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Lawn mower maintenance

Nham
Becoming a Leader

Lawn mower maintenance

We have a ten year Rover lawnmower showing its age, and it didn't sound too good, so we decided to give it a makeover. After doing some research online and watching Youtube videos, it was time to have a go! We bought some of the parts from Bunnings, but the rest came from eBay.

 

The first part was to give everything a general clean and then replaced the air filter, spark plug, muffler and put in new synthetic oil. I had leftover Nulon 5W-30 motor oil, which was compatible with my 450 series Briggs and Stratton mower.

 

Being ten years old, the paint was peeling off the motor, and you could see the bare metal. So, I decided to give it a respray. It's easier than you think and anyone can do this. First, sand the surface and then clean meticulously and let the surface dry. Cover the mower with garbage bags, and you are now ready to go. For the paint, I used some Dulux Black engine paint from Repco.

 

A light spray each time and repeat until you are happy with the coverage. The temptation is to spray too much, just walk away, let it dry and then do another light spray. I then covered the motor with a high heat clear coat which you can buy from any auto shop. Let everything dry, remove the garbage bags and just marvel at your new lawnmower. It took me about 4-5 days as I needed to let the paint dry, but all up I would say 6-7 hrs to do the maintenance.

 

I started up the mower, and it sounded and looked great. My son who does the lawn thought I had bought a new one.

 

Some other tips: Before you start any maintenance, disconnect the spark plug. Take your time, do it with the kids and have some fun.

 

20210101_171352.jpeg20210115_152634.jpeg20210115_154857.jpegWithout the fuel tankWithout the fuel tankSome of the parts were from BunningsSome of the parts were from Bunnings20210117_120752.jpegAll parts reassembled and ready to goAll parts reassembled and ready to go

 

MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Lawn Mower maintenance

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Nham. It's fabulous to have you join us and many thanks for sharing your project.

 

I'd agree with your son that it looks like a new mower and you should be very proud of your efforts. You've illustrated that a bit of maintenance can save the cost of a new unit. All too often I've seen mowers retired when all they really needed was fresh fuel, a clean air filter and a new sparkplug.

 

I look forward to seeing what other projects you are working on; please let us know if you ever need assistance or would like to share one of them.

 

Mitchell

 

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terrywang
Building a Reputation

Re: Lawn mower maintenance

Nice, I've got a 475 (leftover by previous home owner), I've done several oil changes and it's still running strong. Need to wipe off the dirts collected and change the air filter, spark plug this month.

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Lawn mower maintenance

Hi @terrywang 

 

Thank you for joining the discussion and sharing your lawnmower story. It's great to hear that your lawnmower is still providing good service. Providing basic lawnmower maintenance extends the life of your machine. If you have any ongoing projects please don't hesitate to share them. Our members are more than happy to provide advice and information should you need it. 

 

Eric

 

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