The riding lawnmower I have dubbed Satan’s Own Mower is actually running again.
You might remember the time back in January when the mower almost dumped me on the ground because both bolts holding the seat had come loose?
Or in mid-August when the deck belt broke which led to…
- the manufacturer saying that they don’t sell parts, even consumables like belts
- the manufacturer refusing to even give out the specifications of the belt
- the manufacturer saying that I must get the belt from the “dealer”
- the dealer, Home Depot, saying they don’t sell parts
- when pointed out that they had that very mower for sale in front of the store, relented and sold me a belt — but that belt was 5” too short
- when installing the too-short belt, I learned that the instructions and videos are wrong and completely overlook the removal of a tricky part (a cage around the drive pulley) that doesn’t even show up on their instructions or videos
- found exactly one report on the internet saying that the official part is actually 5” too short, will not work, and that you need a 93” belt
- ordered a 93” belt which got lost in shipping for a month
- finally gave up and ordered another, much more expensive 93” belt — and the lost one showed up the day I ordered the new one, but Amazon wouldn’t cancel the order
- installed the new belt, only to have it literally burn up in seconds
I decided that the mower deck must be seized. When the second new belt arrived (kind of glad they wouldn’t cancel), we again (third time’s the charm) dropped the deck, then turned it over, freed up the blades, cleaned off a buttload of grass clippings and grime, sprayed a lot of WD-40, and installed the new belt.
It finally seems to be working, but I think I prefer mowing with sheep.
—2p