Ok AVB I will bite, how are you bleeding these calipers? Only way I know is with the caliper off, wood between the pads and holding the caliper in your hand with the brake line at the highest point and crack the fitting to let the air out. Usually would require 2 people this way ? Am I close?
Yelp that what I got to do. Although I probably use a cinder block with a catch pan to support the caliper.
I know it is a pain but I am by my self though I might be able to get a friend to help as it won't take as long as I prime the cylinders and lines before starting on the final line bleed. I will use my MityVac to bleed the lines before quickly attaching them to calipers. I know it will not be 100% bleeding but will be fairly close. Definitely will be better than no brakes at all which is where I am starting at.
I would still prefer to use the regular bleeders but sometimes you got to do whatever you can but that MityVac will make it an one person job, just got remember to keep that master cylinder full of fluid or it is a wasted effect.
Just an update. I got the mower running (but little throttle control) with the help of BigTed. He pointed out that the smaller tecumseh engines have the same blower as this one. I got a wreck for $5 and replaced the blower on the one I was fixing. The carb had a leaky primer bulb so i got a new carb off ebay too. It starts first pull now but seems to have the same throttle speed no matter what the lever does. At the moment it is either full speed or no speed and it is also leaking oil around the bottom of the oil filler pipe.
Sparker is the governor working? If you can set the idle speed a bit higher than normal then the governor should take over. Not sure on the filler tube but if it is a tube then it will have an "O" ring on it, replace that and it should be fine. Going to full speed indicates the throttle cable is opening the butterfly, this is the governors job
Hi Norm, The filler tube is fixed but I am a bit stumped with the governor. I don't think it's working. I can manually move it and control the speed but it doesn't seem to work on its own. I would like to get it going as it has a big 21" cut and seems to have a very solid frame.
I moved that sliding throttle plate up towards the front of the mower and that seems to have quietened it down a bit. Funny, I thought that adjustment would make it worse as it put more tension on the spring. I also straightened out that rod with the spring on it to stop any fouling with the other rod. Very flimsy material on these engines.
What rod are you talking about sparker, if it is the governor rod you can't mess with that, it needs to be set so that when the motor is not running the throttle butterfly is wide open, then when the motor fires it swings the butterfly closed back to idle. The you have to work out if the governor is actually working. Where the arm enters the crankcase you will need to undo the locking bolt and rotate the shaft fully in the direction that opens the butterfly fully and lock the shaft in that position. It then might involve somebody to watch and see if the governor arm to the closed position as you start the motor. If this doesn't work it looks like the governor may have failed
I recently found a Victa with a dead Tecumseh, with missing throttle cable and tank cap, on it. The body was teeming with rust blisters under the paint, the non ball bearing wheels were bald, the handles were rusty all over. The mower was useless even as a wreck. No wonder it was sitting on a street corner getting no attention. This was one Victa I didn't take home!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Yes MF, they aren't the best of motors, but I do find the bushed wheels stand up better than the Victa bearing wheels, except the ones they fitted with sealed bearings, they are good
Norm, the rod I was talking about was the little governor rod that has the spring attached. I have run this mower for about 40 minutes and it mowed my yard faultlessly. However today I tried to mow the yard with it again (actually my son was doing it) and somehow the blower/flywheel key broke and that was without hitting anything. When i got this mower it had a broken key so this is the second one.
Hi sparker, what sort of blade carrier does it have, I bet it has a bar and my belief is they don't give enough spinning weight and so much inertia is required on the keyway to help it spin. The other issue is the key should not be taking that much load, it is only so the timing can be set. My gut feel is there is a problem with the taper and it is not being tightened down hard enough on the taper. It may require a bit ground off the inside of the wheel to allow it to come down just a fraction on the taper, doesn't need much
It has a very large blade holder with 4 blades. It's a 21" cut, from memory. You might have a point there Norm, maybe I hadn't put the correct torque on the nut, I just tightened it down using "the force". I have since looked up the correct torque. Torque Specification is 45-65.5 NM for the aluminium flywheel.
Sparker it broke the original keyway so I'm thinking taper problem. Before you fit the keyway, fit the flywheel and see if it grabs on the taper and if there is enough thread left so the nut is not bottoming out on the end of the thread. If it is you will need a washer under the nut. Also check that the underside on the flywheel is not bottoming out on a shoulder on the taper.
My mower shop didn't have a key for it. Ebay cheapest was $9.00. I ordered 20 from the USA for about $21.00. So now I will have to wait a couple of weeks. I'll sell the extra ones on ebay or so my cunning plan goes.
Sparker you can make up a temporary keyway just to test and prove that it will hold on the taper ok while you wait for the ones from the States. It is only required to set the timing and if it tightened up fine in the right spot it should hold without the keyway if you really wanted to test it.
Now the thread on the nut is stripped. I have to get another one and I have to clean up the thread on the crank. I think I damaged the nut when I had to get the flywheel off....I like red neck style methods. No rattle gun Norm.
