Lawnmower Servicing

davidlizard

We have a Mountfield rotary petrol lawnmower (approx 18" blade) that is around 5 years old.

In all the time I have had it, I have never done a thing with it in the way of oil changes, spark plug adjustment and the like. All I have done is clean it, and top it up with petrol and occasionally oil.

Whilst the engine is reliable - starts first or second time, it no longer self propels itself, and I have to push it around the garden.

I guess that it is time to perhaps get this fixed, and whilst I am at it, get the mower serviced. Does anyone know roughly how much this will cost, or is it a job that I can easily do myself. The user manual says consult your dealer.

Lotus-eater

http://www.doctorgreenfingers.co.uk/Lawn_care-Help-Advice/Servicing_Lawnmowers-Petrol-Electric.html

I've never done it myself, but it looks easy enough. I think I paid about £50 last year to have mine serviced, but I am going to do it myself from now on.
The only thing the above says about sharpening, is to get it done professionally, this will be because of the balancing I should think, but I can't see the problem with giving it a bit of a sharpen with a fine file myself, as long as you don't take too much off it.

I have never had a machine that propels itself, so know nothing about that, can't be that hard though, should be easy if you can do a little bit with your hands.

beaker141

I'm having my Honda Izy serviced after 2 years to activate the third year of guarantee. Been quoted about £50 which seems steep ish, I would do it myself except for the guarantee extension.

davidlizard

Thanks both. I have been quoted £65 for a full service and sorting out of the self propelling mechanism by a local company (which seems to be run by some old chap from a shed in his garden) which seems fair.

davidlizard

Update: Took the mower along today to the showroom - they now want £90 + parts (he estimated £40) + VAT to do the service, and that before he even looks at the self-propelling mechanism. And he is unable to look at it until the end of next month. So I have politely told him to shove it at that price!

So I am now going to do the job myself. There is a pile of information on the Briggs and Stratton website, as well as places like YouTube. I have seen kits that contain the oil, foam air filter, spark plug for around £15, sharpening the blade I can do with my grinder, and the B&S website suggests you can balance it easily enough by putting it on a broom handle.

Any pointers on what to look for regarding the self propel mechanism would be welcome. The model is a Mountfield SP470.

beaker141

I had a call today and they are ready to service the mower, I clarified it would be about £55, yes £55 + parts + vat !!! Its usually about £80 all in !!

I'm thinking of not bothering now, that is a third of the purchase price just to activate the third year of warranty. I might get the oil and filter kit and do it myself.

davidlizard

Serviced it myself in the end and saved the best part of £150.

Changing the oil was straightforward. The air filter was cleaned and replaced. The spark plug looked OK, but I checked the gap and that was OK so put it back in. The blade took around 20 minutes on the grinder to get sharp and balanced. Fixing the self propelling mechansim was simply a case of adjusting the cable length - a bit like setting the brakes on a bike.

The only thing I bought was some oil (£7 of which I used half of it), and a couple of hours of my time, which is probably how long it would have taken me to load it in the car and take it to the service place, and collect it again.

ds1980

Ressuresting this thread as have just acquired a mountfield empress which i think will need servicing. £50 + vat seems about the price but am tempted to do myself. Any pointers?

ta