[kach22i]

Thanks for the input everyone. I forgot to mention that I only cleaned the air filter every other year.

One year it was not running very well at all, thought it was the connection to the spark plug again - the plug unscrewed it's self - droped right into my hand when I turned it.

My wife bought the mower when I was out of the country for six weeks (13 years ago), like everything else around here I'm supposed to take care of it - male responsiblity and such.

I'll tinker with it (next weekend) just to see if there is anymore life in it, change the oil and all.

If someone really takes care of their mower and gets 17-20 years, I should feel darn lucky to get 13 years out of an abused one.

Next mower gets treated like a lady - like the synethic idea. This should be the last mower I ever buy, 20 years from now I'll be 65! Life is just a dream.

Any suggestions on a new mower? Tiny urban lot, don't need a mulcher feature. Cheap and simple, rear bagger, something made in North America is a plus.

PS: My wife informed me that she paid $125 for it and we got our money's worth.