In article ,
"Tim Zimmerman" wrote:

"Tim Zimmerman" wrote

This Craftsman mower won't start after I left covered outside for a
month...What are some steps I could do in order to get this
mower starting again?

Hi,
Got it started. Turns out ether worked, as suggested. Thanks all. But, new
problems came up. Let's see if someone can pick one to solve.

1) It won't run when pushed.
The end of the loose dangling wire mentioned earlier is giving out sparks,
this could be the problem. As long as I don't push it the mower will run
for 20 minutes then shut-down.

That dangling wire is likely your kill switch. You can remove the
blower housing easily enough and get a look at the ignition coil. That
wire ought to plug into a little tab on the side of the coil. If you're
missing the deadman brake assembly & control entirely, you can remove
that kill wire to avoid accidental shutdowns, but then you'll have to
kill the engine by shorting out the sparkplug with a screwdriver. You
could bolt a little strip of sheetmetal on top of the engine's head so
when you want to stop it you can step on it to push it into contact with
the plug. Not pretty, but works. Don';t use your bare hands to do it
though! (:
If you want to repair it properly, look at your flywheel brake
mechanism. You should notice a small wedge on the side of the brake
lever that will contact a little piece of metal when the brake applies
and will move out of contact. The bit of metal that's being contacted
should be mounted in a little chunk of plastic. Thread the wire's end
into that bit of metal and make sure it isn't touching anything beyond
that plastic insulating block. It should actually have a little clip to
hold the wide for you. Everywhere else secure the wire so it won't get
tugged on by anything or pulled into the flywheel.

2) It won't start without ether.
This is the reason why the air filter was thrown out in the first place since
it
ran fine without it, or doesn't it? I will look for a new filter box. I even
dump
out the old debris collecting gas when overhauling the carb.

Does your carb have a choke or primer bulb? Should it? And are you
using it? Some engines will have the primer bulb integrated into the
air filter housing, so if that's gone, so is your primer. If that's the
case then your carb's flange where the filter should bolt will have a
little pinhole on the side. Either get your hands on a filter mount or
rig up a choke plate that can cover up about 3/4 of the intake's
cross-section.
The filter is required since even a little bit of grit in the engine
will work it's way into the oil and lap all of your bearings to death.
If you haven't already, it's a very good idea to change your oil.
Avoid using starting fluid to restart the engine when it's hot. The
stuff evaporates so fast it'll cool down whatever it lands on and stress
it. I've seen a valve cracked off from that. A little squirt of gas
should work fine to start up without the danger.

3) Flywheel bearing seizes after 30-secs.
I lube the one-way bearing with no luck. I will replace the bearing but
not sure how. In order to keep the mower running I would have to
remove the cover with the reel ( labeled Briggs & Stratton) or otherwise
it will screech to a halt.

I think you're talking about the little square shaft poking out the
top with the one-way clutch in it. Your flywheel bearing is actually
the bearing in the engine block towards the flywheel side. If that is
seizing up, scrap the mower. But if it's just the starter on top of the
flywheel, you can fix it.
The square shaft is held in place by a flat metal disc which you can
pry off easily once you get everything out of the way. Do this with the
shaft pointed up because if you do it sideways for whatever reason
you'll lose the balls when they fall out.
It should be cleaned out completely--not a trace of rust or old
grease anywhere. Use emery cloth on the inside of the square shaft and
the round shaft it rides on. Then oil it with light oil--not grease.
There is probably a small spongy pad up inside. If it is, put a few
drops of oil on it. Engine oil is OK, but you might have to pull it
apart again next year. The balls and all surfaces they contact should
be clean and dry with no oil.
Also check the reel and cover to see if it's been mashed down any.
If it has it can also cause the bearing to seize and squeal.
If you need to replace it, remove the spark plug and stuff a length
of rope into the cylinder. Leave the end hanging out so you can pull it
out later. Rotate the engine backward until it stops due to the rope.
Now take some big-assed vise grips, channel-lock pliers, or whatever and
twist the cup (not the shaft!) backwards and it should screw off. You
can also use a hammer and punch on one side to break it loose. Take out
the rope. The new one just screws on hand-tight. It'll get nice and
snug the first time you pull the cord.

--
B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net
http://web2.airmail.net/thegoat4/