Lawnmower Revival
First off I’d like to thank Will Wang for the donated lawnmower. He had an older lawnmower that he didn’t need anymore because he converted his lawn to xeriscape.
I wasn’t sure how long the lawnmower had been sitting so I thought I would clean it up a bit before using it.
Donated Craftsman Mower
Debris Build-Up
Started by cleaning up the air filter, carburetor and the surrounding area. For the carburetor I used some carburetor and choke cleaner, and put a rag in it so nothing got in it when I cleaned the surrounding area. I was kinda hard up when it came to cleaning the air filter so I used a little gas. That seemed to do it. Soapy water and a rag were used on the surrounding area.
Dirty Air Filter
Next was oil. Surprisingly the oil was at a good level, and pretty clean. I didn’t see any type of drain plug on the bottom, and I didn’t have a pump to siphon the oil out. I’ll have to search for a manual for the engine to double check how to change that.
Engine Oil Access
Now that the top was clean, it was time to tackle the bottom of the mower. First thing I did was remove the blade. I did this by putting a block of wood in front of the blade to keep it from moving while un-bolting it.
Removing Blade
After the blade was removed I used a flat head screwdriver and whisk broom to remove the debris. Unlike me, you might want to wear gloves for this. Luckily I saw the Black Widow before it saw me.
Half Cleaned Up
The wheels were set too low. I removed the wheel using a box wrench on the inside and socket on the outside. Moving the wheels to the lowest hole ended up giving me 2 1/2 – 3″ of clearance.
Lowering Wheels
This blade had definitely seen a couple of rocks. Filing it down wasn’t worth the time.
Chipped Out Blade
Finding a match was simple enough. I just measured the length of the blade, and went to the closest Sears. The mower was a Craftsman, so I figured Sears would carry a comparable replacement. The new blade was a little over $17 with tax. Money well spent when you consider how long it would take to reshape and sharpen the old blade.
New Blade
After installing the new blade, I added some gas and fired it up. It took about six pulls initially, but it fired up. If it didn’t fire up I was going to check the spark plug, but luckily it ran pretty smooth after starting.
Once I find the manual I’ll change out the spark plug and oil.
I guess the neighbor will be happy I’m finally cutting the lawn.
