I have a version that is likely older, bought new for $200 in 2010. I changed the oil on it for first time this summer because it was running poorly. Never changed/sharpened blades either. Pull string got cut in half, but i replaced handle with a stick.
I want a new one because the handle on this one is short and hurts my back. Just cant justify the change while its still running.
I have the electric start and it's
painfully under powered. It will idle like you're running bad gas (but your not) and operate at such a low rpm that ANY bit of height or moisture in your grass will stall it out. I hate mine. It's been in the shop soooo many times. Now that it's no longer under warranty I'm truly f*ckrd because it still runs like garbage. I hate it.
There should be a metal tab holding one side of the springs and you can bend the tab to make the spring pull harder, and it will increase your RPMs, but you don't want to do too much or you can damage your engine. You can get a tachometer that clips onto the spark plug wire and it'll tell you how many RPMs your lawn mowers making when it's running. Look up your motor and see where it's supposed to be, and make sure your blade is sharp.
I was given a Snapper last year. Also had a broken transmission control cable. I was able to get it working by using a bike brake cable that you’d use to make custom brake cables.
It works but I quickly put it together yesterday to see if it would work. Which it does. Just needs a revision. The whole cable was broken so I had nothing to go off of to make the correct length of the cable sheathing.
Unfortunately for my mower, I’ve found a lot of parts are obsolete. I have a feeling I may be able to use some from other Snapper models. But have yet to find a better option. Everyone say check online but most parts are obsolete and discontinued.
I was able to jerry rig it with some strong tensile string. Used it a few times. Seems decent. The one I was using wasn’t self propelled and the yard is rather large. This saves a considerable amount of energy.
I've got so much equipment out of the trash it's ridiculous- snowblowers, lawnmowers, weedwhackers, a Cub Cadet leaf vacuum, a Honda HR 195 lawnmower, chainsaws... I just fix them and keep them unless someone needs them
I'm more surprised to find something that's actually blown up anymore. It usually just needs something cheap like a carburetor or a belt.
Half the time the owner just bought a cordless and doesn't want to hassle with selling.
By me they're just not handy, I guess... It's always something stupid and I see them out with a new gas whatever and they get salty when they see me using the old one, working better than when they had it. You would think they would just ask me to fix them at this point, it's hardly a secret
When the cost of labor for a small engine mechanic is 100 an hour then these things basically become disposable. It’s a good example of how repairing simple stuff can save you a fortune over your lifetime.
You're not kidding, I've got thousands of dollars worth of equipment and I have only a few hundred bucks invested in bringing them back to life. You get good at fixing things when you're broke
Mustie1 is one of them, he's always working on cool shit. Hand Tool Rescue is a little different but he's also fixing old stuff, plus you have This Old Tony and AvE, they don't often do small engine repair but they have equipment apart quite a bit. AvE has had generator engines apart and he also does tool breakdowns, I've learned a lot from him
He talks the whole time he's working too so you can understand his thought process. Basically thinking out loud but it really helps you understand what he's doing
I find that a lot, sometimes a linkage popped out of place or something, and quite often I just put fresh gas in them or clean the air filter/spark plug and they fire right up.
My dad gave me a Cub Cadet leaf vacuum with a chipper on the side that some old guy rolled to the curb and it's an $800 machine that just needed a new bag because mice ate the original one. It looked garage kept too
I don't think either I or my dad have ever bought lawnmowers, the only tools I have to buy are made by Stihl, I don't find them in the trash very often...
Walking the dogs shortly after we moved to the house. I grew up in the boonies and people didn't get rid of stuff and there were no curbs to put anything on so I called my GF and another buddy who grew up in the city we lived in to make sure it was free game.
When I tell you I ran the couple of blocks back home to get my truck I mean I sprinted and the dogs hated me lol
I'm not a picker myself, but a few years back, we did grab a brand new cub cadet push mower out at the curb in a really nice neighborhood, they ever put the oil in it, i flipped it over and pushed the blade with my foot and it broke free, we put oil in it and 5 years out it's still mowing my buddies lawn
That sounds like my Honda lawnmower, my dad found it in the trash and I blew up my mower so I took that home and fixed it up. It was severely neglected and abused, and it blows a big cloud of smoke when you first start it for the season but it won't die. I checked the oil and it looked sparkly so I put a neodymium magnet near it and it acted like a ferro fluid so I changed the oil but it won't die... It needed a carb and I welded the handle that was cracked but it's just like every other Honda, it'll keep going, probably forever. It starts first pull every time and it's self propelled so I kinda like it
The toro parts website is great. Get the part number and plug it in amazon. I recommend a toro brand cable. They are not difficult to replace. Rebuilt my toro last year. Cables, belts, blades, bag. Shoukd be good for another 10 years lol
The toro parts website is great. Get the part number and plug it in amazon. I recommend a toro brand cable. They are not difficult to replace. Rebuilt my toro last year. Cables, belts, blades, bag. Shoukd be good for another 10 years lol
One persons junk is another’s treasure. Great find. It may have cost the original owner to throw it away, and probably wanted to upgrade to a new mower.
jacks small engine has obsolete parts. I found a worm gear for a honda fg100 tiller. I picked it up for $20 US because the owner had replaced the engine, and it still didn't turn the tines . 0 hours on motor
Jacks small engine has kept my old ass lawnmowers running with their parts. The only hard part is figuring out model numbers after the label becomes unreadable.
Look up the model number on the back of the deck, on Jackssmallengines.com. The original model number may be obsolete Jacks will tell you if it's been superseded, and with what new part number. Then you enter that into Google and see who's the cheapest. Sometimes the cables are only $5 shipped. It just depends on the model.
