D-400 Starter On/Off and Primer Plunger warpage

310 Views 12 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Lawnboy77, 3 d ago

Lawnboy77

Discussion Starter · 5 d ago (Edited)

During my latest restore of my late 60s 3054 I noticed that the starter on/off primer plunger was warped enough to cause interference with the flywheel during engine runs. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but I didn’t care for the extra noise or wear on the spring that goes around the plunger. Has anyone noticed this on their D-400s? If so, were you able to heat the plunger and straighten it? I bought an extra 4 or 5 of those NOS a few years ago so I just put a new one on and all is good. Just wondering if this original with the bend is worth trying to fix, or not? The one on the right is the bent one, it’s the original as far as I know and I suppose it’s just normal for 55 year old plastic to warp. You can see where I had painted the exposed portion of that one to match the other blue accessories that I had to paint. A pretty good color match though.

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Lawnboy77

Discussion Starter · #3 · 5 d ago

Mike_E99 said:
That's interesting, I've never paid much attention to it, but I might look at some of mine to see if they've warped a bit.
Thanks for the information!

I’m thinking my best bet to straighten it is by a small piece of stainless steel sheet metal (C channel) that would be epoxied to, and fit around one edge. It would have to a micro sized rolled edge.

Just to let everyone know who isn’t familiar with these little plastic pieces for the old 60s and 70s Lawn-Boys. They are no longer available and the supplies for good used and NOS ones have dried up, so that’s why I’m willing to put so much time and effort into saving these.

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Lawnboy77

Discussion Starter · #4 · 5 d ago

Out of all the scrap aluminum and stainless that we toss into the scrap metal bin at work I should be able to find something that will work.

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Lawnboy77

Discussion Starter · #5 · 5 d ago

It sure does look much better now that it’s vertical. I didn’t paint the top of the plunger of the NOS replacement, but it’s close enough to the cap and handle. While I had the tank off I also replaced the fuel line with a hose that would make the bend to the carb without collapsing. I also cut small rubber hose pieces to fit on the edge of the mag plate to cushion the contact between the fuel tank and mag plate. LB/Toro used to sell those little cushions, but not anymore I suppose. Oh well, not original cushions, but we do what we have to. They are blue though! Lol

edit: while I had the tank off and upside down little fuel residue got on the cap and took paint off so I’ll have to touch it up and apply some fuel resistant clear over it. It had been weeks since I painted that cap so thought it would be fine to contact paint.

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Lawnboy77

Discussion Starter · #7 · 4 d ago (Edited)

bunnspecial said:
I wonder how well these and some of the other NLA plastic parts would 3D print...seems like it could be a good option provided that someone(definitely not me as my CAD skills are nearly non-existent) could measure a good one or NOS original and make a good drawing of it.

That would be a good option, and it seems like I’ve seen those on eBay, but I never heard any feedback on how they perform, or if the colors are right. It seemed to me that the colors were off quite a bit.

Edit: It was short lived, I don’t see them listed on eBay anymore. It might work ok with a bent one installed with the little rubber cushions installed on the mag plate that will basically push the entire shroud to the operator’s left (plunger away from flywheel). I initially moved the shroud like that without cushions and retightened the shroud screws and it did get better, but it was still slightly contacting as I rotated the flywheel. When it’s actually running it would have probably been worse. A real tight clearance for sure.

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Lawnboy77

Discussion Starter · #10 · 3 d ago (Edited)

Looks great Lee! As far as the color goes, I suppose a person could just put a light coat of paint to get it as close as possible. The blue paint I have is a good match, at least good enough for me, it just isn’t fuel resistant. All those plastics that OMC used for wheels and accessories came in various shades anyway, so getting a perfect match is not that critical in my opinion.

Edit: Anodized blue aluminum would make a nice upgrade for the primer plunger, and it shouldn’t warp over time either. The pull handle piece would be another good application for the anodized aluminum, but one slip of that handle and it comes slamming down on the shroud putting a big dent in the top would be the risk of having something that substantial for that part. It wouldn’t be a good idea for the typical operator who lets go of the handle at the top of the pull. Lol I see that all the time and it sure makes me cringe.

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Lawnboy77

Discussion Starter · #12 · 3 d ago

Here is a screenshot of the original plunger for comparison. You can easily see how it would rub on the flywheel being that warped.

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Lawnboy77

Discussion Starter · #13 · 3 d ago

unclelee said:
Next time I go digging in my attic I can send you a couple blue ones if you like. They are a much darker shade than they should be, kinda like this water bottle lable. View attachment 2593409

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Thanks for the offer Lee, but don’t worry about sending me any, I’m good for now.

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