# I Think I Killed It...



## mochazina (Jul 19, 2007)

Hi everyone!
WARNING: I feel like the idiot of the year, so please be gentle... :bangin: 

At the end of June we bought our first house, and with it my first lawnmower (though not his)... Eager to cut my unruly yard after all the rain we've been getting down here in Houston, I went out a few hours ago, put gas in it, and went to town - well... about 1/3 of the way through the front yard, it just stops.  I ask my RibDonor what could have caused it and he asked "did you put the oil in it?" I hadn't. I had no clue it needed it! He was concerned about the oil getting messed up by it being on it's side when we were bringing it home from the store, so I thought it had some. :huh: And I didn't even notice the bottle of oil in the owner's manual packet - yes it was heavy, but I just thought it was some of the attachment stuff since it's a mulcher-bagger-discharger. (He's not feeling well today, otherwise he woulda been out there to prevent this catastrophe.)

:help:So my question is, now that the cord won't pull (even thought I added the oil immediately after it stopped), how badly did I screw up? Is this "we have to buy a new mower" bad, "we can get it fixed" bad, or "we can simply ____ and it will be okay" bad? 

It's a Craftsman Mower with a Br&Str Engine.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Is this a new mower? I assume yes. then, since it's sears, it's still under warranty, so maybe you can return it for exchange or fix. I wouldn't mention anything about not putting oil in it though. It's up to you.


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

It sounds like the piston and all the muckings are seized... and my experience with Sears is that they are great for returns and warranty... a friend who used to work in the paints department said they even took care of a customer who returned wall paper because she said the pattern was upside down when she put it up!


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## Jeekinz (Jan 29, 2007)

Put the oil in before you bring it back!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## SecretSquirrel (Jun 22, 2007)

While I don't share everyone else's enthusiasm for making a false claim, I would recommend contacting a lawnmower motor repair shop and see what their take is on the situation. It's pretty certain you seized the engine... just gotta figure out what it'll cost to bring it back to life.

Kinda reminds me of the story of the guy that brought back the 4-wheeler with a cracked engine casing. When asked if he ran the vehicle under water, the owner vehemently denied doing that. The service techs later found a minnow in the air filter compartment.

Let your conscience be your guide. :devil: :innocent:


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

the cost to bring it back to life probably about the same as buying a new one... then even it does bring back to life, it probably be only half life or 1/4 life as some damage probably inside permanent....
but I agree, it doesn't hurt to call a lawn mower repair shop and tell them the situation and ask if it is worth to fix it....

but return back to sears... if you tell them the truth... they may exchange you with a new one because this can be considered an accident caused by human error... big store may be willing to cover such accident.... and there is no need to not telling the truth....

I have to say though... this is rather unusual.... if you can assume there is no gas in the tank... why would you assume there is lubricating oil....


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

Just to be clear, I wouldn't recommend making a false claim, just bring it back and tell them what happened. Worse case scenario, they'll ask for a fee to repair it and you can make the call to repair or not, and best case they will replace.

Given the business models of the larger chain stores, many of them will accept these back even if it's consumer error.

I know, one can always argue that these are the reasons why prices are being driven up, the whole "tragedy of the commons" scenario but what heck...


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## Jeekinz (Jan 29, 2007)

^^^ you guys must have never had a Sears card, huh?^^^^


lol


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

Jeekinz said:


> ^^^ you guys must have never had a Sears card, huh?^^^^
> 
> 
> lol


 
I still have one... But I'm in Canada, maybe that's why I don't get the joke... :wink:


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

ok... goto Sears ... don't ask your husband to go with you... they don't forgive men to make a mistake like that.... but as a woman who appears know nothing above machine/engine... they may end up laugh out loud and sympathic to a lady need to handle the mowing job and try to help you out the best... Also try to make yourself as attractive as possible, who knows it may be a male receptionist... and who say appearance doesn't help....

if this doesn't work... well... at least you give your best shot...


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## Clutchcargo (Mar 31, 2007)

Tell them what happened in real general terms. "It stopped working."


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## mochazina (Jul 19, 2007)

Thanks everyone! I'm on my way to somewhere (either Sears or a shop) right now to take care of it...



KUIPORNG said:


> if you can assume there is no gas in the tank... why would you assume there is lubricating oil....


Honestly - I have no clue...:jester: Other than my husband being concerned about the oil in the engine as we were taking it home - he was concerned about the mower being laid on it's side for the 40 min drive possibly messing something up - honestly it was just a VERY dumb mistake. :wallbash: It just never occured to me that it was only a bit of oil, not an engine full. And to make matters worse - I'm the stickler around here for reading the instruction manuals... and it was written right there in plain english (and español) to add both gas and oil!!!!! I must reiterate how much this :wallbash: applies to me right now!

But thanks again for all of your suggestions...


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## slakker (May 29, 2007)

I just re-read your post... Rib Donor!!! HA, I just got it... I must be slow... :whistling2: 

But I forgot to relay my experience with my Craftsman mower... my wife is a lefty so it's awkward for her to start the mower and about 1.5 year after we had the mower, the cord snapped back and the handle broke. The cord wound itself fully into the enginer compartment so we called Sears Home Service. The fellow came out, replaced the part and after speaking to my wife, felt sympathy and wrote it up as a warranty repair... It may be because she was the one hangling it or the fact he felt sorry that there's 1/3 acre getting over grown, but either way, great service.


