mower drama

Last week the plastic cover on my Exmark mower gave way. There are brass threaded bosses that are a part of the blower shroud. The metal recoil starter assembly is bolted on top. I bought the mower used and there were only a couple bolts holding the starter assembly on when I bought it; becuae the plastic had already cracked around the bosses. Well it finally gave way on a couple more of the bolts and there was very little holding it on. 

I searched and searched for a new plastic shroud. It turns out that Kohler discontinued the part and it didn't look like the new part had the threaded bosses so it wasn't looking too good for replacing the part. I came across the original part number for sale though and even though there were no pictures to confirm it was right; I ordered it. Well what do you know? it was the correct part. 

I bolted the part on Friday afternoon to have it ready for mowing on Saturday. I also gave it a good cleaning. I think I have a leaking valve cover so I need to fix that next. The heat sheild on the muffler rusted off last week. I told Jill that we have to keep this thing running for a long time. I can't afford a new mower. 

Who knows how many hours it had on it before I bought it from a guy who was using it for a lawn service business. As I was hunting for parts I figured out that this Emark came from the factory with a Kawasaki engine so he must have replaced it at some time with the Kohler ZT720-3016 engine at some point. I've had this mower since we bought our place and it's been a good mower. I put a few sets of blades on it, all new belts, new deck wheels, a new drive tensioner spring, and pretty much just kept it greased up. I like that I can rebuild most of it, if needed and it's built like a tank. It's simple too. I like this Kohler engine too. I found a NOS motor on Marketplace for a good price, but it was in Pennsylvania and pick up only. I'll have to keep my eyes pealed for spare parts for the entire motor so I can keep servicing this thing for many years to come.

All of that said, I'm going to need to do a refresh on the engine at some point after this season. I also want to look for a single wheel sulkie/velkie because my two wheel velkie it starting to see some serious wear. The new plastic cover makes it look better than it actually is...lipstick on a pig.