snapper hydrolock....almost...lawnmowrmecknick saves day...

[MAN OF BLUES]

So, after sitting all winter in the garage, I pushed the old Snapper 10 hp out into the drive and prepped for seasonl starting....
Checked fuel tank, it was empty, hmmmm I had stabilized fuel when I parked it.., oh well...add a gallon. as I d idnt have the battery on charge for the arctic last 6 months, I was curious if it had juice.....hit the key....wow it cranks, it starts.... then the smoke..... hmmmmm give it more throttle.., lotsa smoke... oh oh...shut it down now.
Well, never pulled the dipstick to check oil level, never really intended to start the machine, but anticipation got the best of me....

So, being one of those people that always cautions others , I broke my own rules...I knew immediatly what occurred... stuck a 3# folgers coffe can under the oil drain pipe, and when I drained thecase, filled that can with gas/ oil blend...
Well, the crankcase is clean for sure now...
Pulled plug, turned over nicely, replaced plug, removed floatbowl, freed up stickey float needle, refilled with clean oil...fired up... no damage.
Actually runs better than ever....
I built mowers with my dad from the time I was 9 , I shoulda known better.... tragedy averted.

Mow safe.

[Strawboss]

Glad its ok. Maybe not so tragic as a snapper, lawn mower that is,  is a little easier to work on than a bike, that and parts are a bit easier too as that piston probably will fit just about every lawn mower made since 1949.

[Conrad]

Over this past weekend I mowed for the first time this season too.

I pulled my 25 year old Murray mower (w/ Briggs and Stratton Quantum motor) out of the garage and gave the priming bulb three pumps and she started on the first pull. The wife asks me when I'm going to get a new mower. Never. That thing runs just as good today as it did back when it was new. 

I did prep it for winter, as I always do.

[MAN OF BLUES]

Over this past weekend I mowed for the first time this season too.

I pulled my 25 year old Murray mower (w/ Briggs and Stratton Quantum motor) out of the garage and gave the priming bulb three pumps and she started on the first pull. The wife asks me when I'm going to get a new mower. Never. That thing runs just as good today as it did back when it was new. 

I did prep it for winter, as I always do.

funny you mention that,
I always snicker a bit, every year, when I pull my old Craftsman / Briggs push mower (purchased 1986) out, fill it up, prime it on choke, pull twice, and it starts and runs all season.... I do drain that tank in the fall..
mainly because I use it for my aux tank when doing carb work....

I'm on my 4th Ryobi Multi attachment weed whacker in the last 3 years.... they just don't make equipment to last anymore...

The old Snapper is a 10 hp version, of the original Forest Gump Mower... I love that machine...
It is about the same difficulty factor to pull the float bowl on the machine as a C10 tho... blind fumblin'




Since I was a bozillionaire, and I liked doin' it so much... I mowed that grass fo' free.

[Racer Boy]

Isn't there a video where a mechanic shows how to check for hydrolock on a Snapper?

Also, do run dino or synth oil in that thing? Do you change the filter every change? 

[SteveJ.]

Rich, I'm thinkin' ya mispeeled lonmowr mecknick, thou I'm knot reelly shure. Websters/Wiki seams too bea ov know hep.

 

See ya in Johnson City. more 

[MAN OF BLUES]

Rich, I'm thinkin' ya mispeeled lonmowr mecknick, thou I'm knot reelly shure. Websters/Wiki seams too bea ov know hep.

 

See ya in Johnson City. more 

ah lurnt evythin I noze frum Bubba...
  yep se yahs at J.C.

(I'll be the old phart lookin over Bubba's shoulder....)

[Cholla]

U knead a $5 Bruggs und Stratton fuel shutoff valve. Works awn awl me moorsickles.