G'day everyone,
Warning: My method of doing this on my Model 45, requires tilting the mower backwards, so the rubber handle grips are touching the ground. Because the Spark Plug is located at the back of my engine, and if your's is in the same location, then I suggest that you drain
most of your engine oil
out into a container, before you do this, as this will help to prevent any hydrolocking of the piston. Remove your spark plug, and replace it with an old used one [do not connect the rubber grommet to your plug] or, alternatively, leave the aperture open [i.e. no plug in at all], and the petrol needs to be completely shut off as well.
Now then... let's suppose you are doing your regular mowing, when all of a sudden you get that dreaded
'ping' and 'thud' sound as the object hits your cylinder and bottom blade and is then dispatched into the catcher, [for this example, we will assume the foreign object is a small to medium sized stone]. Immediately shut gown your engine, and head to your normal mower maintenance area, then do the above before doing anything else. At this point, I am unsure if the above procedure is necessary if your spark plug is located at the
front of your engine, so maybe someone can comment on that.
Once you have done everything as described above, tilt your mower back, so the rubber handles are touching the ground. Throughly examine your bottom blade and you will eventually find the damaged area. Now what I do here is get my lump hammer, and move one undamaged cylinder blade so that it is directly under the damaged blade area. A few mild hits with the hammer will remove the dent. I normally do this 10cm on either side of the damaged area, moving the cylinder very slightly, so that I am
always hitting the bottom blade in line with the cylinder blade itself.
Eventually, you will find that you have virtually
"panel beated" the damaged area completely, and then to make things even better, a through backlap using
medium, then fine paste should see you back in action relatively quickly. You will very likely also have to adjust the cutting adjustment screw, usually
one eighth of a turn for each side, then test your quality of cut with a piece of grass to ensure it cuts clean, with no tears or rips.
When your happy with the results, return your mower to the upright position, and ensure your mower
On/Off switch is in the Off position, and if you used an old plug during this process, remove it. Then pull your recoil handle and watch for any oil that spurts from the MT plug aperture. This will free your piston from possibly hydrolocking. It may initially seem difficult to get a full revolution, but after a few attempts, it should work as normal. Then,
replace your engine oil you removed earlier, making sure it is topped up to the
full position. Lastly, remove the side bolt on your carby bowl, and drain it completely, then turn your petrol supply back on to flush out any impurities. When it is clean, turn off the petrol supply and replace the bolt. Now put back your original plug, after giving it a good clean, turn on your petrol supply, wait a few seconds and then start your engine.
See this post:
https://outdoorking-forum.com.au/fo...809-83100-engine-problem.html#Post121016 for more detailed info.
Note: This will [or should keep you going] temporarily, but I highly recommend you get your cylinder and bottom blade ground, by a specialist, in the off growing season.
I hope that this post is of some help to you all that use cylinder mowers, and that have suffered this type of unfortunate mishap.
Cheers,
mice_elf