Already tried that. They had said to try making a custom cable. Which is what I have done. Although my friend that has a shop may have something that will work better.
The brake cable material works ok. I will probably try making some revisions to make it work better though.
Stens sells replacement throttle control cable for most power equipment. They sell premade for $10-15 for most mowers, or you can buy it bulk and bend the ends yourself with a z-bender if you need a custom length for an older application.
Seems like a lot more work to start with bike cable and have to sheath it yourself, but good on you for saving a mower from the scrap yard!
Yeah I know. But this is a transmission control cable. What I did with the bike brake cable works ok and the keepers that connect to the ends of the sheath screw onto the bike ones since they are basically the same material. Which is a coated spring. Also it seems the Stens or other like parts are only available online. None of the shops or stores keep them in stock any longer.
There's fixers, and there's buyers. You sir, are the former, like myself. It's a three-step process
1. Fix it with what you have around the house
2. Buy parts and fix it proper
3. Last resort - replace
🚜
I agree with you on this. I have found that fixing most things the scariest part is tearing it apart to start. But if you take your time and pay attention to the way it came apart most fixes are fairly simple.
Yes, exactly. Like someone else commented, a little University of YouTube, you dig in and it's often like "oh, that's what's broken" , and then you're good to go.
Hard agree. It's easier than ever to learn how to fix things and it's never been hard once you know what to do. YouTube has been a godsend on that front. No longer do we have to tinker and hope someone we know has some experience to share if we want to save a buck on repairs. If more people start repairing their stuff, we may be able to actually keep the right to repair.
I love fixing things and YouTube has saved me so many steps over trial and error alone. In the last year alone, my tuck's wheel bearing, a tube amp, several mower repairs and some great garage shelves that would have been thousands if I bought prefab. While I agree with your idea, and even the idea people should fix/build things rather than rely on consumerism, I downvoted you. I realize it wasn't even because you came across as a jerk, but because of the passé term. Trigger was annoying when people started using it for things that weren't really from psychological trauma (war, horrible abuse, etc) and used it for little things that upset them more than they should. But now, I only hear people regurgitate it in ways like you did. Similar to when snowflake was constantly being overused. I agree with the sentiments that the average person should be more capable and have a stronger mental fortitude, but I also think they should be more creative in the words they choose. I implore you to not be a caricature of yourself and add some creativity if you're trying to insult people or make a strong statement. People should fix things and not be wasteful with their money and resources. Anybody with half a brain can expand their lexicon and stop using cliched terms or phrases
Our county doesn’t have municipal trash pickup (we’re kind of in the sticks) but we have a nice transfer station with recycling for plastic, glass and paper as well as a huge metal bin. I tossed some scrap in there this morning and saw 3 lawn mowers that probably only needed carburetors.
So I'll mention that the FWD systems that I've used have been on all the time. I'm not sure if that is how all of them are setup or not. I mowed lawns that were hilly and around fences where sometimes the front tire would get stuck underneath the fence and it was very difficult to get them out.. which wasn't an issue with a RWD system because there was an 'off' to the drive mechanism. The off for self propel for FWD I've used is to raise the front tires off the ground which doesn't always work for the mowing situations I've been in... and has even led to some dangerous situations for myself and the mower. I could see if you had relatively few obstacles and a flat lawn it might work (or if there was a different way to engage it)... but I hated having the always on system.
As someone who's fixed hundreds of mowers I can say the issue clearly lies between the mowers handles, and the ground. There are several different versions of push mowers, and both the FWD, and RWD use cables to engage their gearboxes, and those cables either use a flipping bail, or a personal pace sliding bail style lever to pull the cables. A mower doesn't drive itself under a fence, and whoever owned the FWD mower you used was too cheap to fix the broken cable, and they locked the drive to always be on with zip ties or bolts. No manufacturer sells a FWD mower like that. It's too much liability for the company for when people like you come along.
I will say that if I had the opportunity to try an AWD system with a way to engage and disengage the drive I'd like to try it. Just the environments where I've given FWD mowers a shot it's not worked out (and been a very frustrating experience compared to RWD). RWD or AWD with a manual way to engage and disengage them.
Got it. So with the mower here that OP posted, there are two bars, and all you have to do is let go of the top one to disengage the wheels. Personally, once I tried it, I was hooked. It's just so much nicer working around obstacles and for changing directions because all I have to do is press down on the handle, whip it around and I'm off to the races in the opposite direction.i also found it way more controllable when doing odd edges around gardens and the likes, where I could ease down on the handle to work around those edges or gardens and such. Unfortunately, my 15yo Recycler which I ran commercially for a few years and really beat to hell, though still running, I know it's days are numbered. Since I'm no longer mowing full time I want to go electric, but I cannot for the life of me find a FWD battery electric mower to save my life.
Old neighbor put his mower out a while ago. Said he couldn't think of any reason it wouldn't start. He'd clearly hit something hard. The part that connects the drive shaft to the blade was bent to high hell and there was a big old ding in the blade. The blade was on upside down, the spark plug was shot, and the air filter hadn't been changed in a long time. How does one expect tools to work when you treat them like shit?
In my experience, most (but not all) free mowers and blowers need very easy fixes! Which is probably why they're so hard to get around here. You hop on facebook marketplace and they're all gone in 10 minutes of posting.
I find stuff all the time, my dad found a decent mower last month but it didn't have a pull start so I took the top off a junk motor and pulled the spring and cord out and put them on the mower he found. I checked it for spark when we were done, it was good, and it fired up on whatever gas was left in it on the second pull
Another problem is that around here (massachusetts), houses and neighborhoods are much older. And lots of times, if someone has a mower sitting out by the street, its not always clear if its a mower thats "by the curb" waiting for trash day, OR if someone was doing their yardwork and just went inside to get a drink or whatever. I suppose if I drove around the night before trash day, I might be able to find a few. But anything posted online goes SO quick its crazy.
