Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Whadda ya think for $10?

Saw this with a FOR SALE sign on it, while taking my lovely wife to work this am. Left my number on the door since no one was home at the time. The guy calls an hour and a half later later, says it needs work. I go over to check it out more closely. Now this thing was quite oily & dirty (I always forget to take a "before pic")  - earlier it looked NOTHING like it does above! Owner says "one day it just stalled". I tried to spin the flywheel & crank pulley, but the engine is LOCKED SOLID, & a check of the dipstick revealed NO OIL. I figured, its a parts machine with a seized engine, so I offered $10. The guy said "I'm moving - take it. Its your lucky day". I get it home & throw a breaker bar on the crank nut , it frees up & I hear a noise from the flywheel area.  I removed the flywheel, and AH HA!!! All that happened was that the stator (for battery charging) broke & jammed the flywheel! I removed all the broken pieces, reassembled it, cleaned the carb, added oil. Battery was good. Started right up, runs 100%, blade spindle is quiet. Drives perfectly & mulches great! Then I gave her a quickie cleaning up. Total time spent on this was 2 hours, including the 15 minutes to pick it up! Its a 1986 Toro,  8hp Briggs Stratton, electric start, 32" deck with complete mulching attachments & blade, 5 speed transmission. I even got the bagger attachment but its missing the bags! I guess it really WAS my lucky day after all...

Marty

LOL, no bagger. 

Actually, you don't want a bagger with that anyway Marty, they aren't worth a bean bagging. That recycler deck is just not going make anyone happy when bagging with that unit.

AJ - I goofed. This engine doesn't have a 360 degree stator like I thought it should have, it has one that is only 180 degrees. I verified this by taking the engine numbers & then referencing what alternator (stator) this particular engine should have. I removed the flywheel again & saw a piece of it had been broken off! The stator was actually 100% intact. So I checked it for shorts/grounds, & it checked out fine with a voltmeter. I reinstalled it & the diode assembly. I put it all back together & checked reference battery voltage (12.70) with the engine off. Then I started it up, and VOILA! I checked the battery voltage with the engine running and it was slowly creeping up past 13 volts. IT WORKED! Sold it for $400 to a local buyer...

Marty

PS - When standing these on end for storage/maintenance, THE BATTERY MUST BE REMOVED!!! I found out why the parts had corroded & fell apart - BATTERY ACID!!!

Wow, what a trade.  I always like when deals turn good with just a little TLC. 

Yep, need to remove the battery for long term storage. I know on the Snapper, you can stand it on end for hours to work on it, change blades and the like without any problems. Also it's wise to have the gas tank less than half full.

we have a new snapper in the showroom and it has a sealed battery and the gas tank has a shutoff on the gas cap.

im still scared to stand it up with the battery in it.

later chris

Chris, that how mine is, sealed battery are gas cap vent. The dealer said I can store it on end for a week at a time during the summer but for extended periods, probably should take the battery off.

well thats good,we are taking it to a home and garden show  (with a bunch of stuff ) and i think it would get a lot of attention when it is on its end.

thanks Marshall

later chris 

I agree! More than once I have had someone stop at my house as they are driving by when I have it in the driveway on it's end and inquire as to what it is. I'll take it out there to change blades or sharpen them, etc. Always get's attention like that, I've probably sold a few for the local dealer because of it, I know I sold one for him.