[WrongDoug]

My uncle bought a new electric lawn mower and asked me if I wanted his old two stroke Lawn Boy. **** yeah I did!

It's a 1996 Model 10227. He bought it new in 1996. He gave me all the books, receipts, the bagger, and the mulch plate.

It needs a brake cable and a pull start rope from what I can see, but it has great compression, and the deck isn't rusted at all. Most of the green paint is still intact!

I usually flip these, but I may keep this one since it's in such great shape. I won't need it till spring so its a project for later on, but I'm glad to have it.

 

[Yard Nazi]

Congrats on the new Lawnboy acquisition. That is a 4.5 HP V series. Most guys either love the V or hate the V. I have read that they are noisier than the F series and have a tendency to shake bolts loose so check everything for tightness. Should be a good workhorse mower although in a collectible sense not so much. Nice that you know the history of the mower and that you got the manual and paperwork with it. The metal decks are prone to rusting through if grass is left to accumulate underneath so keep it clean and touch up the deck if needed. Sure can't complain about the price!! Bill

 

[WrongDoug]

Congrats on the new Lawnboy acquisition. That is a 4.5 HP V series. Most guys either love the V or hate the V. I have read that they are noisier than the F series and have a tendency to shake bolts loose so check everything for tightness. Should be a good workhorse mower although in a collectible sense not so much. Nice that you know the history of the mower and that you got the manual and paperwork with it. The metal decks are prone to rusting through if grass is left to accumulate underneath so keep it clean and touch up the deck if needed. Sure can't complain about the price!! Bill

Thank you. It has shaken a few bolts loose, it's missing one or two engine mount bolts. The deck is about as rust free as they come. It's very lightweight and should be a great little mower for cutting around the edges of the yard where the tractor won't fit. The original paperwork is definitely cool, I'm a sucker for stuff like that. And no I can't complain about the price, or the fact that it literally fired up on the first pull!

My grandfather used to have a commercial Lawn Boy with the orange tank and wheels and cast deck, it ran forever until it literally had no compression left. I was going to try to re-ring it but before I got the chance to pick it up he had already put it out for the trash. Doh! It even still ran, but didn't have a lot of power. I would've loved to have that mower. I don't know what model it was but it wasn't self propelled, and it looked like, just not as pretty-



And my Dad had an older two stroke Lawn Boy as well, not a commercial one but it ran a pretty long time until eventually it just needed too much so we gave it to our lawn mower repair guy for parts. It didn't run at the time. It was self propelled and looked like this-




We had baggers and mulch plates for both. Needless to say I grew up around these Lawn Boys so I've always had a liking for them. If I had a place to put them I'd probably have a small collection!

 

[95lawnboy]

My uncle bought a new electric lawn mower and asked me if I wanted his old two stroke Lawn Boy. **** yeah I did!

It's a 1996 Model 10227. He bought it new in 1996. He gave me all the books, receipts, the bagger, and the mulch plate.

It needs a brake cable and a pull start rope from what I can see, but it has great compression, and the deck isn't rusted at all. Most of the green paint is still intact!

I usually flip these, but I may keep this one since it's in such great shape. I won't need it till spring so its a project for later on, but I'm glad to have it.

View attachment 2406377 View attachment 2406379

You got a super nice mower there and free is always the best price. It’s cool that you got the papers as well. As Bill said, make sure everything is tight (especially muffler bolts and the bolts holding the plate under the flywheel) as the V engines do have a tendency to vibrate apart. The ‘96/97 Vs are the cream of the crop, lawnboy added a thrust bearing to the bottom of the crank for ‘96+ (And changed the advertised hp rating to 4.75), combined with the updated ‘95+ carburetor the 96s and 97s are smooth(er), lightweight and powerful. The Vs are great mowers with a fantastic power to weight ratio and parts are super cheap.

A brake cable should be no more than a few bucks at a junkyard, where in PA are you located?

 

[WrongDoug]

My uncle bought a new electric lawn mower and asked me if I wanted his old two stroke Lawn Boy. **** yeah I did!

It's a 1996 Model 10227. He bought it new in 1996. He gave me all the books, receipts, the bagger, and the mulch plate.

It needs a brake cable and a pull start rope from what I can see, but it has great compression, and the deck isn't rusted at all. Most of the green paint is still intact!

I usually flip these, but I may keep this one since it's in such great shape. I won't need it till spring so its a project for later on, but I'm glad to have it.