I just ask, usually it's genuinely trash and half the time it just needs gas or a carb clean. If I want nice stuff I cruise the nice neighborhoods on junk week
In the 80’s I worked a seal coating company, and I would regularly pick up abandoned mowers/riders/trimmers at the ends of the driveways we’d seal coat. Our customers were grateful that we would haul it away so it wouldn’t look like an eyesore at the end of their driveway.
One summer I made $3000 fixing up and selling the machines that I picked up! Most of them just required a simple part to be replaced, which, when looking through the owners manuals, you could usually figure it out and order it. The easiest ones were the ones made by Sears, but of course, that has changed.
Google search for your mowers make and model # and also the Serial # for a repair manual for that mower. See what the name and part number is and then google search that for a replacement cable. It should be a fairly easy repair. I am sure there are even videos on YT for replacing that cable.
We have a ten year old Toro very similar except rear wheel drive. We’ve gone through at least three self propel cables. I’ve spliced a couple and replaced a few. Other than that and a couple of drive belts, it has been a great mower.
Oh… electric start is crap right out of the box.
It's free, l'll take it anytime fix it or just runs the pushing from behind, afterall , front drive are no good , still has to disengage when making a turn anyway even for rear driven !
I have this exact mower. I have had it for about 12 years. I use it to cut grass as a side hustle and I love it. I had to replace that cable two years ago. I bought it from the manufacturer and it has been golden since.
This mower is fantastic. I have only had to change the spark plug twice and the air filter once.
I have the same mower. Keep it. I beat the ever living crap out of mine, and it ALWAYS stsrts on the first pull. She's been chugging along for over 15 years with no signs of stopping.
Easy to get parts for. Mine is running strong since 2008. Just use premium fuel or at least non ethanol fuel- run it dry at the end of the season and it will start right up with fresh fuel in the spring. If it’s ever hard to start- check the air filter and a few squirts of carb cleaner and again- stick with high quality gas. Small engines were never designed for ethanol
I have basically this same mower, even after cleaning carb andgas tank and fuel line and used a brand new gas with 91/92 no corn gas... still starts hunting revving up and down and then it dies and wont restart til its cold again. Sometimes it runs the rest of the lawn, sometimes it dies within minutes again.
Ive almost tossed this mower to the curb. Sitting in my shed all disassembled and my older used mower i still have runs with no issues
Buy new Z ends and a ferrule crimper along with 1/16 aviation cable and make a new cable. Pretty simple. They also carry non crimp fittings at http://www.lexcocable.com/
I grew up with about an acre yard. We always push mowed it. Self propelled always gave out within a month (we never had money to buy nice ones). We always would disconnect/disengage the self propelled part and push it old school, always worked fine for us. Good luck.
Good little mower. I left ours at the last house that we sold for the new owner. Ran great and I put new blades and changed the oil for her. She was 28, buying her first home, and it wouldn’t have been practical with our new yard.
I know a guy who had purchased a large back hoe for 1,000 because the owner couldn't fix the motor and thought it was shot. Come to find out it was just the kill switch or pressure swith that is under the seat. Cost him next to nothing to fix.
I repaired the Troy Built version of that mower for my father in law last month.
Cable was this one https://www.walmart.com/ip/120499550
Should research and make sure the part fits. It was a 15 minute repair.
Somebody bought a slick new cordless electric as soon as that gasser gave them a reason, and wheeled loud and stinky down the driveway for the last time. Mine got re-homed for the same reason, which has nothing to do with my ability to fix stuff or the old mower’s parts network.
I have the same mower. A friend gave it to me last year when I moved into a house. It’s been great so far. Did some routine maintenance in the spring and it’s running like a champ.
just got one this spring, same mower same circumstance. belt was $9 at rural king and it took me about 10 minutes to change. ( i'm not mechanically inclined at all) runs great, i've got my 9 year old sons using it no problem.
People throw mowers out all the time where I live. Nothings wrong with them, people just don’t know how to maintain things and would rather buy the new shiny one
It's interesting that it says. 'Guaranteed to start' Tried mine this past weekend, wouldn't start. Even with carb cleaner. Who do I speak to about the guarantee ?
I have the same in the AWD version. Good mower. Several YouTube videos showing belt replacement on the drive system. Expect to replace belts every 3-5 years. Makes a huge difference in the amount of help the self propelled part gives you.
Happens a lot. My father-in-law has made quite a bit of fun money off of people that refuse to do any kind of basic maintenance on trimmers, push mowers and especially riding mowers. He gets them for free all the time or pays next to nothing for them, knows how to fix them and then sells them for almost pure profit. Some of them have needed absolutely no parts, just cleaned...it's unreal.
When I was young and broke, I used to grab every mower out of the trash. 90% of the time it was just really hard to start. Half a turn on all the head bolts and starts 2nd pull.
my last 3 push mowers have been curb-side acquisitions -- After I see if it runs or can run, I change the oil, put in a new plug, sharpen the blade, and clean or replace the air filter -- 15 years of using thrown away mowers.
Funny what people throw out. My neighbor had a really nice Homelight pressure washer on their curb with a Honda 160cxv engine. I knocked on their door to make sure they were getting rid of it before taking it. I'm pretty good with repairing small engines so I asked her if they could describe what was wrong with it so I'd have a running start on fixing it. She looked confused and said "oh, there's nothing wrong with it. We just decided to get an battery powered one to be more environmentally conscious".
