Me?

Yer damn right I am.

And A Job!

So You Can FEED ME!

Well, once again it’s like one step forward and two steps back but not quite.

I did make some progress on the little bastard but in the process discovered some more issues.

No surprise there.

I did manage to get it cleaned up some, that whole engine was just a dirty, greasy, filthy PIG.

Then I made a huge mess trying to drain the gas that had a little oil in it out of the crankcase.

Thin?

Oh yeah. You can see the oil drain tube sticking out over that hole in the middle at the bottom. It has a push and twist valve that allows the oil to drain out.

Ostensibly through that little hole they put there just for that purpose.

OH HELL NO.

That shit started shooting out of that tube all over the mower, the trailer it is sitting on and me.

Then it ran all down under the cowling and down the side step, dripped through that hole and ran all over the mower deck too.

The little drain pan I had under there maybe, MAYBE, got two fucking tablespoons full of oil in it before I grabbed ahold of that damn valve and cranked it shut.

What a mess.

Dirty bastards.

After I cleaned all that up I changed the oil filter and filled it back up.

I had the gas tank off cleaning it up, the previous owner had yanked the fuel line out from under it for some reason.

I bought some new fuel hose, clamps and an inline filter and put all that back together.

While I was scrubbing scraping and cleaning the engine I noticed a couple of problems that I am going to have to take care of.

That ain’t good and neither is this,

The starter seemed to work when I jumped the solenoid the other day so I am going to hold off on that.

That smoked out voltage regulator is another story.

I got online and checked the local John Deere outfit and had another laughing fit when I saw what they wanted for one of those.

$105 plus tax.

Yeah FUCK THAT.

FleaBay here I come.

This is more like it.

Can you say MARK UP??!!

Holy shit.

I already had to order the switch that controls the electro-magnetic clutch for the mower blade assembly. The starter circuit also goes through that S.O.B .

The clutch circuit appeared to be working but I was getting juice from the Start position on the key switch going in but nothing coming out.

I see I got burned on that bitch too, I paid $40 something for it and they are less than $15 on FleaBay for cheap knock off’s.

Ah well.

While I was cleaning up all that oil I happened to have to take a look underneath the damn thing and found a pin missing that holds an arm for the height adjustment of the mower deck under the ass end,

More Fiddle Fartin’ but I managed to find a nut and a bolt that fit for now until I can find the right pin and retaining clip.

That will be easy enough.

Getting the deck lined up again took care of the problem with it interfering with the left front tire when turning.

Oh there is lots and lots more to do to this thing, trust me.

As much as it scares me, I am going to take a look see as to the availability of either e REPRO or a used hood for it too eventually.

The one on it is too fucked up to try and fix.

Not only is it broke to shit, there is a big hunk missing out of it and the mounting hardware and fixtures are gone too.

I figure if I can get this thing running and get the trailer fixed both for under $500 I will be doing good.

Even used John Deere tractors like that are expensive as hell around here and that trailer would run ya anywhere from $300 to $450 easy.

A comparable new JD riding mower isn’t going anywhere for less than $2,000.

Minimum.

It still remains to be seen if I can get that engine running but if it has decent compression then I will win eventually.

My buddy told me again earlier today that he saw it mowing the lawn next door to him last Summer so we shall see.