View attachment 2406377 View attachment 2406379

You got a super nice mower there and free is always the best price. It’s cool that you got the papers as well. As Bill said, make sure everything is tight (especially muffler bolts and the bolts holding the plate under the flywheel) as the V engines do have a tendency to vibrate apart. The ‘96/97 Vs are the cream of the crop, lawnboy added a thrust bearing to the bottom of the crank for ‘96+ (And changed the advertised hp rating to 4.75), combined with the updated ‘95+ carburetor the 96s and 97s are smooth(er), lightweight and powerful. The Vs are great mowers with a fantastic power to weight ratio and parts are super cheap.

A brake cable should be no more than a few bucks at a junkyard, where in PA are you located?

Thanks, I'm really kind of excited about tinkering with it. It's been several years since I've had a Lawn Boy around.

I'm in the Pittsburgh area, I see you are also in SW PA. Where are you able to get lawn mower parts at junkyards?

 

[lawnboyben]

The last time I was at Marsh's in Dawson they had some lawnboys and riding mowers in the you pull it yard.

 

[TheSteelGator]

Exton Mower in Apollo (so says their address, though it's really more like northern Murrysville, in my opinion) is a good source of reasonably-priced used parts.
-Matt

 

[WrongDoug]

The last time I was at Marsh's in Dawson they had some lawnboys and riding mowers in the you pull it yard.

I was literally just there on Friday! Its about an hour and a half ride though one way.

Exton Mower in Apollo (so says their address, though it's really more like northern Murrysville, in my opinion) is a good source of reasonably-priced used parts.
-Matt

Headed there now!

 

[Yard Nazi]

Part number is 92-7738 if you cant find it used. About $22.00 from Toro. Bill

Cheapest I could find on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-LAWNBOY-92-7738-CABLE-FLYWHEEL-BRAKE-SILVER-SERIES-SILVERPRO-LAWNMOWER/331723384926?epid=1701596127&hash=item4d3c41285e:g:fMUAAOSw4CFYphhb

Keep in mind the reason those cables fail is moisture gets inside the sheath. If you are buying a used one, be sure it operates very smoothly. Any dragging at all could indicate the start of a rust problem.

 

[mowergene]

I had two LB's over the years.......wonderful 2 strokes!! You mentioned NO rust on the deck. It cannot rust.....no iron in it......it's cast aluminum. The reason it's so damned heavy is its thickness. If you ever crack it or break out a piece, it will need to be heliarced. Standard welding will not work.

I always went with the 38:1 oil mix for mine and used that same gasoline mix for my other two stroke machines. If you go a little heavy on the oil, the worst you can do is foul a very cleanable plug.

I used my LB's for commercial purposes. When I retired and am left with only MY 12 acres to mow, I ride it all now. After over 25 years of carrying the mail house to house, up and down the hills, I'm loving my seat time. I just wish I could ride my weedeater!

 

[Yard Nazi]

I had two LB's over the years.......wonderful 2 strokes!! You mentioned NO rust on the deck. It cannot rust.....no iron in it......it's cast aluminum. The reason it's so damned heavy is its thickness. If you ever crack it or break out a piece, it will need to be heliarced. Standard welding will not work.

I always went with the 38:1 oil mix for mine and used that same gasoline mix for my other two stroke machines. If you go a little heavy on the oil, the worst you can do is foul a very cleanable plug.

I used my LB's for commercial purposes. When I retired and am left with only MY 12 acres to mow, I ride it all now. After over 25 years of carrying the mail house to house, up and down the hills, I'm loving my seat time. I just wish I could ride my weedeater!

Just to clarify. The mower in the post is a V Silver Series which is a steel deck hence the ability to rust statement. Also you mentioned running 38:1 and that being a little heavy on the oil. Am I correct in assuming that you were mixing the Lawnboys a bit light on the oil and running the other equipment that perhaps calls for 40:1 a little heavy? I have run 32:1 Lawnboy oil in every piece of equipment I have, except for the 16:1 machine, for almost 35 years with no issues other than needing to check the ports which I do on a regular basis anyway. Bill

 

[WrongDoug]

Yep the deck is most definitely stamped steel. I was able to get some parts and tinker with it a little bit today. I bought a whole used replacement recoil assembly, the loop for holding the pull rope, a brake cable and the handle bracket for the brake cable.

I disassembled the mower quite a bit and cleaned the engine about as best I could without pressure washing it (too cold for that now!). I took the carb off and cleaned it, removed the flywheel and the plate under it and cleaned out all the fins in the block. I reinstalled the flywheel and torqued it to 33 lb ft as is cast in the flywheel, then gapped the coil to .010" as it says on it. I lubricated a lot of areas with lithium grease, silicone grease or WD-40.

I did encounter one problem during reassembly. The brake lever pivot bolt hole that is cast into the aluminum block is stripped. So I guess I will need to helicoil it.