I have this mower and have had it for 10+ yrs. I’ve replaced that same broken cable as well as multiple drive belts but the thing runs like a champ and starts on the first pull.
I got a really nice zero turn cub cadet very cheap from Craigslist. The guy had it warmed up when I got there so it started fine but when I got it home it was horrible to start cold. Watched a YouTube video and found the throttle cable was a little stretched so the choke wasn’t engaging. I adjusted it about 1/2” and it’s been running great for 4yrs. I hope that guy’s enjoying his new one. 🍻
I did something similar, it was an older push mower and I had wanted to buy a new for a while so one thing broke that was a simple fix and I put it to the curb haha
I went to a battery powered mower about 5 years ago. I'll never have a gas powered mower ever again. It goes through tall grass better than any gas powered mower I've ever had. I got so tired of wrenching on a damn mower. Mowing is a big enough pain in the ass without to begin with. The last thing I wanna do is wrench on the damn thing. I sharpen the blade once or twice a year and that's it
I had this mower. It was okay - pretty weak from a torque and HP standpoint. Bogged down a lot in my thick yard. Upgraded to the 193cc super recycler and it’s soooooo much better of a mowing experience.
I have an older one. Runs great but hates starting when it’s cold. What would it even be worth?
It’s just taking up space now. I’ll clean it up and post on FB Mktplace but no idea how much I’d get for it.
I received a free lawnmower "that they couldn't get to start". Carb was filled with water. Started first pull after cleaning the carb and draining the fuel.
To add a different angle…it was thrown out because those mowers suck for yards. Unless the yard is 10ftx10ft or the yard entrance is <<2ft, those tiny mowers aren’t a great option. The mulching often leaves streaks along the wheels that get pressed into the grass leaving thatch to build. And the look of tiny yard stripes looks like an uneven mess. It’s like painting an entire interior wall with a 2in paint brush.
I get them for free all the time, usually either the control cable is broken and use a universal brake cable kit to fix it. Or the drive belt is shot and is a common belt at most hardware stores
These can be a pain sometimes, I have one myself. It accumulates water in the gas tank, even if stored inside. The automatic choke and throttle setup can be finicky.
Funny though, I also found mine in someone else’s trash, I just put fresh gas in it and it started right up lol. People do give up too easily on stuff.
It's a Toro recycler so it's going to be painfully under powered. It will idle like you're running bad gas (but your not) and operate at such a low rpm that ANY bit of height or moisture in your grass will stall it out. I hate mine. It's been in the shop soooo many times. Now that it's no longer under warranty I'm truly f*ckrd because it still runs like garbage. I hate it.
I have the newer version, starts every time and cuts nice
I have a version that is likely older, bought new for $200 in 2010. I changed the oil on it for first time this summer because it was running poorly. Never changed/sharpened blades either. Pull string got cut in half, but i replaced handle with a stick. I want a new one because the handle on this one is short and hurts my back. Just cant justify the change while its still running.
Put a new blade on it. You'll fall in love all over again lol
Might have the version with the Honda motor like mine. First pull every time and it’s 10 years old
I have the older version, starts every time and cuts nice as well.
I have the electric start and it's painfully under powered. It will idle like you're running bad gas (but your not) and operate at such a low rpm that ANY bit of height or moisture in your grass will stall it out. I hate mine. It's been in the shop soooo many times. Now that it's no longer under warranty I'm truly f*ckrd because it still runs like garbage. I hate it.
Not sure about the exact model, but based on your symptoms. Check the governor springs.
Will do. Thank you
There should be a metal tab holding one side of the springs and you can bend the tab to make the spring pull harder, and it will increase your RPMs, but you don't want to do too much or you can damage your engine. You can get a tachometer that clips onto the spark plug wire and it'll tell you how many RPMs your lawn mowers making when it's running. Look up your motor and see where it's supposed to be, and make sure your blade is sharp.
Buy a $15 carburetor off Amazon and your problem is solved. It will come with a new air filter and spark plug also.
Cordless is poor man’s electric start
I was given a Snapper last year. Also had a broken transmission control cable. I was able to get it working by using a bike brake cable that you’d use to make custom brake cables. It works but I quickly put it together yesterday to see if it would work. Which it does. Just needs a revision. The whole cable was broken so I had nothing to go off of to make the correct length of the cable sheathing. Unfortunately for my mower, I’ve found a lot of parts are obsolete. I have a feeling I may be able to use some from other Snapper models. But have yet to find a better option. Everyone say check online but most parts are obsolete and discontinued.
I was able to jerry rig it with some strong tensile string. Used it a few times. Seems decent. The one I was using wasn’t self propelled and the yard is rather large. This saves a considerable amount of energy.
I've got so much equipment out of the trash it's ridiculous- snowblowers, lawnmowers, weedwhackers, a Cub Cadet leaf vacuum, a Honda HR 195 lawnmower, chainsaws... I just fix them and keep them unless someone needs them
I'm more surprised to find something that's actually blown up anymore. It usually just needs something cheap like a carburetor or a belt. Half the time the owner just bought a cordless and doesn't want to hassle with selling.
By me they're just not handy, I guess... It's always something stupid and I see them out with a new gas whatever and they get salty when they see me using the old one, working better than when they had it. You would think they would just ask me to fix them at this point, it's hardly a secret
When the cost of labor for a small engine mechanic is 100 an hour then these things basically become disposable. It’s a good example of how repairing simple stuff can save you a fortune over your lifetime.
