Son's Project...
 

My son finally picked up a garden tractor - 13hp with a Tecumseh engine, Its a Garden General build by/for Murry. Looks like a 98. He is like a ...hmmmm...a kid in a candy store. Needs new rubber and a battery but the engine will turn. He changed the oil and added clean fuel. We shall source out a battry tomarrow.

Question - who knows small engines?

I know a bit.......what do you want to know?

Current project:

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73 MTD

Don't tell him about Lawnmower Racing. Not yet anyhow.

Man, I do love those old lawn tractors. Though I have a Zero turn Skag for mowing these days, I still prefer the old Allis-Chalmers that I've been using for 45 years (retired from mowing decades ago). They just don't make 'em like that anynmore :). Mowing lawns was my dad's way of teaching me "what's what" when I was a youngin'...is he going into bidness Doc?

Hmm...

Mini MB Body Kit For ATV/Go Kart/Riding Lawn Mower Chasis - Acme Jeep Parts

I think he'll figure that out on his own once he gets his running and then sees another riding mower...

Does he know about turbo chargers?
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yup, he has been dig'n on lawnmower racing and pulls now for sometime. This was in his great grandfathers tractor yard for 6 yrs unprotected. He got it for free cuz the owner said it would start. Grandpa had't gotten around to tinkering with it so my Son told him he would get it going. So here it sits in my garage!

I am prtty proud of him. he took his own lawn mowing money and he figered it needed a few things to see if it needed some serious work.

First thing was to get it started. The engine wasn't siezed so we drain out the old sludge oil. The tank was dry so it was charged with ethanol free fuel. The battery was dead so he got a new one along with a new ignition switch and air filter. I'll be darned if the think didn't start right up!

My son said 'its was blowing coal!" but it ran. He engaged it and the tranny kicked in but after about a minute it wouldn;t engage. Upon inspection the belt tensioner bearing was seized and it was toast. A trip to Northern Tool to get a steel pully wheel solved that problem. The rear rubber was bad so we stopped at a local Mom and Pop tire shop. The guy had one 18x8.5 that he sold to my son for $35. Northern Tool had them for $54.

He drove that beast around the yard sans blade deck. The blades need replacing so he took the deck off. The other rear tire wasn't holding air - tire goo didn't work so he's gonna bug me to get back to Nothern Tool for another tire. He also wants to place the muffler. Its pretty rusted and he thinks that his clients won't like the 'lobster boat' sound.

His intent is to use this to increase the number of yards he mows. He wants to save up to get more equipment. I actaully would like to see him save it for a car or other needed expenses...

Here he is inspecting the belt tensioner, the other pic is him and his Papa moving an old tire.

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Agree. Papa is an Iowa farmer...no wonder farming is one of the more dangerous professions.

After he struggled with this I stepped in and recommend we bring it to a tire place where they have proper equipment that can deal with this rather quickly. I had a claw tire tool but somewhere down the line it was either used in the wood to build a fort and forgotten about or a leant it out and forgeot who has it...

If it was me and I was gonna write a DIY peice, I would use the right tool for the job with proper PSE...

Hey... you were looking for ideas for a 6th book!
101 Projects for your Lawn Tractor by Doc Holloway

hmmmm...isn't there a guy on the bored that writes books about lawn mowers?

With the kind of attitude he is showing if he does things right in 10 years he can be making a LOT of money...

2 guys I know started as lawn crew workers in '88... in '90 they said "screw this working for others at $9/hr", scrapped together enough for some equipment, and now own one of the largest lawn care business in the area. They'll have 10 teams working all year, and add 2 extra teams and increase team sizes in summer. Of course, here in Fl. no snow or anything to worry about, but plenty of mowing, trimming, edging, etc.

I'm here. My background is Honda-specific, but I could probably bluff through other brands in a pinch. :D

Robert! I knew I remembered you!!! He has been using a Troy Built with a Honda engine. Starts on first pull but I have noticed over the past year or so that the engine seems to fire a bit uneven. He thought it was bad fuel (too much ethanol/water) so he has been getting the ethanol free at lowes for $5/qt. I haven't seen an improvement. The ehine sounds like it will cycle fast then a tad sloer and then fast again.

As for the rider he has, It is a Murrey with a Tecumseh 13 hp. Seems to run well. Needs a new muffler though - a bit rusted out. He spent a few hours on Sunday scraping under the deck, getting out all the mud and grass and then he wire brushed the rust. He wants to paint it to stop the rust. I have used pure Moly lube to do it, stops further rust and actually grass doesn't seem to stick to it either. He thought a can of Rust-o-lium or even bed liner. I thought that might be over kill.

And yes, he does make decent money cutting lawns but it does get really hot in the spring and summer and he's prolly good for 2 lawns a day with the push mower including trim and edge work. He thinks the rider will increase his through-put 2X. I'm betting it will. Momma thinks folks won't want a rider on thier lawn due to the sprinklers. I told her not to worry.

ideas?

hmmm, my Troy Built with Honda engine does the same thing. Started about a year ago. Starts right up but RPMs surge for lack of better term.

Rough-running / misfire-esque are 90% incorrect air/fuel mixture, the bane of carburetors. In most cases, slime in a jet or nozzle is the problem, and they can be a bear to correctly clean. Easy fix is just to replace the carb, most are under $40, but depends on the engine.

Get me the serial number off the side of the the engine "GXXX-1234567" and I'll get you the part number and price for a new carb, gaskets, etc.

When installing the new (or cleaned) carb, always use new gaskets. It's easy to get a tiny vacuum leak.

If you *really* want to clean the old one (or if a new one is too costly) get a can of real carb cleaner and some compressed air; here's a link on another forum on How To Clean A Honda Carburetor:

How To Clean a Honda Carburetor - Lawn Mower Forums : Lawnmower Reviews, Repair, Pricing and Discussion Forum

Have seen where they have taken riding mowers and stretched the frames and put low profile tires on them with makeshift car bodies. Was thinking it would be cool to try and make a 550 type project out of a rear engined snapper or yazoo. Mainly have to stretch the frame and change pulleys out to get higher speeds out of em.

FWIW...Have you thoroughly cleaned/replaced the air filter? I had the exact same issue with my older John Deere. Sounds too simple but it made a huge difference!