# Just one of those days....



## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Just when y think things are all fine n dandy - i went to go mow the neighbors yard the other day - fired up my old 85 MTD mastercut - got over there, and it started smoking like crazy - so got it back home and its seriously hard to push for some reason - so time to tear that apart and see whats going on with it .

I left that next to the shed and took out my 90 murray - wouldnt you know THAT thing wont start! Im like " aw man! " it ALWAYS starts right up - im almost wondering if there mighta been some sabatoge going on - okay one tractor can be normal, but 2? Checked quick and the murray has spark( grabbed on the plug end and ZAP!) - but no gas on the plug - so ill deal with that later also.

Time for number 3- my 99 weedeater- fires right up perfect , so run it over, get thru the front yard and....it quits. In my rush to mow- i forgot to check the gas, BUT an easy fix.

I went in and told my wife " Im glad i have more then 2 mowers, grass wouldnt be cut till i could fix em! " Yep i call all the mowers 'back ups for backups' . :lmao:


So after mowing, i take the hood off the murray, take the carb apart, clean it and it still wont run. Ugh. So i take the flywheel shroud off, and the magneto is flush against the flywheel - not good. Somehow it loosened up and snapped tight to the flywheel. 

I ran out of time to sort it out - or even look at the MTD - im not too happy with MTD's at the moment, between my 97 Mastercut with slipping brakes, the Task Force with rotten frame and now the 85..... 

I was hoping to put my new auto shelter 'garage' up sometime - guess itll have to wait in line as well....thatll probably take the best of a whole day to prep and put up.


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## hauler (Sep 17, 2011)

i know what you mean....some days it's not worth getting out of bed...


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## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

So I guess I'm not the "ONLY ONE", crap happens too! LOL Smart of you to have standbys'. Bye


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Well, the 85 MTD does sit alot, mostly use it in the fall/spring for picking up the leaves - couple weeks ago just used the murray - ill sort it out- the 85 is making a weird light clunking noise when hand turning the flywheel- hoping it didnt start to let a rod loose- im thinking the flywheel might need to come off- or the magneto slipped as well - ill know more when i get it apart - if the motor is bad, i have other spare motors for it.


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## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

dangeroustoys56 said:


> Well, the 85 MTD does sit alot, mostly use it in the fall/spring for picking up the leaves - couple weeks ago just used the murray - ill sort it out- the 85 is making a weird light clunking noise when hand turning the flywheel- hoping it didnt start to let a rod loose- im thinking the flywheel might need to come off- or the magneto slipped as well - ill know more when i get it apart - if the motor is bad, i have other spare motors for it.


Well it looks like you got enough projects to keep you busy for awhile, be sure to keep us updated. Bye


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Update already - I got out this morning to go and work on the murray - i set the magneto , it still had spark - still had gas, but refused to even cough.

As a fluke i unhooked the mag kill wire- still nothing. So i figured it could be a weak magneto, even tho it gave me a decent shock when cranking - cant think of anything else.

I went in the shed and rooted thru my spare parts bins and came across a single cylender magneto - cleaned up the pickup ends and magnet on the flywheel, installed it and tryed starting it - it coughed and fired right off ! 

I figured while it was apart, id do a service on it ( been a while) - changed the oil, took the deck off to sharpen the blades and noticed one mandrel had a lil slop in it.... investigated a bit more and yep the berings were worn out.

After thinking a minute - i remembered i bot a murray mandrel housing years back for a mod tractor project - so i found that in one of the cabinets , installed it and put it all back together - ill get a set of new berings for the old housing and rebuild it as a spare.

I told my wife i saved about $100 today by using my spare parts i had around and was wondering about looking for another parts tractor soon - i figured if that was my only tractor itd be down for a couple days and out $100 , instead of being a free fix and a few hours.


I also was able to start on the Mastercut - the motion issue i think was the fact the forward/reverse lever was sticky - seems okay- the motor tho- im not sure about it .

Pulled the carb to clean it, checked under the flywheel shroud , reset the magneto on that too - every couple revolutions ( turning by hand) itll make a 'tick' - checked the drive setup/pulleys - it sounds like its somewhere on the motor .

I pulled the head, noticed the bolts were a tad loose and the gasket was leaking a bit- cleaned it up and cranked the bolts back down.

I ran out of time today to finish it- ill change the oil and put a good dose of lucas oil in it and try starting it and see how it sounds - might end up swapping a spare 11HP motor i have onto it if it still clatters.

Keep you posted.


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## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

Sounds like you had a full day at PLAY !  Bet even your wife was happy you saved money too. Good job, keep us up to date. Bye


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## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

For all the pokes in the eye life threw at you yesterday, Nice it wasn't anything serious.


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

The MTD is still DOA at the moment- i spent yesterday putting my 10x20 auto shelter up - i just didnt want to mess with it yet.


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## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

dangeroustoys56 said:


> The MTD is still DOA at the moment- i spent yesterday putting my 10x20 auto shelter up - i just didnt want to mess with it yet.


10 x 20 auto shelter! Did you forget something????Bye


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

LOL- ill have to get some today- i bot it on clearance for $50 ( normal price is like $300!) from work- working retail sure has its perks sometimes.

Ill probably swap the MTD motor out - i dont want to risk blowing it up - it looks like it needs new rings ( burning a lil oil) anyway so ill get a kit and give it a try rebuilding it sometime.

Also bot a pull behind spreader/areator for $50 from a thrift store - looks barely used , and seems to work fine.


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Picture time:

Heres the shed - i still need to tweek it a bit/adjust a few things still :











Heres that spreader areator- its a 'precise fit' CT0021 - tried using 'da google' but havent seen it - no idea where it comes from - i need to tweek that too- tighten a few bolts, adjust some things, but it does work :


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Just scored yet ANOTHER good deal ( if i can get it to FIT something) - went to Lowes to see about bins for the bagger for my murray tractor - wife and i were looking around and i noticed this huge box on the floor - so i opened it up and it was a brand new, never used, complete 2 bin bagger, STILL in the box, for a husquavarna - for the huge sum of ......$30 . Apparently the person special ordered it for a Zturn tractor, and looked like it wouldnt fit - so they returned it- and being a special order Lowes has to discount it.

The retail price new for the setup? $400.

Dang, like it 'willed' me to just happen to want to go there n buy it..... i even kept the clearance tag for it.


Oh Lowes carries that 'precise fit' series- i saw the areator on a sign- cept it didnt have a price....


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

What a week- expected it to go smooth, but turns out the car needs a $200 solenoid, and in the trailer park across the street the police busted a meth lab from people that JUST moved in a month ago, along with a stolen car - yay. 

I hate trailer parks.....


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## Thomas (Nov 1, 2006)

Dang...and still couple months to go before fresh new year.


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