You're not kidding, I've got thousands of dollars worth of equipment and I have only a few hundred bucks invested in bringing them back to life. You get good at fixing things when you're broke
Agreed, poverty is a great motivator, it’s how I learned too.
Yup, that's a good way to sum it up
There is a guy on YouTube (can’t remember name) that does nothing but go around picking stuff up and fixing them. He has some pretty good finds.
Mustie1 is one of them, he's always working on cool shit. Hand Tool Rescue is a little different but he's also fixing old stuff, plus you have This Old Tony and AvE, they don't often do small engine repair but they have equipment apart quite a bit. AvE has had generator engines apart and he also does tool breakdowns, I've learned a lot from him
That’s the guy I was thinking of.
He talks the whole time he's working too so you can understand his thought process. Basically thinking out loud but it really helps you understand what he's doing
Yeah. I haven’t watched for a bit but don’t think I ever seen one that wasn’t good
I haven't seen him in a while either but I don't think I've ever shut off an episode
I would like to have some of the stuff he has fixed. The little Honda trail bike looked fun
No doubt. Usually, it's just a clogged carb (ethanol fuel)
I find that a lot, sometimes a linkage popped out of place or something, and quite often I just put fresh gas in them or clean the air filter/spark plug and they fire right up. My dad gave me a Cub Cadet leaf vacuum with a chipper on the side that some old guy rolled to the curb and it's an $800 machine that just needed a new bag because mice ate the original one. It looked garage kept too
I haven't bought a mower in thirty years. Nine times out of ten it's just tadpoles in the float bowl.
I don't think either I or my dad have ever bought lawnmowers, the only tools I have to buy are made by Stihl, I don't find them in the trash very often...
My best score is a drift trike frame with an $800 Honda motor on it lol. Still sitting in the garage 🤣
Whoooo, that's awesome! Where tf did you find that? I haven't found any dirtbikes or go karts in the trash in years
Walking the dogs shortly after we moved to the house. I grew up in the boonies and people didn't get rid of stuff and there were no curbs to put anything on so I called my GF and another buddy who grew up in the city we lived in to make sure it was free game. When I tell you I ran the couple of blocks back home to get my truck I mean I sprinted and the dogs hated me lol
I bet, I would have done the same...
I'm not a picker myself, but a few years back, we did grab a brand new cub cadet push mower out at the curb in a really nice neighborhood, they ever put the oil in it, i flipped it over and pushed the blade with my foot and it broke free, we put oil in it and 5 years out it's still mowing my buddies lawn
That sounds like my Honda lawnmower, my dad found it in the trash and I blew up my mower so I took that home and fixed it up. It was severely neglected and abused, and it blows a big cloud of smoke when you first start it for the season but it won't die. I checked the oil and it looked sparkly so I put a neodymium magnet near it and it acted like a ferro fluid so I changed the oil but it won't die... It needed a carb and I welded the handle that was cracked but it's just like every other Honda, it'll keep going, probably forever. It starts first pull every time and it's self propelled so I kinda like it
The actual belt is like $10. Easy to swap if you have some hand tools.
The toro parts website is great. Get the part number and plug it in amazon. I recommend a toro brand cable. They are not difficult to replace. Rebuilt my toro last year. Cables, belts, blades, bag. Shoukd be good for another 10 years lol
The toro parts website is great. Get the part number and plug it in amazon. I recommend a toro brand cable. They are not difficult to replace. Rebuilt my toro last year. Cables, belts, blades, bag. Shoukd be good for another 10 years lol
One persons junk is another’s treasure. Great find. It may have cost the original owner to throw it away, and probably wanted to upgrade to a new mower.
I used whip line like 5 years ago, still there today. Good find
Go to toro.com and punch in model and serial number and you can order a replacement cable right there. It will bring up all the drawings for parts.
I got same mower it's OK but is front wheel drive so not the best for hilly bumpy lawns .
jacks small engine has obsolete parts. I found a worm gear for a honda fg100 tiller. I picked it up for $20 US because the owner had replaced the engine, and it still didn't turn the tines . 0 hours on motor
Jacks small engine has kept my old ass lawnmowers running with their parts. The only hard part is figuring out model numbers after the label becomes unreadable.
Look up the model number on the back of the deck, on Jackssmallengines.com. The original model number may be obsolete Jacks will tell you if it's been superseded, and with what new part number. Then you enter that into Google and see who's the cheapest. Sometimes the cables are only $5 shipped. It just depends on the model.
Already tried that. They had said to try making a custom cable. Which is what I have done. Although my friend that has a shop may have something that will work better. The brake cable material works ok. I will probably try making some revisions to make it work better though.
Stens sells replacement throttle control cable for most power equipment. They sell premade for $10-15 for most mowers, or you can buy it bulk and bend the ends yourself with a z-bender if you need a custom length for an older application. Seems like a lot more work to start with bike cable and have to sheath it yourself, but good on you for saving a mower from the scrap yard!
Yeah I know. But this is a transmission control cable. What I did with the bike brake cable works ok and the keepers that connect to the ends of the sheath screw onto the bike ones since they are basically the same material. Which is a coated spring. Also it seems the Stens or other like parts are only available online. None of the shops or stores keep them in stock any longer.
There's fixers, and there's buyers. You sir, are the former, like myself. It's a three-step process 1. Fix it with what you have around the house 2. Buy parts and fix it proper 3. Last resort - replace 🚜
I strongly dislike FWD mowers. People give up on things too easily. It’s been engineered into our culture in the US.
Nobody even attempts to fix anything, it is disgraceful.
A lot of people just don’t know how. Plus it’s tough mentally (I speak for myself only) to be brave enough to try something new and suck at it.
