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Re: [Shop-talk] Lawn mower engine & blade question

To: Wayne <wmc_st@xxiii.com>
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Lawn mower engine & blade question
From: Brian Kemp <bk13@earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:55:13 -0700
Wayne - I have a similar mower purchased back in 2000 and did a similar 
thing in February (Los Angeles area with year round mowing).  On the 
first mowing of the overgrown lower portion of my yard, I had the mower 
come down on a 1 inch galvanized pipe that was holding in my railroad 
tie retaining wall.  My string trimmer was broken, so I was 'edging' 
over the wall with the mower.  The blade stopped instantly, but was only 
chipped.  After kicking around the brush to find the other pipes, I 
started the mower and it still worked.  Used it about 10 times since 
then.  When the yard starts to fill in, I'll probably need to resharpen 
the blade, but for cutting the clumps and weeds, it works fine.

I'd try what the others have said about disconnecting the spark plug and 
spinning the blade around.  If the shaft looks good, bend the blade 
close to good and see how it runs briefly.  Maybe you want to buy an 
anvil for your shop for this step.  If it works, get a new blade.  I 
don't know that I'd trust  the old blade for future mowing.  You may 
also want to check the shear pin that keys the blade mount to the motor 
shaft.  With the blade removed, you should just be able to pull the 
bracket off the end of the shaft.  I broke one of those as a kid hitting 
a piece of firewood in foot deep grass.

MTD mowers are definitely lower end, but mine had taken lots of abuse.  
The plastic gas tank has been repaired multiple times by melting new 
plastic in the seams.  It smokes bad at startup, and a valve got stuck 2 
weeks after the end of the 2 year engine warranty.  The guy at the B&S 
corporate office said it was my fault and wouldn't have been covered by 
warranty since I wasn't using a fuel stabilizer.  After being quoted 
high prices to replace the head, I just tilted it up, took off the valve 
cover, and sprayed it with carb cleaner every few hours.  Sometime 
overnight the valve got unstuck.  Put some STP in with the gas and no 
more valve problems in the 8+ years since.  I still don't use fuel 
stabilizer since I mow year round.

Unfortunately, I'm actually looking to downgrade to a corded electric 
for my new hillside house.  That gas mower is a bitch to carry up 25 
irregular railroad tie steps from the lower yard area to the back yard 
area.  It's another 33 steps up to the garage, so the mower just sits on 
the back patio.  A narrow electric will be able to fit through the door 
for under house access near the back yard and is much lighter.

Good luck,

Brian

Wayne wrote:
> Hi Guys,
> I have a simple MTD push lawn mower (that I use to mow around my shop) 
> with a B&S engine and 22" blade.  Today I nailed a small tree stump 
> with it.  Usually you just "graze" things and it somehow survives when 
> you lift off it.  Not this time.  The engine stopped instantly.  The 
> tip of the blade, about 3" back, is bent 90 degrees downward!
>
> Is there any chance I damaged the engine?  Is it ok to start it with 
> the blade off, just to see if it runs ok?  (don't know if it depends 
> on the blade as a flywheel, or needs it as a load.)
>
> -Thanks, Wayne
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