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## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

I bought a new Sears mower several years ago and the salesman did mention that there was no oil in the engine and a quart of oil was in the bagger assembly. I did check it before firing it up. I think its poor packaging on Sears part as I could see a lot of people missing it. But I think ya need a new mower... 

Aint worth fixin.. But if you buy the same model again, save the first one for parts! Wheels, deck, pull cord etc.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

For the record, my input above, does not suggest lying to Sears reps.


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## mochazina (Jul 19, 2007)

*Yay!*

well - all is now well again in my mower kingdom... took it back to sears and exchanged it. i told em it stopped working they said "okay, when'd you buy it?" I told em about a week ago they said, "let's get it exchanged for ya." :thumbup: They didn't ask any questions, and I didn't offer any more info.
Thanks again everyone!!

BTW - I sure wish it'd stop raining for a week or so... so I can get to my backyard. It's like a swamp out there... but i did finish my front yard. That half mowed look was worse than the jungle look! :laughing:


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

Let me guess.... you go alone... without your husband.....

I find all refund/exchange are better serviced to ladies.... base on my personal experience....


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## Sammy (Mar 11, 2007)

Cool! 

Yeah my wife returned a special order shed to Sears once.....


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## mochazina (Jul 19, 2007)

*I'm Baaaack!*

Okay, fellas and fell-ettes! You were so helpful last time, I have to ask you another question!

Recently my lawnmower's engine has been acting strangely - running on relatively low RPMs and throwing to one side as it runs. :sneaky2: Then sometimes it cuts off after a few minutes of this, other times it keeps going and we are able to cut the yard. :huh:

We've changed the air filter, checked the oil and gas levels, and everything else seems fine... :help: My RibDonor's even stumped on this one! Any suggestions?


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## KUIPORNG (Jan 11, 2006)

*somthing to do with the Gas supply line I guess*

I would think gas is not able to constantly supply to the engine all the time.... may have air blocking the transfer...etc....


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

mochazina said:


> Okay, fellas and fell-ettes! You were so helpful last time, I have to ask you another question!
> 
> Recently my lawnmower's engine has been acting strangely - running on relatively low RPMs and throwing to one side as it runs. :sneaky2: Then sometimes it cuts off after a few minutes of this, other times it keeps going and we are able to cut the yard. :huh:
> 
> We've changed the air filter, checked the oil and gas levels, and everything else seems fine... :help: My RibDonor's even stumped on this one! Any suggestions?


Probably gumming of the carb. You can go to a auto parts store and buy some carb cleaner.

Try using premium vice regular. BP/Amoco if possible. It's the best.


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## jogr (Jul 24, 2007)

Did you winterize the mower last fall? If not then probably a gummed up carb. Might have to take apart the carb to degum it well. Maybe you could take it back to your friends at Sears for an exchange again.....LOL.


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## mochazina (Jul 19, 2007)

:laughing: :laughing:


jogr said:


> Maybe you could take it back to your friends at Sears for an exchange again.....LOL.


 :laughing: :laughing:

Naw, I didn't winterize cuz we kept mowing through the winter! (Did I mention we're in Houston?) But we will try the un-gumming thing.

Thanks, ya'll!! I'll give an update after we get done...


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## Maintenance 6 (Feb 26, 2008)

If there's a fuel filter between the tank and carbuerator, it may be time to change it. Could be starved for fuel from the dirty filter.


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## KHouse75 (May 14, 2008)

Not sure. I put my mowers in the shed from December through March and never winterize. They all start no problem and have for the 9 years I've owned them. I have a greens mower, a reel mower a push mower and a riding mower. I'm really not sure why so many people have problems with starting and running mowers.

My neighbor has been throuh 6 mowers in 2 years. My other neighbor has been through 4 mowers in 3 years. I just don't get it. I change the oil as needed, put in fresh gas, follow the directions and pull the string or turn the key.


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## Jay123 (May 7, 2008)

mochazina said:


> Okay, fellas and fell-ettes! You were so helpful last time, I have to ask you another question!
> 
> Recently my lawnmower's engine has been acting strangely - running on relatively low RPMs and throwing to one side as it runs. :sneaky2: Then sometimes it cuts off after a few minutes of this, other times it keeps going and we are able to cut the yard. :huh:
> 
> We've changed the air filter, checked the oil and gas levels, and everything else seems fine... :help: My RibDonor's even stumped on this one! Any suggestions?



I'd say it's definitely a case of....bad karma. :whistling2:












J


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## mochazina (Jul 19, 2007)

update!

so it was that "fresh start" thing that was under the gas cap - i'd forgotten about it! oy!! thanks again for all ya'lls help! :thumbup:


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## mhgcsuper (Oct 28, 2008)

Have someone pull the head off of the motor ( that is the part of the motor that the spark plug screws into). You will see the piston under the head. Pour some oil onto the piston and let it set. try to push the piston down with your thumbs. I have seen this oil unfreeze a piston with no problems. On the other, if the mower cranks but smokes then it will need a set of rings.


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