[janbeee2]

I wish I had known that all I had to do to replace the primer bulb on this lawnmower was to pull it up, and then put the new one on. I usually learn by making really stupid/annoying mistakes, becoming frustrated, then figuring it out - really, having a lot of help to figure it out!

I thought I'd have to remove the primer bulb from the underside of the shroud, so I unscrewed that and took it off, being careful to keep both wires and both tubes attached. Well, not so careful, as the wires that go to the on/off switch popped out of wherever they go. I looked at the Lawn Boy website and found a diagram of parts. It shows the wires connected to the on/off switch, but not where the other end of the wires are connected. If I could just have a photo that showed where they go - on this model or something really similar - I could put them back in place. Both ends of the wires have clips (that's probably not the right term...they're like the terminals here: Toolzone Electrical Spade Terminals Male & Female in Red, Blue & Yellow from £3.68 with FREE Delivery*). If I just knew where the clips - or terminals - went, I could put them back in, put the tubes back on (I know where those go!), put the new primer bulb that took a week to find on, and mow my lawn before Code Enforcement writes me up!

I've looked online for the past two days, and haven't found any photos or videos or anything that helps me. (I'm not saying it's not there, I'm just saying I can't find it - and that I'm less than mechanically inclined - but I am stubborn and I will find an answer. I just need a little help!)

Thanks - sorry for the longwindedness!

Janice

 

[Brad]

No problem, Janice. Your explanation makes perfect sense. The connectors are the female portion of spade connectors.

Those should go to the coil. That will be a plastic (probably blueish green) item about 2 inches around and 3 inches long. It will have metal "spades" coming out of the back of it, one will be near the engine part and the other will be up a bit higher. Should be easy enough to get back together. If you have any questions or further problems let us know. And happy mowing!

 

[janbeee2]

Thanks, Brad! I am now further along, though I haven't gotten the darn thing started yet. I found the coil, and it had a wire hanging out of it, right in plain sight. If only I had known what I was looking for! Now, there wasn't another place on the coil to connect the other wire, but there was a place on the housing for the pulley (most of the online stores I've seen say that that housing is plastic, but this isn't). Other things I read online say that - at least for some mowers - the other wire goes somewhere else, as a ground. So I'm *thinking* that maybe it's just a ground, and that's why it's not on the coil. Let me know if that might sound right.

So, *if* I'm right, and I have it grounded, and I have the new primer bulb on, everything should work right. Except it still doesn't start.

(Oh, and I'm awaiting confirmation from someone on the Lawn Boy website, but I think this might be a 1980, not 1979. The hardware store guy told me 1979, but I think he based that on the fact that the serial number starts with a "9." But it's a 7-digit number, not a 9-digit. I was wondering, because the engine has an "F-100" decal on it, and the 1979 has either an F-101 or F-401 engine - according to partstree.com. Regardless, the primer bulb is the same part number, and the diagrams seem to be about the same - they *do* say the pulley housing - or rather the cup and pin assembly - is plastic, but it's not on my engine.)

The primer bulb - which was the start of this whole mess - I can't get it on right. I thought I could just pop it on (and I did pull the old one off), but trying that just gets it sitting on top of the base, ready to fall off when you move the mower. I got one side of it "on" (I got the lip of the bulb under the lip of the disc on the base), but can't get the other side to do the same. My son suggested that if we loosened the nut on the underside of the base, that it would stick up more, and then we could get the lip of the bulb under it. I'm not sure if that's what the nut is for, or if it somehow holds the tube on?

With the primer bulb partially on, and everything else put together, I tried to prime it a bunch of times and start it, but it wouldn't start. Most of the time, it sounded like just air, and not gas, when I pushed the primer bulb. If I'd had it seated right, perhaps it would have primed correctly, I'm thinking.

So, did I flood it, did I not prime it, did I get the wires in the wrong spots? I now have more questions than when I started.

And, for the record (in response to your response to my "intro"), I would have *gladly* paid someone else to do this for me, if I'd had the money! When I know what I'm doing, I'd just as soon do it myself. And the best would be watching someone else do it and learning so I could do it myself next time. But when I don't know, so it takes me 5 hours to do a 10 minute job (and then I can't brag about having done it, because it took me 5 hours!), well, then, that's not so much fun! Still, it's all part of the learning experience, and I certainly appreciate the help!

Janice

 

[janbeee2]

Success!

Finally got the mower started today - I had found the one spade terminal on the coil, but the other one was hiding until today. Or at least, that's my story! I do wish it hadn't taken, um, two weeks total (not working on it every day, of course!), but I am pretty glad I got it done and spent no more money than the $2.50+tax and the gas to go to a nearby town.

Maybe near the end of mowing season, I'll clean the carburetor or something.

Thanks again for your help, Brad!

Janice

 

[Brad]

Congratulations! Sorry I missed your next to last post.


The primer assy should just slip out of the indent in the shroud. That nut looking thing is more of a slip-on type of clip, if it's what I am thinking of. Very light metal. If you easily take off the primer hose, then turn the nut to work it loose, the base of the primer should slip out. Then you put the bulb on over that. Otherwise, you could put a bit of WD-40 or other lubricant on the primer and try to work it into place easily, not using any sharp tools that will damage it.

Your coil is probably what they refer to as a "Ground to run" type, where the second wire has to be grounded for the mower to run, rather than to kill the engine.

Carbs are not bad to clean if you take your time and watch closely as you take them apart.

 

[janbeee2]

Thanks for the info, Brad. The nut probably is a soft metal, but the base assembly had threads. And, the tube doesn't come off easily - though it came off easily on the other end! I got it off a bit, and then worked the nut down, and that gave some leeway for the base to go up some, and made it easier to put the bulb on. I'll remember the WD-40 next time. I was using a couple sharp tools - screwdriver and an awl - I didn't like doing it much because especially when I was getting frustrated, I knew there was a great likelihood of poking a hole in the bulb, but no such bad luck this time around.

Now that I look back, it was a good learning experience, even if I had wished I'd gotten through it a bit quicker. (But when is that ever *not* the case?)

Janice

 

[Brad]

Congratulations, Janice! Now, tell the truth, wasn't the learning experience and the fact that you did it yourself worth the effort? Please keep visiting our forum. We'll have you collecting and rebuilding Lawnboys before you know it!