward and it worked for about another 5 feet and then the front wheels locked up and it started squealing. So I shut it off (to reset the drive, you cant turn the drive off while it's running) and restarted. I decided not to turn on the drive and pushed it normal. I got about 15 feet and it started squealing again and the front wheels locked up. This time the drive was not engaged. I had just hit a small bump (not hit it with the blade, just ran over it with the right wheels). Anytime it squeals the motor slows down and starts blowing blue colored smoke. So finally I stopped it to see what was up. I checked the oil and it was right at the "add" line, not in the OK zone. I added oil and went to start it and it would not start, so I let it sit about 10 minutes and came back, fired up on the first try. Squealing from the start.
Finally I took the drive belt/pulley cover off on top to see what was going on. When the drive is engaged manually the pulley on the drive system does not move at all and the belt from the engine squeals around the pulley. It will also start doing this when pushing it without the drive engaged, espcially if you pull it backwards or lift the front wheels off the ground.
My guesses are:
1.) The cable that runs from the Drive Engage handle is not adjusted properly at the pulley.
2.) Something is locking up the driveshaft causing the pulley to lock up.
My guess is it burns oil because of the huge load the engine is putting out to attempt at turning the pulley but it will not budge.
So, any ideas what's wrong?
Edited by - riccbhard on Apr 20 2006 8:27:51 PM
Edited by - riccbhard on Apr 20 2006 8:29:13 PM |
| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Aaron Cake |
Posted - Apr 21 2006 : 2:04:29 PM
Well, without knowing what brand of mower it is, only guesses are possible.
I'd start by first removing the drive cover and looking for anthing obvious. Broken parts, missing springs, etc. Then try and run it without the cover and see if you can see something jamming.
I doubt that the oil burning problem accounted for the missing oil. Generally these engines take about 500 ML of oil so to get down to the fill mark about 200 ML would have to be burned. That would take hours even if the engine was blowing huge clouds (any more and the plug would quickly foul). It may be the the oil you put in just settled...
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