Fixing A Bolens Mower That Won't Start 

2 weeks ago I scarfed up a 2018 twin of this mower at the dump. A guy was throwing it away and I asked to have it. The thing had no spark and low compression. I took off the head and found one of the bolts was very loose and the head gasket was flaky in two areas (it was wheezing when turned over).. i replaced the coil, head gasket, cleaned the carb, re-gapped the valve clearances and re-torqued the head blots. The mower restarts on first pull and runs great. Total investment was $27. Nice video, keep them coming.

On my personal mower I bought an aftermarket carb. After 15 years it earned it, and I still have the original for spare parts.

Tuff call on a aftermarket carburetor because its a roll of the dice! I have a great story about aftermarket carburetors

i wouldn't check valve clearance on an engine that's been sitting a long time without running the engine for 5/10min as the valve seats and edge of the valves build up a layer of corrosion while sitting closing up the clearances i've always taken out the plug put a few squirts of penetrating oil in the cylinder before attempting to start anything i know has sat over 12 months to avoid dry starts and helping any corrosion find it's way out

I keep a couple of extra complete fuel systems clean and ready. I don't even pull the rope ripe. I just pull off the entire old fuel system and put on a cleaned one. Pull the rope. These little mowers are so common and i can't keep them in stock. If i could get enough of them, i could sell 10/day for $80.

Another great video. I would order a new carb if cleaning the old carb did not solve the starting issue when the mower was warmed up.

That Bolens has got to be about the cheapest mower made! I worked on one a few years ago for a friend of my Wife’s. The deck is about the thinnest gauge of steel I’ve seen and that terrible plastic carb Briggs came out with is about as bad. And you have to unbolt each wheel to change the cutting height. The valves were good, but she left gas in it over the winter. I found the micro drill bit that just fit the main jet hole then went one size larger. So far she hasn’t had any trouble with it since. No idea why Briggs used such a small hole size for the jet. But fixing it kept one more mower out of the landfill and still in use like it should be.

Although not shown in this video, ALWAYS disconnect the spark plug prior to blade removal, blade installation or cleaning the bottom of the deck. There is a bail handle on most mowers that’s used as a safety device, but a good precautionary habit is to disconnect the spark plug. Your fingers - or even your entire hand - will appreciate it.

Put grease on opening off cable to keep water out works great 😊 I dap it good and park it

THANK YOU FOR THE VIDEO

I'd be inclined to clean the old carb. I've had mainly bad experiences with cheap aftermarket carbs.

Time is money! Clean or replace, whatever is quickest and cost effective. Good video.

I personally would probably give the carburetor a good cleaning and inspection making sure I don’t miss anything and if it does the same thing, break down and get a new one. Or just order a new one anyway and if you get the original one to work as it should, you’ll still have a spare carburetor

I usually try to keep the original carb with the mower and repair it, however once in a while you get one that refuses to work properly no matter what you do. I rarely have any problems with aftermarket carbs though, they seem to work pretty well in most cases.

Redoing the carb depends on. having free time as a hobbyist or commercial business. Users choice. Either way, it will be a job well done. Thanks again for your quality video!!!

Another great video thank you

I've had sme old primer bulb flatheads that acted like that but I just kept on priming them and they cleared up themselves eventually. They never had the plastic carbs though. Good fix but I always figured on pulling them several times and when they cranked quickly I was happy! Happy week to you and Thanks!

Good video as always! I'd go thru the carb again just because of my OCD. I gotta know if i missed something. I do have a question, I have a 2022 Toro Recycler takes 4-6 pulls to start when cold but starts with 1 pull when warmed up. Is it the valve's? Has 27.2 hours on it.

I had this exact mower i cleaned the carb and stuff it worked great and i sold it a few days ago

I would go through it again. You have that carb right there so you are only out time, but if you buy an aftermarket one you have to wait for it to be delivered

Awesome

My practice is to replace the carb and rebuild the old one for use later. Not having the part is also time spent waiting.