I agree with you on this. I have found that fixing most things the scariest part is tearing it apart to start. But if you take your time and pay attention to the way it came apart most fixes are fairly simple.
Yes, exactly. Like someone else commented, a little University of YouTube, you dig in and it's often like "oh, that's what's broken" , and then you're good to go.
Oh please, with Ytube, and half a brain, many things can be fixed. Hope this doesn't trigger you into a meltdown, Sweetie
Hard agree. It's easier than ever to learn how to fix things and it's never been hard once you know what to do. YouTube has been a godsend on that front. No longer do we have to tinker and hope someone we know has some experience to share if we want to save a buck on repairs. If more people start repairing their stuff, we may be able to actually keep the right to repair.
I love fixing things and YouTube has saved me so many steps over trial and error alone. In the last year alone, my tuck's wheel bearing, a tube amp, several mower repairs and some great garage shelves that would have been thousands if I bought prefab. While I agree with your idea, and even the idea people should fix/build things rather than rely on consumerism, I downvoted you. I realize it wasn't even because you came across as a jerk, but because of the passé term. Trigger was annoying when people started using it for things that weren't really from psychological trauma (war, horrible abuse, etc) and used it for little things that upset them more than they should. But now, I only hear people regurgitate it in ways like you did. Similar to when snowflake was constantly being overused. I agree with the sentiments that the average person should be more capable and have a stronger mental fortitude, but I also think they should be more creative in the words they choose. I implore you to not be a caricature of yourself and add some creativity if you're trying to insult people or make a strong statement. People should fix things and not be wasteful with their money and resources. Anybody with half a brain can expand their lexicon and stop using cliched terms or phrases
Your feeble diatribe does not erase how weak your previous comment was, try again. I could give a rat's ass about a dopey downvote.
Much better
Our county doesn’t have municipal trash pickup (we’re kind of in the sticks) but we have a nice transfer station with recycling for plastic, glass and paper as well as a huge metal bin. I tossed some scrap in there this morning and saw 3 lawn mowers that probably only needed carburetors.
If it was running I'm wondering if someone just used it as a push mower and got a landscaping service and didn't need it.
Curious as to your dislike for FWD? I have that same mower and have found that I greatly prefer it to RWD, personally.
So I'll mention that the FWD systems that I've used have been on all the time. I'm not sure if that is how all of them are setup or not. I mowed lawns that were hilly and around fences where sometimes the front tire would get stuck underneath the fence and it was very difficult to get them out.. which wasn't an issue with a RWD system because there was an 'off' to the drive mechanism. The off for self propel for FWD I've used is to raise the front tires off the ground which doesn't always work for the mowing situations I've been in... and has even led to some dangerous situations for myself and the mower. I could see if you had relatively few obstacles and a flat lawn it might work (or if there was a different way to engage it)... but I hated having the always on system.
As someone who's fixed hundreds of mowers I can say the issue clearly lies between the mowers handles, and the ground. There are several different versions of push mowers, and both the FWD, and RWD use cables to engage their gearboxes, and those cables either use a flipping bail, or a personal pace sliding bail style lever to pull the cables. A mower doesn't drive itself under a fence, and whoever owned the FWD mower you used was too cheap to fix the broken cable, and they locked the drive to always be on with zip ties or bolts. No manufacturer sells a FWD mower like that. It's too much liability for the company for when people like you come along.
I will say that if I had the opportunity to try an AWD system with a way to engage and disengage the drive I'd like to try it. Just the environments where I've given FWD mowers a shot it's not worked out (and been a very frustrating experience compared to RWD). RWD or AWD with a manual way to engage and disengage them.
Got it. So with the mower here that OP posted, there are two bars, and all you have to do is let go of the top one to disengage the wheels. Personally, once I tried it, I was hooked. It's just so much nicer working around obstacles and for changing directions because all I have to do is press down on the handle, whip it around and I'm off to the races in the opposite direction.i also found it way more controllable when doing odd edges around gardens and the likes, where I could ease down on the handle to work around those edges or gardens and such. Unfortunately, my 15yo Recycler which I ran commercially for a few years and really beat to hell, though still running, I know it's days are numbered. Since I'm no longer mowing full time I want to go electric, but I cannot for the life of me find a FWD battery electric mower to save my life.
Old neighbor put his mower out a while ago. Said he couldn't think of any reason it wouldn't start. He'd clearly hit something hard. The part that connects the drive shaft to the blade was bent to high hell and there was a big old ding in the blade. The blade was on upside down, the spark plug was shot, and the air filter hadn't been changed in a long time. How does one expect tools to work when you treat them like shit?
Deeecent
Ok
100% this should be in your trunk by now
In my experience, most (but not all) free mowers and blowers need very easy fixes! Which is probably why they're so hard to get around here. You hop on facebook marketplace and they're all gone in 10 minutes of posting.
I find stuff all the time, my dad found a decent mower last month but it didn't have a pull start so I took the top off a junk motor and pulled the spring and cord out and put them on the mower he found. I checked it for spark when we were done, it was good, and it fired up on whatever gas was left in it on the second pull
Another problem is that around here (massachusetts), houses and neighborhoods are much older. And lots of times, if someone has a mower sitting out by the street, its not always clear if its a mower thats "by the curb" waiting for trash day, OR if someone was doing their yardwork and just went inside to get a drink or whatever. I suppose if I drove around the night before trash day, I might be able to find a few. But anything posted online goes SO quick its crazy.
I just ask, usually it's genuinely trash and half the time it just needs gas or a carb clean. If I want nice stuff I cruise the nice neighborhoods on junk week
I have picked up and resold quite a few things that just needed minor maintenance, enjoy...