I forgot to get a pull rope handle and I forgot to get an engine to deck bolt. I also should've gotten a spark plug and an air filter but I can get those later. I need to clean the gas tank/engine cover but I've got to do that in the laundry tub when everyone is out of the house lol.


Pesky stripped bolt-



Here are some other pictures-

 

[mowergene]

Just to clarify. Am I correct in assuming that you were mixing the Lawnboys a bit light on the oil and running the other equipment that perhaps calls for 40:1 a little heavy? I have run 32:1 Lawnboy oil in every piece of equipment I have, except for the 16:1 machine, for almost 35 years with no issues other than needing to check the ports which I do on a regular basis anyway. Bill

It's been a few years since I got rid of my LB's so I most certainly could have been incorrect on the mix. What I did was mix my gas/oil at the ratio LB suggested and then used that mix for my chainsaw and stringline trimmer. I never had a problem with any one of the machines.

PS. I never considered the Silver Series. Go for the GOLD! I considered the silver junk and never gave them a first thought, much less a second.

 

[Yard Nazi]

It's been a few years since I got rid of my LB's so I most certainly could have been incorrect on the mix. What I did was mix my gas/oil at the ratio LB suggested and then used that mix for my chainsaw and stringline trimmer. I never had a problem with any one of the machines.

PS. I never considered the Silver Series. Go for the GOLD! I considered the silver junk and never gave them a first thought, much less a second.

Yes that is what I do. Mix at 32:1 and use it in all my equipment. I will not disparage the Silver Series however I am, and always will be a staggered wheel, cast deck guy. Bill

To the original poster. That deck looks in really nice shape. Keep up the good work.

 

[WrongDoug]

Well this old silver series is 23 years old and still pumping out 120 psi on the compression gauge so I don't think it should be dismissed as junk.

Its not as good of a mower as the cast deck commercial models that my dad and grandfather had, but it's still a good mower.

All of my two strokes are Echos or Stihls and I usually run them at 40:1 with Echo RedArmor oil despite the 50:1 recommendation. I have a bottle of Amsoil Saber that says it can be run at 100:1 and cover all mixes, but I will still probably use it at 40:1 or 50:1.

All the old Lawn Boys we had ran 32:1.

 

[WrongDoug]

Flipped the mower over today and spent some time cleaning and working on it. I took the 2 pieces of the muffler off and cleaned as much carbon off of them as I could then painted them with some black Rustoleum. It'll probably burn off as soon at the mower gets hot but it'll keep them from rusting until they get covered in carbon again.

I also wire wheeled and painted the blade and the mulching blade. That paint will come off too but it looks good for now. I still have to sharpen the blade.



The piston and rings look like new. The RedArmor oil I use claims to clean out carbon deposits in the exhaust ports so we'll see how well it does.






The underside of the deck is nearly as rust free as the top.




I also removed the two engine mount bolts that are left and put blue loctite on them so hopefully they don't rattle loose. The muffler bolts were all in place and tight.

 

[WrongDoug]

Got the mower back together over the weekend. 95lawnboy helped me out a ton with getting some parts (thanks again!). He hooked me up with the engine mount bolt, the pull rope handle and the air filter.

I sharpened and balanced the blade, fixed that stripped thread with a helicoil (it's 1/4-20 in case anyone is curious), installed a replacement engine mount bolt (with loctite). I replaced the pull rope handle with a correct style one, and replaced the air filter since mine was crumbling. I also cleaned the spark plug and gapped it to .035".






Once it was back together I put a few ounces of Echo RedArmor mixed gas in it at about 30:1-ish. It started on the first pull, though I only ran it maybe a minute or two since it was pouring rain.

When I woke up the next day whatever was left in the gas tank had leaked out onto the floor. The fuel line appeared to be the culprit So I changed it out like I should've done to begin with and reinstalled it with clamps.



I ran it for a little bit yesterday and sucked up some leaves with it. It seemed to do well although it does have an occasional stumble which is almost certainly dirt in the carb. I could probably get away without a carb kit, but I'm going to order one anyways. The kit is part number 95-1899.

 

[WrongDoug]

I haven't ordered the carburetor kit yet but I don't think I will need to. I decided to pull the carb off today to check it out, and it was actually pretty clean inside. A little dirt in the bowl but not much. I did notice however that the mounting flange was warped. I don't know if it was leaking or not, but I'd guess it probably was. So I took a file and filed the ears down flat.

I reinstalled it and the mower is running much better. I tested the flange for leaks with some carb cleaner and it isn't leaking now. The mower seems to have more power and smoother idle than it did when I ran it just a few days ago.

