How to Service a Riding Lawn Mower
It is equally critical to keep your mower well maintained as your lawn. A beautiful, manicured lawn cannot be achieved by skipping treatments or skimping on water.
You can also prolong the life of your lawn mower by performing routine maintenance to prevent costly repairs. It only takes a few minutes to complete your mower maintenance if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.
What lawnmower would you rather have that’s reliable all season? It is recommended that you tune up your riding mower at least once a year, preferably before the season starts in the spring. It is very convenient to be able to use a mower that you can trust all season long. Who doesn’t want that? It is imperative to tune your riding mower at least once a year. This is preferably late in the spring before the riding season begins, but that is not always possible.
Service a Riding Lawn Mower Maintenance Basics
Depending on the model of your mower, maintenance may vary. Below are some general instructions that you should read before starting any work on your mower. Please read through the instructions carefully for use, maintenance, and safety before beginning any work. It is recommended that you use parts that have been approved by the manufacturer when replacing parts. When you are shopping for replacement mower parts, it is very handy to take your mower’s make and model number with you.
Put the parking brake on the mower before you park it. It is imperative to turn off your mower before doing any maintenance, cleaning or inspections on it. Unplug the spark plug wires or disconnect the battery before doing any maintenance, cleaning or inspections on your mower following the manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure to stop all moving parts, including blades, and make sure they’ve come to a complete stop. The documentation specifies what procedures need to be completed before maintenance can begin.
Your Gas Engine Needs Tuning?
What should I do when it comes to servicing my vehicle? The first thing I tell my customers is to service their mowers when the season begins, not at the end of the season. Overwintering a mower unprepared usually results in carburetor problems that are caused by gummed up carburetors. A gas stabilizer can be added to the fuel line in order to prevent the system from gumming up.
How Does Gas Stabilizer Work?
It is a real problem when carburetors on small engines become gummed up. As a result of old gas lingering in the carburetor over the winter months, part of the carburetor is worn away. There is no doubt that this is a common mistake, but it is one that can be avoided easily. Put a few drops of gas stabilizer into a full tank of gas at the end of the season, and run the engine briefly. Here is a video that explains how gas stabilizers are mixed and added.
It may not be enough to change the oil, plugs, air filter, or fuel filter if your mower is running rough. Carburetor cleaning is usually required for gas mowers running rough. The “carburetor troubleshooting” page is very useful.
Make sure the oil and filter are changed.
Almost everything you need to get the job done is included in a John Deere Home Maintenance Kit, including two quarts of the oil your specific machine requires. Getting the job done will still require you to use a Strap-Top Oil Filter Wrench, a drain pan, and possibly a few other items around your garage to be able to complete the task.
The air filter needs to be replaced.
It is also pertinent to note that every kit includes a brand-new air filter as well. The air intake screen should be cleared of debris before you change the air filter, and you should make sure that the engine is cold before you do so. You need to remove the cover and the screws on the precleaner and air filter to remove the old one. As soon as the replacement air filter has been placed on the lawn mower, place the freshly cleaned precleaner over it. In order to secure it in place, you need to slide it under the air filter cover and secure it with screws.
In general, your Home Maintenance Kit may not include an air precleaner for every lawn mower, so you might not have one in your kit.
Make sure that the fuel filter is replaced.
Last but not least, you need to replace the fuel filter, which is the last filter you need to replace. As this one uses fumes, you will want to be in an area that is well ventilated in order to avoid fumes. If you’re working inside your shed or garage, you should consider opening the doors if you’re doing work there.
On the old fuel filter, there is an arrow pointing in the direction in which gas flows from your machine to the fuel tank. The updated filter should have an arrow that points in the same direction as the arrow on the previous filter. It is necessary to use pliers to move the hose clamps away from the old fuel filter in order to remove them. Connect the replacement fuel filter to the gas tank first, then pull both hoses off and attach them to the upgraded one. The hose clamps should be reinstalled once the clamps have been removed.
To check if there is a leak in your mower, start it up and run it for just a few minutes. Make sure you inspect the fuel lines as well, to be on the safe side, just in case they need to be replaced due to wear or cracks.
A belt needs to be replaced when it wears out
Now let’s take a look at the worn-out belt that is part of the problem. The belt route was photographed with the help of my phone and then I removed it from the belt. Here is a picture of the route I used to install the updated belt, which matches that of the existing belt.
As a result of maintenance, the deck of the mower has been cleaned. Using the retainer springs, I reattached it to the mower chassis and slid it back under. After turning on the machine, I engaged the blades and began to work on the machine. There was no action taken. How could this have happened? Oh no, what did you just do? There was no rotation of the blades.
I noticed there was a lot of slack in the belt underneath the mower, so I decided to take a look underneath. Comparing the belts I saw that the updated one was a bit broader than the old one, and I was able to see that. I am sorry to tell you, but my original belt was not usable. This is because the tension on this model of mower could not be adjusted. Therefore, I was not able to use it.
It was a third-party belt that I ordered online, even though the part number was correct. Rather than spending the extra money on a factory replacement, I should have bought a new one from the manufacturer. To keep the mower running, I removed the old belt and replaced it with the factory belt. I will install it as soon as possible.
I think that should be a lesson for all of us: Be cautious when buying products from third parties, especially when their prices are too reasonable to pass up.
Oils and greases
As far as my maintenance plan is concerned, I was almost ready to complete it. After that, I greased some key areas of the mower with all-purpose grease in order to prevent it from rusting.
My first step was to identify the areas where grease was needed using the mower manual and to apply grease as necessary. My foosball table rods were also requiring a bit of silicone lubricant, which I had a spray can of on hand (which I use to keep them spinning like new when I am playing foosball).
My first drive around the yard was an exercise in breaking in the recently lubricated parts. I made sure to turn the steering wheel a lot as I drove. As I zigzagged the mower across the yard, the neighbors must have been concerned!
Pressure in the tires
Lastly, we checked the tire pressure before moving on to the next step. As a result, I reached into my car’s glove compartment and got a pressure gauge, which I used to compare the tire pressure of my mower with the recommended pressure specified in the manual.
To bring them back up to the correct PSI, I used a bicycle pump to pump them up to the correct amount. I found that they were a touch low. You should keep your tires properly inflated at all times. This will reduce the amount of drag you experience during driving and will also cause your vehicle to consume more fuel.
At the end of the day, the mower was running properly for the upcoming season and was ready to start. In addition to documenting what parts I replaced with the date, I also kept a record of what I did. Using this method, I will be able to remember what parts I replaced for next season.
The maintenance plan I have in place does not require me to do everything each year. Since I had no information about what the previous owner did to the house, I just wanted to make sure I covered all my bases this time around.
The above checklist may come in handy if you find yourself in a similar situation, wondering what you can do to repair your old riding lawn mower. Having tried it and proven it, it’s the right thing to do.
I’m ready for you this summer, tall grass! I can’t wait to meet you!
Troubleshooting and Repair of Riding Mowers
There are several types of repairs that need to be done on a Service a Riding Lawn Mower outside of standard maintenance. Some of these repairs are simple enough for you to do yourself, such as minor repairs and troubleshooting. Here are some general instructions on how to fix some typical riding mower problems. It is advisable to follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer of your mower. Depending on your manufacturer’s instructions, turn off the mower and remove the ignition key before you begin any repairs. Remove the battery or unplug the spark plug wires before you begin any repairs.
