GardenKit

But to be competely fair, the pump 'membrane' is correctly referred to as the 'pump diaphragm' As opposed to the other one on the other side of the carb which is the 'metering diaphragm'

The Yardman was done this morning with no major parts required this time. Next up was another MTD, this time a Pinto. Horrible little things with a variable belt transmission which only works properly with new belts. When the belts start to wear the transmission becomes slippy and noisy. This one had worn belts so a new set of transmission belts and deck belts on the way at over £100. This will be an expensive service on a cheap mower. The owner regretted buying it shortly after he purchased it in 2005. Next up was an ALKO lawn tractor, which was just about done before hometime, will post some pics tomorrow. Then a callout on the way home to a Stiga that would not start. The fuel pump would not prime, but after a quick suck and a mouthful of tesco's finest it was away. It will probably need a new pump shortly. Now sitting at the PC with the occasional unleaded Burp.

I use Jizer in aerosols. Its convenient to keep under the bench and quick to use. I spray it over oily carbs etc and then blast off with airline. It seems pretty safe.

To be honest Rich, I do not think there is a best way to tackle the underside of decks. Ideally they would be sandblasted and painted but the cost of this is prohibitive on a service. I used to spend hours with a rotary wire brush and then paint, but as it was impossible to get rid of all the rust I found the next year that even worse rusting had occurred under the paint, which then came off in thick flakes. So for the last 8 years or so i pressure wash, dry, wire brush and then treat with black waxoyl. The anti corrosive additives penetrate the rust, and whilst not killing it, I do think it slows it down. The black waxoyl does wear off slowly during use throughout the year but does not leave evidence on the grass.

Next was the slightly lower spec X155R, still an excellent 42" rear collect but not quite as heavily built as the X300. It sports a twin cylinder B&S Intek engine and a conventional 2 bladed deck, but the interesting thing about this deck is that each blade is driven by its own belt. This results in better power transmission and less slip, therefore less wear. Again, it was a standard service with no repairs needed. Not so sure about the next on though, suddenly the though of a Sunday afternoon at home seems appealing.

In on Sunday to try to catch up! Just finished a service on this JD X300R. This is the flagship 42" central rear collector from JD. It sports a Kawasaki motor and a rather different 'blower' collection system. The blades rotate in the opposite direction to other twin bladed vacuum collectors and cut rearwards on the outer edge to leave a much cleaner and uniform cut. They then carry the grass into a fan which blows it into the grassbag which increases the ammount of grass you can get in the box. It is extremely well built, far in excess of any other mower in its price range. It is a joy to work on. I just love quality!

Did not get much done to the queue of tractors this morning due to a rather high number of saw sharpenings and new chains. I did manage to service this one however. This one is the JD CR125, but its from the Castel factory in Italy and is made in different colours for many different manufacturers including Mountfield and Stiga. It does look a bit of a toy, but looks are deceptive. Under its rather un-macho body is a strong steel chassis sporting well made levers and linkages, high quality belts and bearings and proper ball joints on the steering. It is only a 28" cut, making it suitable for small areas, but its build quality allows it to be used on much larger plots than many of its inferior rivals. Servicing appears difficult until you realise that the body tips rewards for access. I have sold many, and I have a lot of respect for these machines.

its a bit like 'the what's best" thing. Many people tend to believe that a certain product is best, just because that is what they have been told. I go against the flow and make up my own mind based on what I see rather than what I am told. But then i expect others to believe what I tell them:biggrin:

I am glad thats all settled. I worried it was getting megatronic for a while there:biggrin:

Any bolt will do as long as it fits and is the right length. It only holds the fuel inlet on. It will need a seal under the inlet though, either fibre or copper will do.

Thats a very old Wheelhorse, Mike. Very solid. Its the only one not in for full service, just an engine problem.

I only use 5litre cans now in my garden machinery business. A little more expensive to buy, but saves a lot of time in decanting. The time saving far outways the cost of the oil.

Work for the next few days

The blades on that deck are not 'timed', but are V belt driven, so no issues with orientation. Make sure they are sharp, and on the right way. I had one in the other day that had left lines since its last dealer service (not me!) and the blades were upside down!. I doubt this is your problem though as you say it still cuts and collects well. But also remember that blades also wear on the ends, thus getting shorter and losing overlap. A new set of blades is the cheapest and easiest way to prove it.

Ideas need rewards:001_smile:

The chainsaw forum is as good as any book! When Spud swaps his tools for his slippers, he is going to write one:biggrin:

When I ran an Ag Machinery business I bought UFO in bulk, a big 600 ltr tank. It was the worst move I ever made. The mechanics would take about 20 minutes filling 20 litre cans to go out on a tractor service (lot of oil in a back end!) and time is money. Also there often was not enough time in the day, I needed them out of the yard early. And then one of them left the can filling while he went for a leak, but the leak turned into an emergency dump, and we lost around 100 litres over the stores floor. Went back to 20 litre cans, it worked out far cheaper.

Crikey Richard, don't apologise mate. sorry to hear about your afternoon. Take it easy for a while, you might be worried about the business, but there will be no business without you at the helm.

Sorry, I had a bit of trouble getting the pics to upload, the upload button just kept turning blue. Its allwhite now though:big grin:

After a week of 2 strokes its now back to tackling the 11 tractor mowers that have built up this week. First up today was this Westwood S1300M Now, I am not a fan of the Westwood/ Countax machines. Plus points:- 1) Its British 2) There is no 2 Minus points 1) Its British i hate to knock a British made product but this manufacture is complacent. When these were first introduced 30 odd years ago they were good. Basic but good. But now many other manufacturers have entered the market and constantly upgraded their kit until there is now some very good stuff around (MTD excluded). But Countax have done next to nothing. They suffer from poor electrics, poor belt drive systems, poor linkages, poor deck hangings, poor steering components, poorly made decks which rust quickly. They do however have a good chassis. everything else is, in my opinion rubbish. This one was no exception. The deck hangers at the rear had not been properly welded and had broken on one side. Its not the first time I have seen this, but on this one the front hangers were at least still intact. The clutch operation on the manual transmission versions is diabolical, its difficult to pull away without the front wheels leaving the ground. This one has been slightly improved by fitting a cloth wrapped belt instead of the original 'raw edge' But, strangely, Westwood and Countax owners love their machines and will not hear a word said against them. They are, after all, British.

If it is not reving fully the first thing to check is the fuel system. You have done that so now check the exhaust, it is possibly blocked. Blockage could be in the spark arrestor, the exhaust box, or the exhaust port. If its a fourstroke, check the valve clearances.

Nice one, but I bet he wont keep that up, he will be making a financial loss. And if the carrier finds out whats in the package, the sellers acount will be stopped. Enjoy it while it lasts.

No problem Steve. Did you find the cause of the sieze?

Sorry mate, you have to get used to my humour (or lack of it) As I said on another thread, Customer Liaison has always been my strong point:001_rolleyes:

Yep, will do. Hope it gets easier after a good night, mate.