Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Had a lovely luncheon of the last pitta bread with the last slice of corned beef, then a white roll with butter and strawberry & rose jam, plus a banana, a nectarine and two 
Then oranges prepped for marmalade, turned one of the remaining three punnets of strawberries into a compote which will be diverted into the aforementioned bakewell tart, and then sloped off to look at the mower.
Tried the simplest solution first, which was cleaning and lubricating all the pivot points for the throttle control and the choke, and then squirting some GT85 into the throttle cable outer. Seems to have largely solved the adjustment issue at least (it's a toggle-operated hand throttle), so really chuffed that no dismantling was required. But while I had the air filter off, I gave it a thorough clean. it didn't *look* dirty, but I got a whole handful of fluff off it.
Sorting the throttle control hasn't solved the problem of the cutting deck engaging as soon as you start the engine. It's not under full load, but the deck is drawing power from the engine nonetheless, which it shouldn't do with the lever disengaged. I did mess around with the bite point for the lever, but that's not where the problem is, as the changes didn't make a difference.
I now suspect it's an alignment issue. There are four pivots on the chassis which the deck hangs from, and which allows it to stay level on rough ground, and a hitch with two pivots at the front, which gives you fore-and-aft adjustment. It's those hitch pivots I need to check, methinks - if I shorten the distance between the deck and the front of the mower, it will add slack into the belt that transfers power from the engine to the deck. This is a relatively recent thing and it maybe that the time before last, I simply put the hitch bolts into the wrong holes when re-hanging the deck.
Anyways, I'm now just about finishing a nice
Then oranges prepped for marmalade, turned one of the remaining three punnets of strawberries into a compote which will be diverted into the aforementioned bakewell tart, and then sloped off to look at the mower.
Tried the simplest solution first, which was cleaning and lubricating all the pivot points for the throttle control and the choke, and then squirting some GT85 into the throttle cable outer. Seems to have largely solved the adjustment issue at least (it's a toggle-operated hand throttle), so really chuffed that no dismantling was required. But while I had the air filter off, I gave it a thorough clean. it didn't *look* dirty, but I got a whole handful of fluff off it.
Sorting the throttle control hasn't solved the problem of the cutting deck engaging as soon as you start the engine. It's not under full load, but the deck is drawing power from the engine nonetheless, which it shouldn't do with the lever disengaged. I did mess around with the bite point for the lever, but that's not where the problem is, as the changes didn't make a difference.
I now suspect it's an alignment issue. There are four pivots on the chassis which the deck hangs from, and which allows it to stay level on rough ground, and a hitch with two pivots at the front, which gives you fore-and-aft adjustment. It's those hitch pivots I need to check, methinks - if I shorten the distance between the deck and the front of the mower, it will add slack into the belt that transfers power from the engine to the deck. This is a relatively recent thing and it maybe that the time before last, I simply put the hitch bolts into the wrong holes when re-hanging the deck.
Anyways, I'm now just about finishing a nice
