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

I purchased a used Toro 350 a week ago & when I got it home I noticed the rotors continue to rotate when I release the handle.  The weird thing is that when I pull the handle the engine seems to bog down so it seems pulling the handlebar is doing something.  Any ideas where to start?  The cable does seem very loose.

You'll need to pop off the side cover and look in there.  I'd suspect either the previous owner put a belt too small on or rigged the idler tension pulley.  The cable should be not tight, but not slack either.

Thank you, I'll pull the side off later today & see if I can figure out what's going on.

There's usually a decal on the inside showing the routing.  If it hasn't been painted over or worn away it should show easily the correct routing.  I've seen people route the belt under the little roller/bumper that flops back and bumps the brake when the handle is released.  If that's the case you would see your symptoms because the belt is getting constant tension AND the idler can't get back out of the way to give your bale cable correct slack.  The brake won't get activated either.  SPRAY  all the side cover bolts An hour or so before you work on it with PB blaster or similar, especially the little one down near the bottom.  Those little buggers love to rust up and snap off.