More Lawn Tractor Issues

I could not get the lawn tractor starter to work even when I jumped it with the Mountaineer car battery. The starter would engage but did not have enough umph to turn the engine over. I figured the starter commutator was in need of cleaning and or the brushes were bad.

So I removed the starter. That was a task in itself. Access is not the best inside the tractor cowling. But I got it off, along with a ton of greasy dirt and grime. The oil fumes cause the dust to build up and it is a mess. But got the starter off. I cleaned up the starter's case and around the area on the engine. Yuck, that was grimy.

The starter motor itself is held together by two long bolts and the brush assembly is on the bottom. So I carefully removed the two long bolts and took a look. The brushes were plenty good, so I took some WD-40 and squirted each brush assembly - there are four of them. I was not about to take the brush assembly off. The four brushes held against the commutator by springs. I could see springs flying all over the place.

WD-40 is not a lubricant, it is a solvent. Lots of people think it is a lubricant because it sort of oily in nature. It will, when sprayed on, disperse water among other things. So a good shot of WD-40, a fresh dab of grease on the bottom cover plate that centers and holds the commutator in place and screwed it all back together. WD-40 was developed to clean jet engines, sprayed into the engines to remove rust and improve air flow over the stators and rotors - they are all airfoils and thus reduced drag led to improved performance.

Then reassembly. That was a trial. Very close quarters. After an hour of trying I got one of the bolts installed that holds the starter in place against the engine block. I could not get the other bolt going. Finally, I started taking off the cowling, found I could get away with the cowl partially removed and got the bolt started. Put it all back together. One of those jobs that takes three or four hours the first time and 20 minutes the second time around.

I had been charging the battery, so I knew it was up to snuff. I really think giving the brushes a shot of WD-40 and torquing down all the connections made things better. So I gave it a trial and boy did it spin up the engine. Another task done.

I imagine less mechanically inclined people would have (a) bought a new mower or (b) over paid some mechanic to do what I did. They, he mechanics, usually bid them selves out at $50 an hour for labor with a minimum of a half hour. This job probably would be an hour and half, or at least $75.00 plus parts (grease, WD-40 and a less scrupulous mechanic would have just put in a new starter - probably cost a $100.00 for that alone).

I enjoy the work, treat it as a challenge. The reward is to see lawn tractor running again.