bent crankshaft on mower

[mstng86]

Anyone ever tried to straighten one out? Going to pick up a toro my aunt has. They ran it TWICE and there is a vibration. Her husband thinks he hit something. I am thinking its a bent crankshaft. I am thinking of taking it and attempting to straighten it. Any suggestions or experience?

Do I just need a bfh?

[Tx Redneck]

You sure it's not majorly out of balance blades?

[Vertnut]

You sure it's not majorly out of balance blades?

Probably just needs blades. I've never bent the crank on my Troy Bilt after 10 years of mowing rocks.

[mstng86]

Dunno. Haven't seen it yet.

Like I said, the mower was only used twice so he must have hit something but he couldn't recall any instance of it.

I would think to bend a crank, it would be a notable situation.

I figured its worth a shot since my mower seized up yesterday. I'm going to also see if the two mowers use the same crankshaft. Both are briggs and straton engines.

[TexasT]

If you have the time to swap em more power to ya. Trying the straighten one isn't worth the risk imo. If it breaks and does damage, especially to a human or pet I would feel bad if it were mine. Northern tool has whole engines on the cheap.

[mstng86]

If you have the time to swap em more power to ya. Trying the straighten one isn't worth the risk imo. If it breaks and does damage, especially to a human or pet I would feel bad if it were mine. Northern tool has whole engines on the cheap.

Yea, we will see my options. I have to se the mower first. I thought about the risk. thats why i was contemplating switching the CS if they are the same.

[TexasT]

CL has mowers cheap too if the wheels and deck are good and it was only used twice I would think it is pristine. Picking up one somebody "ran the wheels off" and swapping parts sounds safer to me. I am using a craftsman with the eager1 techcumseh and it is old to say the least. It needs wheels but the engine always starts and the drive still works so we keep chasing it.

[DFWtechie]

My toro with the variable speed had this issue with a bad blade. Replace the blade with the a toro blade and you should be good to go.

[greenbullitt]

ive seen several bent crankshafts on mowers. you can try a blade, but depending on the blow it encountered, the vibe may still be there....

[red95gts]

I had a Toro push mower and hit the side of the water meter box in my front yard. It was a hard enough hit to bend the blade and stall the engine, but didn't bend the crankshaft. Seems like if he had hit something with enough force to bend the crank, he'd remember it...

[shumpertdavid]

I've had a ton of pushmowers over the years going back to a kid. All have been hand me downs and freebies. I've mixed and matched decks, wheels, handles, controls, etc. I've only ever bent 1 crankshaft that I know of and when it bent it was very noticeable. It was some very tall grass, didn't notice the corner of a small slab and clipped it trying to raise the front up and drop it into the grass hitting the concrete. Stopped mower dead, pulled back and tried to restart with no luck. Flip mower over and bent crank about 30 degrees and fubard the blade. Transplanted another motor in and still going today.

That being said, I've abused, hit, and just generally pushed them to the limits all my life and only ever bent 1 crank. I've seen a bunch of blades shot though

[mstng86]

Well, I got it home and took a look. It doesn't look bent to me. At least not enough to visual see it. I can't get it to start just yet. I can get it to turn over and run for a few seconds with carb cleaner. I don't feel a vibration in that small time. Not sure why I.can't get it to start with gas yet. Fuel line is not clogged. I pulled off the carb and cleaned it all out. Nothing. Still investigating, but it is damn hot outside and I needed to cool off.

[shumpertdavid]

make sure you clean the jet and orifices good, it's the bolt that holds the bowl on. there will be fuel feed holes on the sides of the "bolt", and the hole in the center is the jet orifice.

[mstng86]

make sure you clean the jet and orifices good, it's the bolt that holds the bowl on. there will be fuel feed holes on the sides of the "bolt", and the hole in the center is the jet orifice.

Yea I cleaned the bolt.

[kingjason]

Did you put the breather back on. Some wiill not run with the breather off. If its off put your hand over the opening and fire it up. Then cuff your hand to let just a little air in.