FMC Bolens another company swallwed up only to be a badge engineering nameplate. The old Husky tractors were tanks while the walk behind mowers had gotten a little over complicated toward the end but way better than the little MTD wearing its badge.

I'm looking for the linkage that connects the throttle lever assembly to the choke and throttle liver assembly. I can work the choke back and forth by hand with the linkage that's attached to the top of the Carburetor. However when I squeeze the handle at the top of the lawnmower handle the throttle of something does not move. Because it doesn't move The choke is not engaging it won't start unless I use starting fluid. After running 3 seconds it shuts off. I went to Lowe's to go look at this but they wouldn't let me take the top off the motor which has the recoil starter.

I have the same 450E and 500E on two mowers,I always start them with throttle just up from idle,no more and they start first try every time,just like Old British Motorcycles,just crack open throttle,any more and you risk a backfire.That engine looks like it had only one run before you got it,i scored 4 mowers like this from my new neighbor (one of them a Bolens) ,who just bought a new mower as soon as the present mower played up.

Some of those engines need to be primed each start time. It may get better with extended run time.

Great job! As a note about your gas can, I’d throw it in the trash if it were mine. It consistently spills gas when you’re pouring! 🤢😩

There's something that I've always wondered. Why do you use the .005 in. feeler gauge when the specs are .004 - .008 in.? Why do you not use the .006 in.?

It's funny that people don't realize that the difference between many older mower brands is the color of the deck and the decals on the engine shroud.

Not used to much...but looks like it sat outside its entire life...Plug looks Original..Black spray paint mist still on it..Blade (other than rust) looks new too..Think u got a LOW hour motor...I think when do these carb jobs on this type eng...thats been sitting long period...Take tank & fuel line off too with carb & clean it all...putting a clean carb to a ??? fuel line & tank is only contaminating what you just cleaned...just a thought...

I was wondering where you get all these practicly free mowers at Looks like ill have to take a drive an hour north to check out the lake in the middle of the state i live in.also dont forget to let people know to use sae 30 engine oil.

Oxy acetylene tip cleaner kit works

My yard force mower needs priming to start when hot. It has been like this since I first bought it. I have cleaned the carby out several times with no difference. It doesn’t bother me that it’s like that. My new one is the same.

Go through it again, instead of waiting a couple of days for another. You're right there an only takes 10-15 minutes.

Good morning can please make video on how you can replace the governor arm on toro mower with tecumseh engine and the governor shaft ty

I would go back into the carb to see what I missed.

I would go though the carburetor me more time before making a decision 🙏👍🙏

My toro had a smoking issue on cold startups. Funny thing is it only does it sometimes and it stops smoking shortly after. I’m assuming because our patio has a slight slope, some oil might have flowed into an area it shouldn’t have and that’s why it smoked. I will look at it when it stops raining. You guys have any ideas of what I should check? Maybe rings not seating or valve seals? I just changed the oil with the correct type of oil and fill with a new air filter.

In looking at picking up a broken Troy bilt jet leaf blower for 15$ it looks in good shape they said it starts for only a couple of seconds I I’m pretty sure it’s a easy fix what do you think should. Take it or not

I’m shocked you didn’t do a compression test. You did everything else.

I would go through the carb. Aftermarket carbs have become really hit and miss lately.

Good morning eveeryone

I'd think you would check for spark early in the investigation - don't see that it was done here at all.

Hey bro what's up? I would go through the carburetor once again and hope that the matter is resolved.

Dont you be bad mouthin' Okeechobee.

Hey guys, a question that I have: Where do you guys find free lawn equipment to work on?

what is your favorite app you find stuff foe free on

Clean the coil and fly wheel,

There's water in the engine

If all it takes is a couple primer pumps, I would use the mower AS-IS and not put more time and cash into a "seller".

I hate it that Briggs & Stratton are using plastic carburetors for some of their engines these days. That's cheap.

Seafoam and ship it out the door

So much plastic junk in that carb