Woke up at 9:00 A.M. I had woke up on my own at 8:40, but I stayed in bed and ended up falling back asleep. It was nice to get some long sleep. I ate a fiber bar (my only food in the house) and drank a glass of water for breakfast. I showered, then headed outside to work on some engines!
I started with the riding lawn mower. I was able to get it jump-started with the battery charger, so that was encouraging. Maybe it’s not the starter after all (what I thought yesterday). It ran great, but I wanted to test it out, so I took it up and down the street a bit. No problems! I then decided to mow a couple of paths in my front yard. It seemed to work just fine. So I then moved to my back yard! And I ended up mowing the entire thing. Only took maybe 10 minutes. It has a beautiful cut, and I’m just thrilled to death that it’s running. I came back to the garage and tried to start it again after I shut it down. It was dead. So I took out the battery and put it on a slow charge.
I then tackled one of the weed trimmers. I filled it up with fuel, and it actually start and ran! I couldn’t get it to run at full speed, so it’s either a mixture screw or the carburetor jet, but that was also encouraging. But after working on it some more, I realized that the gas lines and fuel primer bulb were just shot. The bulb cracked, and that was about the extent of that project. I needed a new part.
So I moved on to a push mower. I had to literally take most of it apart in order to get to the recoil system. It’s not recoiling…AT ALL. But the engine turned over freely…so I’m hoping that’s an easy fix. The previous owner says it’s cursed, though, and he literally asked me to tell him what was wrong with it if (when!!!) I get it running. I’d be happy to. But I needed lubricant to free up the rusty spring inside, and I didn’t have any. So I had to abort that one, too.
I ended up firing up my own lawnmower to mow the rest of my front yard and the edges of my back yard. That didn’t take too long. I found four HUGE baby birds in a birdhouse I had put out back just a few weeks ago. That was fun! It’s just nice knowing that what I do influences some”one” else! I love it. After that, I headed over to Dad’s work for some free food. I took the new shaft cable for another weed trimmer in order to lube it up with some grease. I had tried it out earlier this morning, and it fit perfect! So that was going to be an easy fix. GOOD!!!
I enjoyed some potato salad, grilled chicken breasts, coleslaw, baked beans, and cherry pie. So hard to beat. Erica called me to see what I was doing, so I headed back home to meet up with her. She was just looking to hang out. So Baby, she, and I just hung out for a bit. We chilled on the couch for a bit, but I figured I could get some work done, too, so we headed out to the garage. I put the weed trimmer with the shaft cable back together, and it ran like a champ. ONE DONE. It needs a new head, though, so I’ll have to buy one of those. But it runs perfect.
I then continued with the cursed free push mower that came with the riding lawn mower. I lubed it up, put it back together, and tried it out. It DID actually do what it was supposed to do now (recoil!), but it wouldn’t start. And on one of the pulls, the recoil system gave way completely. GRR!!! I took it all apart again…and even more so. This time I actually took apart the recoil system itself. I didn’t really understand how it worked (it’s been YEARS since I’ve fixed one of these!), so I was at a loss. But I decided to take the part with me to Big R for some edumucation.
So that’s what I did. I took the Ryobi weed trimmer (bad bulb) and the recoil system from the Craftsman lawn mower in to Big R and grabbed a replacement bulb. The guy wasn’t too nice in helping me with the recoil system (he never really is), but I did end up learning how to put it back together. So all wasn’t lost.
I headed back home but made a quick stop at Wal-Mart to pick up some weed barrier. Once home, I tried to fix the primer bulb, but the hoses were so brittle that they just fell apart. GRR! Now I need new fuel lines! Oh well. A cheap fix. Just more traveling. So I moved on to the Craftsman push mower again. I was able to get the recoil system all back together AND working, so that was a plus. And I was able to get the engine to fire, too…but not stay running. Another plus. Basically, that just means the carburetor needs cleaned. I didn’t have the custom tool required to take off the carb, so I had to abort that one again! Agh!!! But I was at least encouraged to know that it WILL run!
And that was the extent of my day!
One fixed riding lawn mower. One fixed weed trimmer. Some progress on one weed trimmer. And a good diagnosis of a push mower. All in all, I guess not a bad day. But still…I want to get all of these in tip-top shape! And soon!
So as not to be bored (I LOVE working!), I started clearing out the rocks around my mailbox. What a mess! This is actually going to be work! I aborted that one for until tomorrow with Dad…he would have better tools. I started to weed some other rocks in front of my house, but that is going to be a big project, too! I have to decide if I want to completely replace the weed barrier or just weed it by hand and be done with it…what to do, what to do. It WOULD be nice to do it completely…but what work that is going to be! Ha!
I ended up weeding some flowers that Mom had planted instead…much easier. J
Erica called and invited me over to their house for the NBA Finals tonight. I said ok.
Schneider came over, Boogs came over, and we chilled at my house for about 45 minutes, then headed over to her house where I spent the rest of the night with ‘em. Crazy showed up, and we watched the game. Basically, I could care less about the game…and about most sports, in general. Having been on the road this long has really been a blessing in terms of sports…out of sight, out of mind. It’s been nice.
I ended up back home at 11:00. VERY tired. Just exhausted.
In bed at midnight. Alarm is set for 7:30. Dad and I are going to have a TON of work to do tomorrow.
Can’t wait!!!
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