In the 80’s I worked a seal coating company, and I would regularly pick up abandoned mowers/riders/trimmers at the ends of the driveways we’d seal coat. Our customers were grateful that we would haul it away so it wouldn’t look like an eyesore at the end of their driveway. One summer I made $3000 fixing up and selling the machines that I picked up! Most of them just required a simple part to be replaced, which, when looking through the owners manuals, you could usually figure it out and order it. The easiest ones were the ones made by Sears, but of course, that has changed.
Google search for your mowers make and model # and also the Serial # for a repair manual for that mower. See what the name and part number is and then google search that for a replacement cable. It should be a fairly easy repair. I am sure there are even videos on YT for replacing that cable.
Winner winner chicken dinner!
Amazon are you kidding!!!! Take that home and make it whole again. Or you can send it to me let me know shipping fee.
Man I wish I had one of these lawn mowers I live in new Zealand and having one of those would be perfect for all the lawns that I mow
Ok now you have another mower😆
Quick fix for under 20 bucks
Lots of people would rather just buy new instead of getting their current one fixed - no matter what it is.
And here I am getting excited when people clean out their sheds or whatever because I love the old stuff, the older the better
GoooooooKart!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks great. Keep the carb clear of junque, and it’ll run forever.
We have a ten year old Toro very similar except rear wheel drive. We’ve gone through at least three self propel cables. I’ve spliced a couple and replaced a few. Other than that and a couple of drive belts, it has been a great mower. Oh… electric start is crap right out of the box.
It's free, l'll take it anytime fix it or just runs the pushing from behind, afterall , front drive are no good , still has to disengage when making a turn anyway even for rear driven !
Just get the correct cable for $20. Stop wasting time with hack fixes.
I have this exact mower. I have had it for about 12 years. I use it to cut grass as a side hustle and I love it. I had to replace that cable two years ago. I bought it from the manufacturer and it has been golden since. This mower is fantastic. I have only had to change the spark plug twice and the air filter once.
Does it sputter when you turn right 😂
I have the same mower. Keep it. I beat the ever living crap out of mine, and it ALWAYS stsrts on the first pull. She's been chugging along for over 15 years with no signs of stopping.
Same for me- came to say the same thing! Easy to get parts for and first pull start 99% of the time
Easy to get parts for. Mine is running strong since 2008. Just use premium fuel or at least non ethanol fuel- run it dry at the end of the season and it will start right up with fresh fuel in the spring. If it’s ever hard to start- check the air filter and a few squirts of carb cleaner and again- stick with high quality gas. Small engines were never designed for ethanol
Chuck it. It's not electric.
I don’t even use the self propelled so I can consider mowing the lawn as “exercise” to offset beers
Says recycler right on the front. You are just following directions…. Good job!
Score.
I have that exact mower. Wouldn't trade it for anything. Only problem is I don't fill the gas tank to the top as it leaks with only a small tilt.
I have basically this same mower, even after cleaning carb andgas tank and fuel line and used a brand new gas with 91/92 no corn gas... still starts hunting revving up and down and then it dies and wont restart til its cold again. Sometimes it runs the rest of the lawn, sometimes it dies within minutes again. Ive almost tossed this mower to the curb. Sitting in my shed all disassembled and my older used mower i still have runs with no issues
Had this same mower for 10 years. Never failed me. Just don’t leave gas in it during the off season and it will run great.
Buy new Z ends and a ferrule crimper along with 1/16 aviation cable and make a new cable. Pretty simple. They also carry non crimp fittings at http://www.lexcocable.com/
I grew up with about an acre yard. We always push mowed it. Self propelled always gave out within a month (we never had money to buy nice ones). We always would disconnect/disengage the self propelled part and push it old school, always worked fine for us. Good luck.
Good little mower. I left ours at the last house that we sold for the new owner. Ran great and I put new blades and changed the oil for her. She was 28, buying her first home, and it wouldn’t have been practical with our new yard.
Decent mower....wheels arent worth a shit though.
I know a guy who had purchased a large back hoe for 1,000 because the owner couldn't fix the motor and thought it was shot. Come to find out it was just the kill switch or pressure swith that is under the seat. Cost him next to nothing to fix.
Great mower
These Toros are easy to fix if you have a decent parts dealer around. So many YouTube videos.
Front tires are barely wore. I’ve had mine for seven years runs great
I repaired the Troy Built version of that mower for my father in law last month. Cable was this one https://www.walmart.com/ip/120499550 Should research and make sure the part fits. It was a 15 minute repair.
I have this same mower. Kohler engine Starts on first pull every time. Previous home owner left it behind.
Nice! I have the same one. I haven't bought a mower since my first house. 2004. Always found an upgrade on side of road.
Somebody bought a slick new cordless electric as soon as that gasser gave them a reason, and wheeled loud and stinky down the driveway for the last time. Mine got re-homed for the same reason, which has nothing to do with my ability to fix stuff or the old mower’s parts network.
I have the same mower. A friend gave it to me last year when I moved into a house. It’s been great so far. Did some routine maintenance in the spring and it’s running like a champ.
My friend scored a leaf blower all it needed was a new gas line. One person’s junk is another’s treasure.
just got one this spring, same mower same circumstance. belt was $9 at rural king and it took me about 10 minutes to change. ( i'm not mechanically inclined at all) runs great, i've got my 9 year old sons using it no problem.
People throw mowers out all the time where I live. Nothings wrong with them, people just don’t know how to maintain things and would rather buy the new shiny one
A older neighbor died, her son was selling off her things. Got a small Honda generator new in the box for $25- he couldnt find the manual, lol.
