this post was submitted on 04 May 2026
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Took apart my lawn mower (lemmy.ca)
submitted 3 weeks ago by brynden_rivers_esq@lemmy.ca to c/dull_mens_club@lemmy.world
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I couldn't start my lawnmower yesterday. I don't know anything about lawnmowers, really, but I figured if I took it apart I could maybe see what was wrong. I took it apart and couldn't see what was wrong. When my wife asked me to show her, I reassembled it, but then it unexpectedly started up fine. Lawn-mowing accomplished!

I didn't do anything...honestly I have no idea. I guess the lawnmower equivalent of "did you try turning it off and turning it on again" is "did you try taking it apart and putting it back together"!

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[–] D_C@sh.itjust.works 27 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Usually when a lawn mower won't start it's the fuel that's gummed up the carburettor.
The reason for this is that the petrol that's produced today has additives in it which can clump up.

By taking it to pieces I'm guessing you shifted something.

After I've finished mowing for the year I usually empty the tank and then run the mower dry. Then refill the next time I start mowing again.
Alternatively you can just start the mower once a month during winter, and let it run until it's warm to keep the fuel in the carbs and pipes 'fresh' and moving.

[–] brynden_rivers_esq@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

That's some good advice! I'll have to figure how to empty the tank at the end of the summer.

[–] D_C@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] brynden_rivers_esq@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 weeks ago

Never heard of one of these, but seems like a good thing to have lying around!

[–] WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Follow the little round fuel line from the gas tank to the carb. Sometimes there is a special fuel cutoff valve on the bottom of the tank. You can also siphon out the bulk of the gas and run it for a few minutes until it dies to dry it out if you don't want to fool with the spring clips.

[–] bitchkat@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

Battery operated siphon worked well for me.

[–] Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago

Or just use a fuel stabilizer.

[–] ladicius@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

How many screws did you get to keep from the mower? I'm always glad I get extra screws.

[–] Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 13 points 3 weeks ago

As a mechanic, you would be surprised how often things are fixed just by taking them apart and reassembling. Welcome to the club.

[–] CombatWombat@feddit.online 9 points 3 weeks ago

The lawnmower fixed itself out of respect for the way you handled the disassembly and reassembly process.

[–] Blackout@fedia.io 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Next time try hitting it with a hammer. Solves all my problems.

[–] Almacca@aussie.zone 5 points 3 weeks ago

Even arguments with the wife!

[–] Klox@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

A local "tool library" hosted a 2 hour class through the community college on small engine repair. It was really great. IDK how much you took it apart, but a few things they covered:

  1. The starter pull rotates a large magnet to force the piston to start firing. There is a resting brake applied to the magnet that is attached to the pull arm where you grab the mower. If that's "stuck" it won't pull nicely and allow you to start the mower. Related, the brake will also ground out the spark plug to kill the engine. Both could be potentially fixed by taking it apart.

  2. Fuel doesn't last forever and can get gunky. That could impact hoses, carberator, and starter.

  3. Too many failed starts could flood the piston. You might have helped clear it out.

Forewarned, totally new to small engines but above was helpful for me. I got my mower started that hadn't been used for ~8 years after replacing the carberator. Got my gas weed whacker (FIL gave it to me after he downsized his house) started after a spark plug change. Next up is a gas pressure water I got at an estate sale.

[–] brynden_rivers_esq@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 weeks ago

That sounds like an awesome class. I think point 2 may have been my issue; it sat with fuel in it for a good 8 months or so.

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 weeks ago

Nice. I only took the blade of my electric mower off to sharpen it, not quite on the level of "taking it apart", but hopefully it will work better.

[–] BagOfHeavyStones@piefed.social 6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

So glad I've changed mine to electric. Can take it out of the shed in six months and it'll go just fine.

The 20 minutes battery life is a bit tedious but with two batteries it's enough for me.

[–] brynden_rivers_esq@lemmy.ca 6 points 3 weeks ago

yeah i thought about going that route, but I was able to get a used gas mower for dirt cheap from a guy that repairs them as a hobby/side project. If not for that I think i might have gone for one that uses the same battery platform as my power tools just for the joy of having as much as possible run off the same batteries lol

[–] i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk 2 points 3 weeks ago

I've only ever owned electric mowers (actually, that shouldn't be plural - I've only ever owned one electric mower which I brought back in 2007 when I got a house with a garden). It isn't a battery one - I'm not sure they existed back then - but I will change it for one when I have to replace it as the cable's a bit annoying.

I'd actually rather leave the grass to grow but apparently it looks untidy.

[–] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Most lawn mowers can be fixed with a sort of hand grenade solution of replacing the entire carburetor. You can get typical purchase a preassembled carbs for a bit more than a rebuild kit. It's usually two bolts, the throtlled connector and the gas line.

This assumes you're ruled out obvious things like the spark plug which is even cheaper and easier to replace or clogged gas line which is how I got my current lawn mower.

Funny part there is it was my next door neighbor's discarded lawn mower and they've asked to borrow it a couple times since.

[–] brynden_rivers_esq@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 weeks ago

Oh nice; that's good to know! Someone here was kind enough to point out that it was probably a clogged gas line with my fiddling accidentally unclogged.

[–] i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

So many times I've taken things apart to "see what's wrong" to no avail.

[–] brynden_rivers_esq@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I was 100% certain I was in this position when I removed basically all the screws I could see, and was like "well...i don't know what I expected, but I have no idea what I'm looking at" lol

[–] i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk 2 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, or there's something obviously broken but no obvious way to fix, or a spring pings off during disassembly and it isn't clear where it came from.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Probably got fresh fuel in the float bowl. I'll often cycle a cup of fuel through and back into the tank after winter