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what have I done to my lawnmower?
chamberlain
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
It is the last nice day for about six months in the upper midwest and I have decided to give my lawn one last cut. Lawn mower is a bit stubborn getting started, probably because I ran it out of gas last time (or so I thought). About two passes in it starts to shake, sputters, and siezes up.
Shit.
I then remembered to check something that I should have checked before starting it: the oil. Yes, there is none. The mower has siezed up to the point that I cannot even turn the blade manually. I have added more oil and am going to give it a while to cool off, but am I fucked here? I have a bad feeling that I may have done serious damage to the engine.
Shit.
I then remembered to check something that I should have checked before starting it: the oil. Yes, there is none. The mower has siezed up to the point that I cannot even turn the blade manually. I have added more oil and am going to give it a while to cool off, but am I fucked here? I have a bad feeling that I may have done serious damage to the engine.
chamberlain on
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Might be time to get a new mower. Snapper and Honda usually make some of the best stuff.
The good part is that we're getting into a season where mowers go down, and snowblowers go up in price. A Honda will last forever if you treat it well. I mowed the lawn with a Honda older than me until we recently got a new one this summer. It had a good 26 year run.
Steam | Live
After about a half hour (and adding oil) it started again. It was smokey and unhappy about running, but I got the lawn mown.
I have a feeling that you guys are right, though, it may be a goner.
Put a fork in it, it's done. When you ran it out of oil and it seized up it likely scored up the cylinder walls horrible, ruined your piston rings, and probably a few other nasty things too. While it may still "barely" run for a little while longer, your days with this engine are limited. If it's just a push mower, finding a replacement engine should be easy, but I suspect it may cost the same amount as just buying a new mower alltogether.
This is so very true. A reel mower is also a bear if you have any significant slope to your yard. Mine is totally flat so my reel mower works well (as long as I keep up with it). If you do go this route, get a sharpening kit like the one at the bottom of this page.