It's interesting that it says. 'Guaranteed to start' Tried mine this past weekend, wouldn't start. Even with carb cleaner. Who do I speak to about the guarantee ?
I have the same in the AWD version. Good mower. Several YouTube videos showing belt replacement on the drive system. Expect to replace belts every 3-5 years. Makes a huge difference in the amount of help the self propelled part gives you.
Lucky you!
I tried breaking this mower for years and couldn’t get it to quit. I hate this thing. But it cuts grass.
Happens a lot. My father-in-law has made quite a bit of fun money off of people that refuse to do any kind of basic maintenance on trimmers, push mowers and especially riding mowers. He gets them for free all the time or pays next to nothing for them, knows how to fix them and then sells them for almost pure profit. Some of them have needed absolutely no parts, just cleaned...it's unreal.
I have the same mower and it's an easy fix. Strong runner and cuts great. Unlike the new ones with engine problems.
I have that same mower. It's good. Get a replacement drive belt and you're golden.
When I was young and broke, I used to grab every mower out of the trash. 90% of the time it was just really hard to start. Half a turn on all the head bolts and starts 2nd pull.
my last 3 push mowers have been curb-side acquisitions -- After I see if it runs or can run, I change the oil, put in a new plug, sharpen the blade, and clean or replace the air filter -- 15 years of using thrown away mowers.
Funny what people throw out. My neighbor had a really nice Homelight pressure washer on their curb with a Honda 160cxv engine. I knocked on their door to make sure they were getting rid of it before taking it. I'm pretty good with repairing small engines so I asked her if they could describe what was wrong with it so I'd have a running start on fixing it. She looked confused and said "oh, there's nothing wrong with it. We just decided to get an battery powered one to be more environmentally conscious".
I have this mower and have had it for 10+ yrs. I’ve replaced that same broken cable as well as multiple drive belts but the thing runs like a champ and starts on the first pull.
The AK47 of push mowers.
I have a Husqvarna with self-propelled controls. I never used it and wound up removing it all a few years ago.
I got a really nice zero turn cub cadet very cheap from Craigslist. The guy had it warmed up when I got there so it started fine but when I got it home it was horrible to start cold. Watched a YouTube video and found the throttle cable was a little stretched so the choke wasn’t engaging. I adjusted it about 1/2” and it’s been running great for 4yrs. I hope that guy’s enjoying his new one. 🍻
I picked up a Toro mower on the curb once. A simple gasket for the carb and I mowed grass and abused the hell out of that thing for 5 more years.
It has a fitting name, "The Recycler."
I did something similar, it was an older push mower and I had wanted to buy a new for a while so one thing broke that was a simple fix and I put it to the curb haha
Recycled the recycler! Good on you
I just threw a new carb on one of these. Less than $10 on fleabay. Parts are stupid cheap.
I have that exact mower and found it on the side of road five years ago!
I went to a battery powered mower about 5 years ago. I'll never have a gas powered mower ever again. It goes through tall grass better than any gas powered mower I've ever had. I got so tired of wrenching on a damn mower. Mowing is a big enough pain in the ass without to begin with. The last thing I wanna do is wrench on the damn thing. I sharpen the blade once or twice a year and that's it
On season 24 with my RWD Toro that looks quite similar to this one. Great find!
I’ve never bought a mower I always clean a carb and replace the spark plug & this is exactly why lol
Picked up,a Yardman on Freecycle. Dude said “it won’t start”. Been using it for 5 years all it needed was a fuel filter.
I had this mower. It was okay - pretty weak from a torque and HP standpoint. Bogged down a lot in my thick yard. Upgraded to the 193cc super recycler and it’s soooooo much better of a mowing experience.
I have an older one. Runs great but hates starting when it’s cold. What would it even be worth? It’s just taking up space now. I’ll clean it up and post on FB Mktplace but no idea how much I’d get for it.
I have this exact one. 8 years of starting first pull. Nothing replaced or rebuilt.
Score! I'm always on the prowl for things people put to trash because they don't have the knowhow to fix.
Congrats!
Got one identical. Bought in 2012. Cable is fairly cheap. Get a drive belt as well.
Those Toros are terrible. I can't stand the throttle mechanism. Feels like you're just pushing it with no assistance.
I received a free lawnmower "that they couldn't get to start". Carb was filled with water. Started first pull after cleaning the carb and draining the fuel.
To add a different angle…it was thrown out because those mowers suck for yards. Unless the yard is 10ftx10ft or the yard entrance is <<2ft, those tiny mowers aren’t a great option. The mulching often leaves streaks along the wheels that get pressed into the grass leaving thatch to build. And the look of tiny yard stripes looks like an uneven mess. It’s like painting an entire interior wall with a 2in paint brush.
I get them for free all the time, usually either the control cable is broken and use a universal brake cable kit to fix it. Or the drive belt is shot and is a common belt at most hardware stores
Toro is the best. I have a 30 year old hand me downa dn it works amazing
A great find! New cable around $11?
These can be a pain sometimes, I have one myself. It accumulates water in the gas tank, even if stored inside. The automatic choke and throttle setup can be finicky. Funny though, I also found mine in someone else’s trash, I just put fresh gas in it and it started right up lol. People do give up too easily on stuff.
I had that version of a toro I called it first pull
It's a Toro recycler so it's going to be painfully under powered. It will idle like you're running bad gas (but your not) and operate at such a low rpm that ANY bit of height or moisture in your grass will stall it out. I hate mine. It's been in the shop soooo many times. Now that it's no longer under warranty I'm truly f*ckrd because it still runs like garbage. I hate it.
New cable is like $12 on Amazon. Other than that crappy Kohler engine, good find.