Lawnmower/Small Engine People - Is this worth repairing?

[Shawn]

Hit a tree stump about a year ago with my Murray 228512x8a self propelled push mower. Engine came to an immediate and powerful stop and it completely bent the blade. Replaced the blade and noticed that it was vibrating a little more than usual but the mower still worked so I ignored the extra vibration for the past year.

Well it must have originally cracked one of the engine mounting holes because as I was cutting the grass this weekend the vibrations got much worse and the blade started banging around under the mower. I shut it off and turned it on its side to look under the mower and the engine just about fell out.

As you can see 2/4 mounting holes on the block are trashed and one on the metal frame is also cracked. Really sucks cause I recently put a bit of money into this mower: replaced all four wheels, blade, air filter, oil.

I think I can replace the bottom half of the engine for around $60 and could probably rig the other broken bolt hole just using a big washer but I'm not sure if it's worth it. Also not sure on the exact part number. My father-in-law gave me his mower which works but needs a new self propel transmission which is about $50. Hmmm...

 

[lxskllr]

You can get a brand new mower at Walmart for $120. I wouldn't bother unless I could do it close to zero cost, especially considering its history of damage.

 

[Shawn]

You can get a brand new mower at Walmart for $120. I wouldn't bother unless I could do it close to zero cost, especially considering its history of damage.

Cheapest I saw was $144 but those have a smaller width and are very basic. No self propel.

One comparable to mine is at least $200. Link (though mine is 22")

 

[lxskllr]

Cheapest I saw was $144 but those have a smaller width and are very basic. No self propel.

One comparable to mine is at least $200. Link (though mine is 22")

Could be. I don't like self propelled mowers. It ends up being more of a PITA than its worth. A lightweight push mower is easy to push.

In any case, you already have a bent shaft, and that's gonna shorten the life as is. Based on your pictures, I'd think along the lines of a shackle around the motor, with clamps bolted to the deck holding it down. Dunno if that would work, but that's the way I'd approach it.

 

[Shawn]

It looks like the engines on the two mowers are identical. His is a Turo mower and mine is a Murray, but they are both 6.5HP Briggs and Stratton engines. I wonder if I can swap the engine from my FIL's mower into mine or swap my self propel transmission into his. Don't know if the self propel is compatible though. Might have to transfer the turo wheels too.

 

[PottedMeat]

It looks like the engines on the two mowers are identical. His is a Turo mower and mine is a Murray, but they are both 6.5HP Briggs and Stratton engines. I wonder if I can swap the engine from my FIL's mower into mine or swap my self propel transmission into his. Don't know if the self propel is compatible though. Might have to transfer the turo wheels too.

if you can pull the self-propelled drive pulley off your old one you should be able to put it on the other one

 

[Shawn]

if you can pull the self-propelled drive pulley off your old one you should be able to put it on the other one

It's more than the pully... I think the gears are stripped.

 

[Shawn]

Red one is the one with the broken self propel.

 

[Shawn]

Apparently I can get a used sump off ebay for $12 shipped. Seems worth a try.

 

[C1]

My experience with lawn mowers has been that, although the motors appear the same, different (proprietary) blade shafts and their related mountings are different.

It would be best to go to a lawnmower repair shop & request a use replacement motor.

Another possibility is to take the broken machine to a welding shop & they might surprise you as to what can be repaired.

 

[natto fire]

Could be. I don't like self propelled mowers. It ends up being more of a PITA than its worth. A lightweight push mower is easy to push.

In any case, you already have a bent shaft, and that's gonna shorten the life as is. Based on your pictures, I'd think along the lines of a shackle around the motor, with clamps bolted to the deck holding it down. Dunno if that would work, but that's the way I'd approach it.

Not sure if you have tried Toro's personal pace setup, but it completely changed my mind on self propelled.

