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Joined the LB "M" family/club and other projects

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ky-mark

· 2-stroke exhaust junkie!!
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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Made a craigslist run this Saturday and joined the "M" family. :050: Got these three mowers plus a craftsman blower for $75.00. Oh, plus about $40.00 gas and a two hour round trip. The gas cost is an estimate because I don't check my Dodge :banghead3 Echoman, I made it to Indiana but never lost site of the Ohio river! New Albany. Got a model 5273, 19 inch, a 10424 with a broken motor mount, and what I made the trip for a M21EMRA from 1990. The 10424 needs a weld I hope and should be good. The 5273 and the M have been in storage for 3 years and were said to be running good when stored. Haven't done anything to them yet, been doing honey-do's :hide: I'll probably have several questions on the M about where to begin on getting it started. It's got the bagger and the mulch plug with it.

I'm starting to feel like the kid who always says look at me and what I've got, the last few threads I've started have been about what I picked up......
 

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#6 ·
Broken engine mount? On the deck or the mounting plate?
 
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#8 ·
You did well KyMark, congrats on the finds! The M will make your lawn look great, no doubt. Looks like you'll be having fun for awhile getting them all in line and ready to work. Your Duraforce is the second one I've heard that "broke" at the mount. What exactly is breaking? The leg of the casting the bolts to the housing?

Rocky, the 5273 is a D series,and I like it also! The simplicity and light weight of these mowers was just incredible.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Yeah, the duraforce has a broken leg on the block on the discharge side, about 3/4 inch above the mounting plate. A machinist that works for me is an awsome aluminum welder so I'll sneek this into work and get him to weld it. How do you tell if the oil injection is working on the M and if its safe to start? I've removed the gas/oil tank and cleaned them out and now I need to reinstall. Do you need to reprime? I'll check back this afternoon, right now I'm off to play golf :lalala: :hide:
 
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#10 ·
Yes. You need to make sure there is no air trapped in the line that supplies the oil pump. I've serviced mine 3 times now removing the line, but was EXTRA cautious as not to get bubbles in the line, or let oil run out while it was off. I recommend you put about a pint of oil back in the tank, let it drip out a few times to ensure it's through the line, reattach it, then test run the engine before you start mowing for about 15 minutes or so, varying the throttle to make sure all the trapped air is worked out. Mix up a small batch of 64:1 premix for this test. Check to see if you have the recalled tank on it-metal fuel shutoff. A few pumps of grease at the rear wheels, blow out or replace the air filter. I bought 3 new filters and pre filters off of an Ebay Stores listing for about $28 a few years ago. I highly recommend you download the repair manual from LawnBoy's site. I lucked out and found the actual manual on Ebay a few years back also, which do pop up from time to time. The carbs can be a bit finicky with the needle sticking if it's sat awhile due to gummed fuel residue. The over flow tube will quickly dispense gas all over your deck if this condition is present. Ask me how I know.? A few taps to the carb bowl with a screwdriver, and treating the fuel with Seafoam quickly solved the problem. Good luck with it!
 
#12 ·
Since you've had the tank off, it might not be bad insurance to run some premix in the fuel tank until you are sure the oil injection is working. I don't know how difficult this would be for you, but if you haven't yet filled the tank with oil you might try this. A few years ago, I switched out the oil in my tank. Instead of mixing two different types of oil in the tank, I pumped out the large majority of oil, then refilled the tank with the new oil. What resulted was an interesting test run. The new oil I filled with was red, the old was blue. So I had the clear hose from the tank to the pump completely filled with blue oil and as it was slowly used, I could see red oil drawn into the hose.
I will second the M-series manuals available from www.lawnboy.com. You can download free pdfs of the owners manual as well as the repair manual. Good luck.
 
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Discussion starter · #15 ·
Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to get new fuel line Tuesday and hopefully find some line as small as the oil line. The oil line looks OK, but while I'm there might as well replace it. Put it back together and see what happens. Running the 64:1 premix sounds like a good idea till I know for sure the injection is working. It does have the metal shutoff on the tank. Do you run the Mobil 1 2T synthetic in your M or should I stick to the old LB stuff? Doubtful I will replace the battery. I never have on my 10545. Seams a waste for something that starts so easy. I will get the manual though.

Johnsonmk, I'll get some pics of the broken mount when it stops raining.
 
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#16 ·
I think a few here use the 2T as injector oil-mtgrs737 is one of them, and has done well for him. I personally use Torco's racing semi-syn T2R oil in mine. I think Mobil's 2T was designed primarily for premix as it's a thicker oil, but as long as you don't run the mower below 40 degrees or so, you should be just fine using it as an injector oil.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
Worked a little this morning on the M. Got the oil flowing and the tanks back on. Cleaned the carb and filters, new plug. NO SPARK! Guess I'll download the manuals tonight at work. With the manuals in hand I will start testing safeties and other electrical components and see where it leads. Oh well, didn't really think it would be that easy.....

Mike, here's pics of the duraforce cracked mounts. When I got it out of the shed and looked closer I have found the other mount is also broken and one of the bolts at the exhaust ports on the head has fell out and is in the cavity under the deck??? Having my doubts now that this can be saved. Won't know till I tear it apart.
 

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#18 ·
Make sure you have enough oil in the tank. Will have to go through all the safety switches, etc. The manual will really help you locate and give procedures to do so. I wonder why these E series are breaking like that? Bad batch of aluminum, or a hard strike against a solid object? Hmmmmm???
 
#19 ·
ky-mark said:
Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to get new fuel line Tuesday and hopefully find some line as small as the oil line. The oil line looks OK, but while I'm there might as well replace it. Put it back together and see what happens. Running the 64:1 premix sounds like a good idea till I know for sure the injection is working. It does have the metal shutoff on the tank. Do you run the Mobil 1 2T synthetic in your M or should I stick to the old LB stuff? Doubtful I will replace the battery. I never have on my 10545. Seams a waste for something that starts so easy. I will get the manual though.

Johnsonmk, I'll get some pics of the broken mount when it stops raining.
Click to expand...

I've been rained out two days in a row as well.

Nice finds and good luck w/motor mounts.

Neal
 
#20 ·
My Duraforce mounts are fine, and my mower was a bit abused- but I'm not sure why they're breaking...

KY-Mark, looks like that Duraforce might also have some fuel leak, too. My bottom seal leaks a tiny beat, never enough to attract as much dirt as yours has, though. Might wanna check it out if you have the engine off the deck for that weld. :)


Oh, and nice finds, BTW! Almost picked up one of the D engines this week myself - and I'd kill for a cheap M!
 
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ky-mark
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