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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

No body said it was easy :(

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I’m struggling with the very first task on my Suffolk Punch, trying to figure out how the safety switch, clutch cable grabber and spring are assembled. I’ve found a photo on line from a handle assembly for sale on eBay, but it’s not really clear enough to see. If anyone has one and can help, I would be most grateful.

the2ems Fri, 27/03/2020

Ok guys, I don't mind you having a joke at my expense :) I admit I'm a complete novice at this, and this will be the only mower I ever work on, and it's not even vintage. But now that we have established that it's a Takumseh engine, how the blooming heck do I get the old HT lead out? Does it come out? It must do. At the moment I am down to poking and prodding with sharp instruments and little long nosed pliers. Hoping that eventually it will all come free, leaving me able to fit a new lead. 

I found this label on the bottom of the shroud.

the2ems Fri, 27/03/2020

Yes, I'm beginning to think that too. I'm about 15mm down, and no sign of a screw point :(

the2ems Fri, 27/03/2020

Now looking for a replacement, but struggling to find anything that references the ID that I have. From the sticker on the bottom I have AQ 148 E-45020E. The coil itself is stamped 9-085, but I'm looking at parts online which are advertised with reference 34443 with a suffix of either A,B,C,OR D. So I'm looking for advice please.

the2ems Sun, 29/03/2020

I've found literally dozens of coils online, but have no idea which is the right one :(

wristpin Sun, 29/03/2020

I think that the coil that you need is Tecumseh pt 14160072 but check for yourself!

the2ems Tue, 07/04/2020

Could I please ask for more advice, identifying the carb on my mower. It looks too clean to be the original (I could be wrong) so I'm guessing it's a cheap repro. I've looked all over and and can find nothing remotely like a model number, or part number. In fact, the only number anywhere is on the bowl nut, which is 153. I've attached some pics. Having removed the bowl, and extracted the emulsion tube, it's quite obvious that the o rings need replacing. But without identification, I don't know which refurb kit to order. Very grateful for advice.

the2ems Tue, 07/04/2020

Thanks for the reply. I had just been looking on that website, but it shows the emulsion tube as plastic, where mine is brass. Maybe for the price, it's worth ordering, they will either fit or not. Thanks again.

the2ems Tue, 07/04/2020

Yes I have already cleaned out the bowl nut. At first sight, I thought that had an o ring fitted inside. But then on inspection and a bit of probing, it turned out to be debris from the bottom o ring off the emulsion tube. I was thinking that maybe someone had put the emulsion tube in after cleaning, then instead of pushing it home, just screwed the bowl nut back in to force it up. Having said that, the other o ring just fell apart as well when I got the tube out.

the2ems Thu, 23/04/2020

After receiving emulsion tube o-rings yesterday, I completed final assembly and tried firing up. Second pull and away went. Was running a little fast on full throttle and surging a little. Was a little late in the day to do any more messing, so first thing this morning I quickly took the carb back off and made sure the governor arm was set correctly. Seems much better now, and even at full throttle is not racing. A couple of things concern me. I've not yet put the cutting cassette in, so the engine is not under any load, but I can see the governor arm moving slightly, which increases the revs very slightly up and down. But that's with the throttle turned down a little. Next thing will be to get the newly refurbished blades in and try cutting some grass. :)

the2ems Wed, 08/07/2020

Got the mower out yesterday for the second time, after a fairly first outing several weeks ago. It's been a hit difficult getting out there competing with paddling pools and slip & slide water slides. Anyway, I had noticed on the first cut that I was getting a rattly kind of noise, but this time it stopped when I put my hand on the top cover. So I'm not really concerned with that.  So off I went up the garden along one edge, hit a horizontal root hiding in the grass, and bang, the toothed wheel on the side of the blade smashed into three pieces. Are they normally that fragile, or maybe it has gone brittle with age?  The machine is only twenty years old.

wristpin Wed, 08/07/2020

I believe that those sprockets are sintered metal rather than machined from the solid . Cheaper to mass produce but not able to withstand a shock load as well as a fifty year old one !

the2ems Sat, 18/07/2020

Back up and running with a new gear, but this seems to be getting worse. Well I tried to upload a video, but it seems it's not possible, so I'll try to describe it. I'm not sure if it's what I've heard called hunting. But the pitch changes with a regular pulsating rhythm, with the governor flicking from side to side. As though it's about to cut out, even at full throttle. I've tried moving the governor spring one hole either way, but that doesn't make any difference. I've also tried increasing the throttle stop. Trouble is, not really being mechanically minder, I'm at a loss as what to do. The carb had a good clean out before I reassembled everything. Advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

wristpin Sat, 18/07/2020

It’s a fuel issue, not a mechanical one. The engine is slowing due to a restriction in the fuel air mixture being supplied from the carburettor to the combustion chamber. The governor is reacting to that by opening the throttle but after a slight initial recovery the engine “ runs out of fuel” again.

Hopefully the answer is a very thorough cleaning of the carburettor. If you can get hold of a schematic diagram showing the fuel passages for both the slow and main jet systems it will give a clue to where the issue may be.  The thorough cleaning may involve the removal of one or more Welch plugs covering either a fuel gallery or a manufacturing machining port.

There are some very cheap pattern part carburettors available from the likes of JAPG and Garden Hire Spares  and if there is one available for your machine it may save you a lot of hassle.

the2ems Sat, 18/07/2020

Thanks for that very comprehensive reply. I'll have a look see if I think I can get at everything. Failing that I'll look for a replacement carb. Thanks again. 

the2ems Sun, 19/07/2020

Found and cleaned another jet hidden behind a little black cap that I hadn't noticed before, and the difference is very noticeable, but not perfect. So I have ordered a new carb. I'm going for a cheap Chinese copy.