OP: If it is only $60, and the motor has been fine otherwise, I would probably do the repair. There was a time when I would say to junk it and get a real small motor, Honda. It seems like B+S realized they were getting clobbered on word of mouth, and Honda pandered to cheapo big box stores, and the two kind of met in the middle. In the end, Honda still makes a superior small motor, but they also slap their names on lesser engineered ones.

Had you not done so much work to the deck, I would still say to scrap it, but it might be worth it to repair.

 

[dud]

I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned JB Weld as an option. I doubt it would work because of the excessive amount of vibration on th emount. OP, safety is a big issue here. For decades I would use old, cobbled-together mowers that were on their last leg ... that is, until I decided to throw in th etowel and buy a mower that would really last. I purchased a new Honda a few years back for the unheard-of exorbitant price of $350 ... and never looked back. The mower does a great job, it pulls me along so pushing on my part and I am now safe.

Safety, you are worth it.

 

[slag]

Jb weld? Heck, just take it to a buddy and for a 6 pack they can weld that pot metal back together easy peasy.

 

[Thump553]

Cheapest I saw was $144 but those have a smaller width and are very basic. No self propel.

One comparable to mine is at least $200. Link (though mine is 22")

My brother (who lives in the South) told me that quite a few people down there pawn their mowers in the fall and go to the pawnshops to buy replacements in the spring. May be the ideal time for you now to shop the pawn shops for a replacement.

Given the damage you describe, and even counting your time as free/valueless, I don't see how repairing the present mower makes sense.

 

[Midwayman]

My brother (who lives in the South) told me that quite a few people down there pawn their mowers in the fall and go to the pawnshops to buy replacements in the spring.

Wow... that seems like a terrible idea financially.

 

[Shawn]

Well bought a used oil sump for the engine for $12 on ebay. New gaskets cost me another $10.

For $22 seems worth it.

 

[boomerang]

Well bought a used oil sump for the engine for $12 on ebay. New gaskets cost me another $10.

For $22 seems worth it.

Hope the crankshaft is not bent ...

 

[slag]

Hope the crankshaft is not bent ...

Ditto. You can also use a 4 dollar tube of rtv sealer in place of the gasket.

 

[WackyDan]

Could be. I don't like self propelled mowers. It ends up being more of a PITA than its worth. A lightweight push mower is easy to push.

In any case, you already have a bent shaft, and that's gonna shorten the life as is. Based on your pictures, I'd think along the lines of a shackle around the motor, with clamps bolted to the deck holding it down. Dunno if that would work, but that's the way I'd approach it.

Bent shaft it is. The problem isn't the mounting holes at all. I had this happen to my in laws mower when it spanked a root.

Fucker vibrated itself to death after that and my hands were numb from it. I intentionally ran it that way to see how long the dam thing would last.... Which was about 1 and 1/2 mowings.

 

[skyking]

I suspect your vibration was due to a bent crankshaft. It eventually cracked the mounts.
We saw them all the time when i worked at Sears. If the blade was really trashed like yours, odds are the crank was bent.
There is a shear mechanism to help prevent crank bendage, but it is far from perfect.
If the current blade is not bent, you can easily see if the crank is bent by pulling the sparkplug and turning it over while on it's side. The blade will track high and low in the plane perpendicular to the bend.

 

[boomerang]

Here's a story. I had bought my first house and was mowing the lawn for the first time. The previous owner had let the grass grow long knowing he was moving and leaving it for me to deal with. What I didn't know was that there was a sprinkler system. But it was a half-assed system with brass receivers that you had to sequentially move the sole sprinkler head around to. What I was to learn was that one of the brass receivers was not buried deep enough.

I hit it with the mower and bent the crank. I called around and one mower shop told me of another place that could straighten the crank. I headed over there thinking they must have had some kind of equipment that could straighten it. Well they did.

It was a big hammer. The guy tipped the mower on its side, removed the blade and turned the motor over so that the high point of the bent crank was up and beat on the crank with the hammer. A couple rounds of rotating the crank and beating on it and the crank was straightened.