OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Off Topics Finally My first free mowers in Brisbane

Went for a little drive over the weekend and my wife with her great eyes seen some mowers in a house across the road from a near by McDonald's.
So we went in and asked,the fellow there was more than happy for me to take all of them.
Here they are.



This one here I need to fix and get it going until my mowers come up from Canberra.As I have to use my VC-160 Auto Drive Mark I to mow the lawns,and I don't like using that to mow.The starter is buggered and missing parts if somebody has one and doesn't want please let me know.

All fours stokes as you can see.
...and yes the mower that I was always hoping that I never found.Only because I'm a Ford man and have always had Falcon's.So to have this I know don't know what to do with it? As it's not a Victa or Scott Bonnar.So what do I do with it.Help me out here guys.


Now I remember seeing a post a while back discussing about the Falcon and I remember seeing that these were made by Rover.However this sticker seems to suggest something other than that.Now without having a really good lock over it to me it seems more like a Victa base with a rover catcher.Any info on it would be great as well.
Thanks All.

Falcon,Keep or Not? single choice

Yes (67%, 4 Votes)

No (33%, 2 Votes)

Total Votes: 6 Voting on this poll ends: 27/11/15 08:44 PM

Looks like you already have your answer,It appears the Falcon Company is more industrial/agricultural farm equipment.I would say that they wanted to add a smaller unit to their product range to cover all bases.It almost certainly appears to be a Rover as you said and just rebadged for their own company line up.Just like so many other companys did.HG Palmer,Pace,And all The department store Brands to name a few,All used Major Manufacturers Rebadged Designs:)
Just revert it back to a rover,Id say its only the decals and maybee some very minor differences in appointments,but id doubt it.
http://www.falconequipment.co.za/mowers/falcon

Here is my opinion of falcons after 9 hours of this last sunday, had to have the heater on with no air con with 40 degree heat. The gauge actually goes all the way past the end of the red, when it gets there it beeps to let you know its a falcon.




Ok just kidding, that particular one was very unmaintained. Its not a mower that turns up everyday, but if you have the room why not?

Just one other wuick thing, PM me if you get really stuck for a starter.

No Bluegmhtmonaro my mind isn't made up as I really don't know.Also if I re-badged it as a Rover it would be out the door.I have no interest in Rovers at all.

Wow Joe just look at the dirt and dust inside that car.Wow 281,475 kms,now there's your problem.Also I have sent you a PM.

Fix the falcon.

Pull the tank and air cleaner off it. Put the primer tank off the victa on the Falcon.

You probably wont even need too. If put money on valve clearances in the Falcon and it will probably fire right up.



I think the base is acutally a superswift. Well their catchers fit. The catcher thats similar to the rover one but with the moulded handle not the clip on one like the rover.

You maybe be right bob. Hopefully this Saturday I will get time to have a look and get it up and running.

Help I need help please.I tried to get the Falcon running this afternoon and found that it would start but not run.I found that after the little bit of fuel that I through down the carby ran out it would stop.So I realized the carby was not sending fuel into the combustion camber.So I pulled it apart.Now I know this may sound funny to some but I have never played with the carby's off a Briggs.I did find that the pick-ups where a little clogged with junk,but I don't know what and where to go from here and I really want to get this out girl going.I have lawns to mow and I really don't want to use my VC-160 Auto Drive Mark I.Any help and or advice would be much appreciated.Here is what I'm up to so far.







Hope some one can help and soon I need to get it running tomorrow after work.
Thanks.

G'day there Blumbly, I have had a few red wines, I am finished work for this year.
Those carbys and tanks can be a pain, I have recently draw filed the warping out of the tanks and have found that this does solve starting issues.
Before starting I tip the mower towards the spark plug. This is a way of priming these. (for an easy start)
Make sure you pre load the automatic choke prior to tightening the carby screws down.
I will put a link in for another thread that will help you.
Enjoy all the fun you can possibly have with that.
From Mark

Thread:
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=41715&gonew=1#UNREAD

Thanks Mark don't think there will be too much fun.I don't get into these types of engines,but I'll see what I can do.

Blumbly, I have had one of those carby's in the past (before I knew how to service them properly) that I gave up on.
I ended up putting a later model tank and carby on (one with a primer off a 35 sprint)
This works aswell, gives trouble free starting.
I have only done a hand full of these engines, I have found in most cases the engine itself it great, just the fuel supply from a tank and carby that requies attention making it run rough.
I place the air filter screw back in during testing, if I have the filter off.

Blumbly, you might start with this thread, which in turn shows you how to access the right pages in the overhaul manual, on-line:
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=22526

Your diagnostics to date indicate a carburetor fault, or a massive intake pipe leak. Check the O ring on the inside of the intake pipe, just to eliminate that as a possibility. I've never known one to give trouble, but it only takes a moment to check that it is in place and undamaged.

