OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Reel Lawn Mowers, Atco & Villiers etc. Light Atco 14 - JoshuaF

Hi everyone, this is my first post about my cylinder mower.

I have been reading these posts for several days now and thought some knowledgeable people might be able to help me. I would love to get my old cylinder working properly again. I recently overcame the problem of my duel tank flaking and clogging up my carbie. I had the mower running really well however, when I went to engage the clutch nothing happened. I have never had this problem before. It used to always engage into gear and take off. I would also like to know what year the mower is. I would love to get the mower working properly again as it would be a shame to lose this relic. I would like to know what are the steps that I need to take to possibly fix the problem. I have read through previous posts and looked at manuals and read other people's advice.

Hello JoshuaF

A warm welcome to these forums.
I have moved this post to a separate topic for you.

Okay, I'm not an Atco expert, but we need more information.

Could you please confirm that the output shaft is not turning.
This would indicate the issue is with the plate clutch not engaging.

There should be a tag on the RH side frame like this:-
[first digits are the width; last digits the year]


Please advise so that Atco owners may help.

Hope this helps.
------------------------
Jack

Thank you for moving my post to the correct place. There is no ID tag present so I can't find any more relevant information there. The output shaft is not turning when I attempt to engage the clutch. Thank you for replying to my post so quickly.

Hi JoshuaF,
Have a look for the tag in the same spot but on the inside of the frame. It may be hard to spot if it's been over painted. Your Atco looks to be the same model as mine 1955/56, the clutch is fairly simple just steel plates that are pushed together to produce a drive chain.

Are your clutch plates loose in their housing ? When the lever is moved do they tighten up against each other ?

In your photo above the collar behind the spring looks like it has moved, shiny metal on the shaft.

When I try to engage the gear I don't think it is pressing the plates together enough. I believe on the collar behind the spring one of the notches has worn out so I moved it to the next notch.

I did a little more work on the motor yesterday and found that in the clutch there are several cork plugs that slot into machines holes on one of the plates. A lot of those plugs are brittle or are missing. Does anyone know either where to get some from, how to make new ones or possibly alternative ways to overcome the problem?

Thank you,
Joshua

Joshua, I have made corks up for motorcycle clutch plates using one of those cork sanding blocks used by painters. They seem to work well. Not sure if this will help your situation

That is great thank you. I went and got one today.

So a bit of an update. I tried the sanding block and they wore out very quickly. So I went out and got some wine corks and cut out 12 to fit in the clutch. This afternoon I mowed the backyard with the Atco. I had to adjust the cut and it now cuts very nicely. The next step now is sourcing a catcher.

Glad you have it working- they are a decent mower . I would agree its probably 1954 - 1958. Under the magneto cover there is a date mark XX XX month and year but the engine and magneto may not be the original one. This is the standard Atco 14 and had a simple steel catcher .Google for images . The deluxe 14 has an alloy 2 section landroll, longer fuel tank. micro adjusters for the bottom blade, usually an all steel cone clutch, low tone large muffler and a much larger alloy catcher which hooks over the front engine mounting bar.