The only thing I really didn't like with the carb was the rubber tip on the needle. I've seen those dry out and leak on Briggs engines. Maybe something I'll change out later.

After that I took the wheels off and cleaned them in the laundry tub. Then I blew the mower off with compressed air and wiped it down for a final clean. I think it looks pretty good.





I also changed the spark plug out. It probably didn't need it but I'm keeping this mower around so I don't mind spending a little more on it. Interestingly it uses a marine engine plug. Possibly due to it's OMC roots? The old plug was probably the original. It was made in the USA. New one is Hecho en Mexico.

 

[95lawnboy]

I haven't ordered the carburetor kit yet but I don't think I will need to. I decided to pull the carb off today to check it out, and it was actually pretty clean inside. A little dirt in the bowl but not much. I did notice however that the mounting flange was warped. I don't know if it was leaking or not, but I'd guess it probably was. So I took a file and filed the ears down flat.



I reinstalled it and the mower is running much better. I tested the flange for leaks with some carb cleaner and it isn't leaking now. The mower seems to have more power and smoother idle than it did when I ran it just a few days ago.



The only thing I really didn't like with the carb was the rubber tip on the needle. I've seen those dry out and leak on Briggs engines. Maybe something I'll change out later.



After that I took the wheels off and cleaned them in the laundry tub. Then I blew the mower off with compressed air and wiped it down for a final clean. I think it looks pretty good.



View attachment 2408037

View attachment 2408041

View attachment 2408039



I also changed the spark plug out. It probably didn't need it but I'm keeping this mower around so I don't mind spending a little more on it. Interestingly it uses a marine engine plug. Possibly due to it's OMC roots? The old plug was probably the original. It was made in the USA. New one is Hecho en Mexico.





View attachment 2408033

View attachment 2408035

Looks great man, almost as clean as mine...lol just messing around it looks great. You are right on about the needle, I have had countless stupid duraforces that had the rubber harden or disintegrate on the tip of the needle. Actually even most of the V engines I’ve had leak just a little past the needle valve and out the air filter when they sit a while. Didn’t even realize the RJ12C was a marine plug, that’s kinda neat, I think it’s the same plug the F engines call for and they were a total OMC design. *edit, just remembered, I think the F’s call for a CJ14*. These mowers came with Bosch plugs when new so that’s what yours would’ve came with originally. That carb flange leak is a common thing like I said the other day. Nice job bringing an old LB back to its former glory.

 

[WrongDoug]

I haven't ordered the carburetor kit yet but I don't think I will need to. I decided to pull the carb off today to check it out, and it was actually pretty clean inside. A little dirt in the bowl but not much. I did notice however that the mounting flange was warped. I don't know if it was leaking or not, but I'd guess it probably was. So I took a file and filed the ears down flat.

I reinstalled it and the mower is running much better. I tested the flange for leaks with some carb cleaner and it isn't leaking now. The mower seems to have more power and smoother idle than it did when I ran it just a few days ago.

The only thing I really didn't like with the carb was the rubber tip on the needle. I've seen those dry out and leak on Briggs engines. Maybe something I'll change out later.

After that I took the wheels off and cleaned them in the laundry tub. Then I blew the mower off with compressed air and wiped it down for a final clean. I think it looks pretty good.

View attachment 2408037
View attachment 2408041
View attachment 2408039

I also changed the spark plug out. It probably didn't need it but I'm keeping this mower around so I don't mind spending a little more on it. Interestingly it uses a marine engine plug. Possibly due to it's OMC roots? The old plug was probably the original. It was made in the USA. New one is Hecho en Mexico.


View attachment 2408033
View attachment 2408035

Looks great man, almost as clean as mine...lol just messing around it looks great. You are right on about the needle, I have had countless stupid duraforces that had the rubber harden or disintegrate on the tip of the needle. Actually even most of the V engines I’ve had leak just a little past the needle valve and out the air filter when they sit a while. Didn’t even realize the RJ12C was a marine plug, that’s kinda neat, I think it’s the same plug the F engines call for and they were a total OMC design. These mowers came with Bosch plugs when new so that’s what yours would’ve came with originally. That carb flange leak is a common thing like I said the other day. Nice job bringing an old LB back to its former glory.

Thanks Tim, lol I've seen both mowers in person and I think yours is a little nicer haha. But I'm happy with it. It'll get plenty of use in the spring.

I've seen that rubber needle fail a lot. It's not as catastrophic with a 2 stroke as it is with a 4 stroke but it's certainly not a good thing either. Briggs OHV engines are notorious for it.

I thought these originally came with Champion plugs, had I known I'd have bought a Bosch. Do you happen to know the Bosch number?