Your carburetor is a PulsaJet, which is the more complicated of the two Briggs used on those engines. You will have to clean the intake filter on the longer suction pipe - they accumulate grass and crud from the bottom of the fuel tank. I doubt that will be your problem though: an obstructed suction pipe usually causes high speed lean mixture, not failure to start. Is the automatic choke closing? The engine will not start if it is not set up correctly. While you are at it, check that the top of the tank and the bottom of the carburetor are both flat, as explained in the above thread.

The next potential problem is the flaps on the diaphragm which are part of the fuel pump. The flaps need to sit flat and seal against the underside of the carburetor, when the diaphragm is laid flat on it. One is the pump intake valve, the other the pump outlet valve, similar to a mechanical fuel pump in an old car. The pump diaphragm is also part of that big diaphragm which also acts as a gasket between tank and carburetor.

To check the parts and put the whole thing back together successfully, I suggest you use the on-line manual I referred to earlier. The automatic-choke PulsaJet is easily the most complex carburetor I've seen used on a lawnmower, though it isn't nearly as complex as a chainsaw/trimmer/blower carburetor. Following the manual closely is much easier than trying to trace all the functions and work it out on your own.

OK thanks Grumpy and Mark I must have done something right as it is now running.Didn't get a good test in as it was getting late,but it did run and idle.At least until it smoked me out of the garage.So I guess my next question is why all the smoke,hopefully nothing bad.I did notice (due to sitting for who knows how long)that the pipes with the filters did have some dry chunky stuff on them.I'm guessing that wouldn't have helped.Generally the rest of the carby was OK not great just OK,and I did blow it out with the air hose.

Blumbly, if the smoke was blue it was oil smoke, and indicates a problem. If the engine had been tilted immediately before you ran it, oil could have run into the valve chest, and been sucked into the breather when the engine started. If the engine had been stored upside down or in some other strange position, oil could have slowly run into the cylinder, either past the rings or through the breather. If some nut had been running it on 2 stroke mix, it could have a carboned-up exhaust port and muffler, so you'd get oil smoke until it burned out the crud. However if it had always been the right way up and had not been abused, there's a good chance the bore or piston rings are the problem. Those old 92908s are nice engines but they are plentiful and it is probably not worth rebuilding one that is worn out, unless you enjoy it. You can make a good estimate of the condition of the rings and bore by feeling the compression when you pull the starter, then putting a spoonful of engine oil into the cylinder through the spark plug hole and immediately repeating the test. The oil temporarily seals the compression rings to the cylinder wall: if the compression increases substantially with the oil in the cylinder, the rings are leaking a lot.

Thanks grumpy I didn't get time to look at the smoke as it was filling up the garage with smoke too quick,and the kill switch didn't stop it.I had the put my hand over the carby to stop it.After the room cleared I found the accelerator cable wasn't adjusted right.Also how do you read the engine number as far as date goes.I know Ty explained it to once but I can't remember what he said.I'll post the engine number up later.Maybe if it is explained here I won't forget and then I can refer back to it if I do forget.

One key point: if you ever try to operate that engine without the air cleaner fitted, it is essential to put the air cleaner retaining screw into the carburetor, or it will flood to an epic extent - probably won't start, but if it does it will fill the area with black petrol smoke.

Now that you've adjusted the speed control cable correctly, the kill switch should work unless something is damaged somewhere.

The long series of numbers stamped on the cooling air cowl above the muffler are in three groups: Model, Type, and Code. The model and type describe the engine, so you can find parts and manuals for it. The code gives the date of manufacture and the plant/production line where the engine was made. The first two digits in the code are the last two digits of the year of manufacture: e.g., 85 would mean 1985. The second two digits are the month of manufacture, e.g. 07 would mean July. The third two digits are the day of the month, e.g. 25 would be the 25th day, so in this hypothetical example the engine would have been made on 25 July 1985. There are two more digits after the six that reveal the date of manufacture - the production line and plant codes. I don't know how to decipher those.

OK thanks I put the number up and see if I can get my head around it.When I had it running I had the air cleaner on,I pulled it off to stop the engine.I'm a little chicken when it comes to pulling the spark plug lead off when running.I have been zapped to many times before.Don't really like it anymore.

If its been on its side for an extended period or spark plug side down it will smoke like buggery for a good while, I have plenty like that, the oil never simply drains back, it can help if you was the muffler out but generally I just run them as-is for a while.

It was stored for quite some time on it's all four wheels.The muffler is still dripping with oil.So that in itself has me wondering why it is full of oil.Lets go and see what it does when I start it.Taking my video camera you may see it on you-tube later.