Our self-propelled lawnmower has stopped propelling itself! Can I fix this myself?


lawnmower
Lulu asked:


We bought a self-propelled lawnmower 6 months ago from Sears Outlet with no warranty. @ weeks ago it stopped propelling itself! The mower itself still does it’s job, it’s just really hard to push. My 12 year old mows the lawn so we would really like to fix this problem so it is alittle easier on him.(we have a HUGE corner yard) What might be the problem?

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Maintenance & Repairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Our self-propelled lawnmower has stopped propelling itself! Can I fix this myself?”

  1. Ralfcoder Says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 3:15 am

    You’d have to look at the mechanism that propels the mower. It might be as simple as a broken belt, or the belt slipped off a pulley. Without being able to see it, though, it’s kind of hard to diagnose the problem.

  2. Edward H Says:
    February 7th, 2009 at 2:37 am

    There are four problems I can think of.

    1. The belt has broken or slipped off the gears.
    2. The gears could be broken.
    3. The wheels could be worn out and won’t propel the mower.(I doubt this one)
    4. The lever you move to engage the wheels isn’t working.

    Start with the lever and check to see that it is connected and intact. If it is then take the cover off of the wheel where the belt and gears are located. Be sure you remember which bolts go where and how you removed the cover! Then look for anything broken or out of place.

    I think you can fix it. The parts should be easy to find since you got it from Sears. Good Luck!

  3. kravdraa Says:
    February 9th, 2009 at 8:07 pm

    First UNPLUG the spark plug wire from he spark plug before worming onthe mower. You dan’t want to accidently start it while doing repairs.
    Does the mower have a cover that protrudes from the front of the engine along the mower deck toward teh front wheels?
    If so you will find a drive belt inside. Remove the cover, check to see if the belt is OK.
    Eric

  4. sensible_man Says:
    February 10th, 2009 at 6:54 pm

    Check the drive mechanism. Could be as simple as grass clippings built up between the pulley and the belt. Belt could be broken or stretched. Gears could be broken. Engagement lever is misaligned and does not engage the drive.

  5. The Outcast Says:
    February 13th, 2009 at 6:34 pm

    Can you repair it yourself? Maybe. If you remove the cover over the drive mechanism and can see that there is something obvious that looks wrong, like a loose belt or something keeping one part from turning another part, then you can probably fix it. If you look at the mechanism and have no clue what you are looking at, then take it to a shop.
    Without actually seeing the machine, this is the best I can offer.

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