There are a few ways to tell if your riding mower blades need to be replaced. Local store prices may vary from those displayed. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Nearly every weekend you will find us doing small or big jobs or just enjoying our garden. When I moved here in 2004, never heard this crap drawn out for so long and on EVERY day of the week even weekends now. Every now and then youll run into a lawn mower blade that just keeps coming loose no matter how many times you tighten it. It's literally a blade spinning at hundreds (if not thousands) of RPM. In the end, the blades should rotate without vibrating. problem. Spin the blade to see if the blade bolt head seems to describe a small circle rather than just turning in place. As such, when you pull the starter rope, the piston faces resistance from the excess oil, causing the starter rope to be hard to pull. Thats 40 cutting sessions. The customer said the blades shut off and wouldn't turn on again. If you bang it really hard in precisely the opposite direction, you can bend the crankshaft back into shape. 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WebI turned the mower on its side and tried to move the blade by hand. We do not specifically market to children under 13. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Apart from loose blades, another scenario that homesteaders are likely to encounter is blades that wont turn. Its a cone-shaped tool that has a spindle for the blade. Check your blade for the grease pencil or paint mark you made earlier. You should also avoid hitting rocks or other objects while mowing. The chances of this working are really low. For 10 minutes youll turn. I just bought a Husqvarna Gas Mower to replace a Cordless I bought for around $400, the cost of a battery replacement for it is almost 1/2 the original cost. After sharpening the lawn mower blade, reattach it. It is typically best to leave this task to a professional. Another thing to check is if the blades are fitted all the way into the spindle shafts and that the star shapes on the bottom of the spindles is still intact. One should use caution flipping over a gas mower, right? If this is the case, buying a new bolt should fix the problem. Because if all the interest and concern over the pipe, see photo. WebSharpening a lawn mower blade by hand uses metal files or abrasives. You mow your yard in 30 minutes, twice a week. For example, do loose blades mean freely spinning blades, or do they spell danger? This value is measured in ft/lb or foot-pounds. Repairing an aluminum blade usually doesn't work very well. It could be dangerous mowing with a bent or otherwise damaged blade. Hold the blade horizontal, then let go. Another way is to check to see if the blades are turning freely by hand. Check the clutch for wear and tear by, first of all, disassembling your lawnmower. If there are no issues with the deck belt, no problem. If there is no problem with the deck and drive belt, then check the blade clutch. The blade was difficult to move. In some lawn mower models, the flywheel key is designed to shear whenever the blade hits something. Only sharpen the blade so its as sharp as a butter knife. Fortunately, its fixable. @Sentinel there is a 99.99% chance of making it worse with your idea Worth a shot. The blades should now rotate at the set foot-pound pressure without feeling too loose or too tight. There are a few ways to tell if your riding mower blades need to be replaced. Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. One way is to check the blades to see if they are damaged or bent. The pipe wasn't carrying any services, just a piece of metal sticking out of the ground (I've now removed it). Only sharpen the blade so its as sharp as a butter knife. Thats' true. They'll be able to unbend a bent blade for you, or at least sell you a replacement. The cut grass also returns nutrients to your lawn, so it grows even stronger. This exact thing happened to me last year (Husqvarna mower, long grass, hit a pipe, clang, mower stopped, cord stuck) and it was a bent blade. Why is it important for riding mower blades to turn freely by hand? The cutting edge should slot into the bevel. Followed 1saxman's advice. The marked side should face you as it did before. Fix a wooden wedge between the mower blade and deck. Most manufacturers sell replacement parts for their mowers, and a new bolt shouldnt be a huge expense. Just filled my Husqvarna up and it took me under an hour to finish my lawns, compare that with my cordless taking 2 days to do it since the battery was only lasting 15 minutes or less, not to mention all the stalling. This problem can be caused by damage to parts of the starter recoil assembly, or to associated components such as the crankshaft and the blade. WebI turned the mower on its side and tried to move the blade by hand. Regularly inspect the mower blades after mowing. and how to fix them, Fixing loose blades in push lawn mowers. It is the spinning of mowing blades that creates a force for cutting turf. I had one for 15 years, and only ran over the cord twice. Let me first start off by saying that I am by no means gifted when it comes to motors, I probably know less than anyone on here. You can turn the spindle by hand or use a drill. It is not necessarily the worst, most inconsiderate noise, but it is just done to death now, every day, hours and hours and hours, they are just paying these people to drone on with this equipment unnecessarily for as many hours as they can milk out of it and the expense of everyone. WebFixing loose blades in push lawn mowers. Use a socket wrench of the appropriate size and unbolt the mounting, while using your other hand to keep the blade from turning. LawnMowerGuru.com, All Rights Reserved. You are using an out of date browser. After the engine starts running, lower the mower to the desired height. You can learn more about this here. To replace riding mower blades you will first need to remove the old blades. That way you can swap a fresh blade in when one needs to be sharpened. Remove the spark plug and tilt the mower to drain out the oil. After a few short smoky runs it was back to normal. Check the deck and deck belt for faults. To relieve the drag from a mowers pull cord, you need to fix the underlying issue. Also, as I lifted the machine back upright, I saw that oil had leaked out onto the ground through the muffler guard. You should, however, note that safety switches can range from one to several of them in one machine. Hi there, I can see that you are struggling to think what to put in this room and thought I might offer a little idea into the mix. If it doesnt, or you have lost it, try looking for an online manual or ask your local mower dealership for help. Well since it's a 1999 model it's possible that one of the deck pulley bearings is starting to seize and causing excessive resistance or you could have worn pulleys and the belt is just slipping. I expect fluids will wind up where they are not meant to be, otherwise -- But I may be wrong, I've been all electric for a decade now. Most blades can be sharpened with less than 50 strokes of the file. Mower blades are made from fairly soft steel. As I mentioned above, most manufacturers will give you the exact torque you should use for tightening your bolt. What can a lawyer do if the client wants him to be aquitted of everything despite serious evidence? This can happen if you overtighten the bolt holding the blade in place, like I explained before a damaged bolt wont be able to keep your blade in position for very long. Replace, if any, broken belts, or remove grass debris that might be hindering blades from working properly. Move the grinder slowly back and forth against the edge of the mower blade. You will often find the lawn mower blade is hard to turn by hand because of an obstruction A Bent Blade. Then, untie the starter rope and free it from the housing. You should inspect it for wear and damage. Use a socket wrench of the appropriate size and unbolt the mounting, while using your other hand to keep the blade from turning. If you keep doing that, eventually you wont be able to tighten it at all. Thank you for stopping by! Use extreme caution when having a helper engage the blades and make sure the parking brake is set while you are down there watching the So, what does that mean? And as indicated the key may have been sheared. Support the blade under its center, like a scale. Replace the spark plug and test whether the pull cord still has excessive drag. If it wobbles now, it will wobble on your mower too. Then multiply that length of time by the number of times you mow per week. WebI turned the mower on its side and tried to move the blade by hand. Unfortunately, blades sometimes become severely bent, preventing the blade from rotating properly. Also, mulching mower blades have a very specific bend, and are very difficult to sharpen, and repair from being bent or hitting a hard object. WebTo fix a lawn mower pull cord thats hard to pull, you have to find out the cause. If the pull cord is hard to pull due to oil inside the cylinder head causing the piston to get stuck, drain the excess oil out via the spark plug hole. 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