# What's wrong with my lanmower? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943 "2010-03-02T01:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/41 "2010-03-12T20:30:38Z")
Funny I get new posts on this thread today. I just got done repairing the mower. I’ve been down with a cold/flu/sinus infection for the past few weeks, but the other day I felt better enough to get to work on it. Keeping things simple and within my limited technical expertise, I cleaned the filter, changed the oil, replaced the spark plug, and drained the gas, refilling it with fresh gas mixed with Sta-bil to treat the gas I couldn’t get out. This morning I got it all completed and fired it up. I let it run for a few minutes and it sounds just fine with a nice, even tone. Naturally, today it’s pouring so I can’t mow anything. Thanks for all the input. Hopefully this has fixed it and no further repairs are necessary. ---
**Author:** ![rockypg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@rockypg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockypg)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/42 "2010-03-12T21:15:42Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Is it wireless or cabled? A lanmower will choke up on the cables if you try to trim a cabled lan. Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter > [@xash](#): > > The only problem is that sheep mow up the lanscaping. > > I once hired Mowery’s sheep to do this for me, but she had a little LAN, little LAN, little LAN, whose IP lease was white as I/O, and everywhere Mowery went, the LAN was sure to go. > > It followed her to spool one day, spool one day, spool one day, and made the children Plug and Play, Plug and Play, Plug and Play, to see LAN at the spool that day. > > And that’s the story of LAN and Mowery. Hahaha. Epic Thread. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/43 "2010-03-12T21:34:41Z")
Sounds like a sticking float valve in the Carburetor. [Basic cleaning instructions](http://www.ehow.com/how_4968533_clean-lawnmower-carburetor.html) ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/44 "2010-03-16T14:00:12Z")
> [@panman\_1960](#): > > On a mower this old I have seen the governor spring break… did on mine. Check that also. > > later, Tom. I have seen the old governor on spring break on a mower… did this also. Mine that check. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/45 "2010-03-17T15:25:43Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I have seen the old governor on spring break… Tell that old coot to get back to the state capitol and stop hitting on the college chics… ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/46 "2010-03-17T17:54:56Z")
It can surge because of a vane-air governor moving back and forth (bad spring) or varnish in the carb or a vacuum leak from carb to engine. If you put it away with a low tank of gas than it’s very possible that the level was at or near the pickup tube and it varnished on the mesh screen covering the end. look for a broken or disconnected governor spring and then pull the carb and spray some carb cleaner around the throat at pickup up tube. You can scratch the varnish off the screen with your fingernail. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/47 "2010-03-17T18:17:01Z")
[Video showing air-vane governor](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-QINnsFYw0&NR=1&feature=fvwp) [carb repair from same video series](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDQ0elcCOlY&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/48 "2010-03-18T00:15:35Z")
Well, that didn’t work. As I mentioned before, I changed out the gas, oil, sparkplug, and cleaned the filter. It ran fine for the back lawn, but halfway through the front lawn it went back into the VroomVroomVroomVroomVroomVroomVroomVroomVroomVroomVroomVroom cycle. Interestingly, it did it around the same point it did it last time – after running about 20-25 minutes. Next step, when free time appears, seems to be to clean out the carburetor and see if that fixes things. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/49 "2010-03-18T02:24:26Z")
If it was anything like my first mowing of the season, there was little grass and a lot of thatch and dust. Clogged up the air filter in 15 minutes. It’s not unreasonable to think that the air filter is clogged up again. I have a foam air filter and I just clean it really well in the kitchen sink with Dawn dishwashing liquid. Wring it out real good and put a few drops of motor-oil on it and squeeze it to distribute the oil through it and reinstall. Once I’m cutting grass again and all of the decomposed grass and dust is gone, it’s usually good for the rest of the year. BTW, the only reason I clicked on this thread was because I caught the LANmower typo and wanted to see the smartassed comments. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/50 "2010-03-18T02:34:52Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > If it was anything like my first mowing of the season, there was little grass and a lot of thatch and dust. Clogged up the air filter in 15 minutes. It’s not unreasonable to think that the air filter is clogged up again. No, if you read me response you’ll note that I cleaned the air filter. It was fairly clean to begin with, so I don’t think that was it. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943/51 "2010-03-19T00:56:11Z")
All I can say about this entire thread is that ALL my small-engine machines are MTD brand. Snowblower, Lawnmower, Garden Tiller, Generator, etc. As long as I have treated them right (i.e. running them out of gas at the end of each season before storing them, buying fresh gas for them twice a year (putting the excess in my car to avoid wasting the old gas), cleaning air filters, changing oil at the start of every season, using the oil grade the owners manual specified, yadda yadda yadda), I have never had a problem. They _always_ start on the first pull. Never had any problem with an MTD. All I can think of is that either: A) you are doing something wrong, or more likely, B) the things you are buying are junk. Several of my machines are well in excess of a decade old, but they keep working, year after year, starting on the first pull. Someone is doing something wrong, here. Either the equipment owner, or the equipment manufacturer, or both. Beyond that, I can’t say. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-lanmower/530943.md?page=2)