Fixing the self propel on the Toro mower 

While mowing after sunset, nearly dark, I stupidly hit a freshly cut stump about three inches in diameter. Crank shaft bent, mower ruined. I was about 14 years old, cutting lawns for pocket money. It was my Dad’s only mower and he was not happy. Dad tossed it, got another mower and I kept mowing lawns for pocket money. (Dad’s pocket for quite some time.) Lesson learned, about 45 years ago. RIP Dad. I miss you.

straightforward, simple, and visual. Best kind of fix help video out there!

I am endlessly amazed at how many mowers get discarded due to minor problems. Most that have come my way have been fixed for under $10, and many for free. The biggest score was a Cub Cadet riding mower that my son was given. Engine seized, starter jammed, and no drive. I had it running in under two hours, and driving again the next day. My total cost of repair was $1.50, for a lug connector and a self-tapping screw, to repair the electric clutch that had a wire torn out of it (probably due to not reinstalling a bracket after a belt change). But I have to say, that Toro of yours was a gem. I would love to find a "dead" one like that. Cheers from Canada.

Thank you!!! The self-propel function stopped working on my Toro mower recently, and now I know how to fix it! Great video, extremely well explained, A+!!!

I found a Honda HRX 217 on the side of the road for free. The pervious owner said it was well maintained and it seemed to have been, until he couldn’t get it running. I got it home, changed the air filter and it fired right up and everything worked perfectly. This is now the main push mower for my small lawn care company as it starts first pull every time! It even has the blade-stop feature!!

Terrific - there is enough complexity to find this fantastic video of your Home Garage - it's a problem that doesn't get better with time - just the opposite! Self propel feature is a life-saver too on the hot humid summer days so it's worth it to make sure it's working as it should! Thanks for the video!

You have such a great channel. I enjoy the content especially the mowers. Up until I started watching you tube videos I had no clue how to work on mowers. Over the years my ignorance cost me 2 or 3 mowers due to poor maintenance. Not any more. I will take my mower into my local dealer if the repair is above my pay grade. Otherwise I do simple maintenance myself. Thank you for taking time to make these videos.

You just saved me $350! Thank you so much for the concise , Straight forward information!

I have watched several demos, this is the best, clear, that I can follow the procedure on my mower! thanks master!

Nice fix: I got a Craftsman 23hp riding mower from someone down the street for free. I installed a new mower deck spindle, new belt, complete tune up, and a new tie rod on the right side of the tractor. Runs great, and don't know if I will sell it, give it to my daughter or use it myself. I have about $ 100 dollars in it. Thanks for the video's.

Excellent Communication on this Video. Very Impressive! Thanks! 👍👍👍

Thank you for your information, I like the step by step is very helpful thanks again.

I think I did give away a couple of old mowers when we moved from one state to another. Mowers not worth the shipping charge. That mower looks like it will be a good one once you get it all fixed up. Good find. Thanks for sharing. Stay safe

Thanks for taking apart. Very good,

Yes, buy a new spring, it's worth it. That's always a "FUN" job. I've sold a few mowers I didn't have any interest in fixing because of time mostly. Having parts with a shipping time of ten days or more, clears out my shop. You know, happy wife happy life...

Thank you for this video! My Toro self propel just quit and I was thinking I dont need to spend another $450 right now. I found my model and serial number and am going to head to the local small engine Toro dealer this morning to get some parts and get it back up and running.

Thank you for the video. It was just what I was looking for. I always attempt to fix any of my tools when possible myself. At least give it an honest effort. The issues I have found that spare parts are hard to find for older equipment. Now people just trash the equipment and buy a new one

I use to put old mowers by the curb because I figured the cost to fix would be to much. Now I would give it a try to fix them. Thank you RU-vid fixit channels. Found RU-vid videos to fix our dryer also.

Very well put and easy to follow!

Great video! Thanks for uploading :)

Thank you. The old belt went out a year ago. "New" wasn't exactly new. Recent would have been a better word. I fiddled with it again today and think my cable is too long. Actually, I think my local dealer sent me out with the wrong cable because they had one "almost" the same. RE: The square bit: Me too. One time only, on my Toro.

Great that you got ‘er going again! You don’t need to order a new spring, you can unwind it one turn, cut off the excess and re-bend the dogleg on the end of that spring so it will fit into the hole in the handle (done it plenty of times but you can only do it once per mower). Only time I part out a decent mower is if the deck is rotted or cracked.

This was really helpful as I have almost the identical Toro mower (Model 20372) that you found and repaired. I’m not handy,however, so all the steps that you have shown are possible but I don’t have the tools or savvy to repair it. if I take it to my local hardware store where they can repair it, I’m sure I will spend half the cost of a new mower.

Yes I’ve been there a few times I’ve done work for people and had too tell them it just not worth putting the money into them sometimes your videos are great enjoy watching them

Great video and info .......... i pick up every mower i see on the side of the road and most of the time i can get them running in about 45 min and those are the mowers i lend out when someone want's to borrow my mower lol

Doing your own work you can save a chunk of change keep up the good work nice machine😎

I have given a lawn tractor after changing drive & deck belts, repacking deck bearings, painting the deck & carb cleaning. It looked great. I did not even try to recover for my time & some minor parts. My pay was how happy the new owner was when he received it. Oh plus I got a few videos out of it LOL. Just about anything can be repaired but like you said cost of parts & time does not justify the repair. When I get a mower or rider in that state I keep them for parts or some project build. Stay well, Joe Z

Thank you boss you just saved me $100 in changing my belt .

Nice fix and great score

Good video. Helped me to understand how to disasemble my Toro. I wouldn't recommend doing work like this on grass though. Too easy to lose small parts!

Thanks for the video. Very helpful.

Impressive. A bit much for me to dive into. You tube has opened up immediate & easy to use knowledge for D.I.Y.

I have not put anything curbside. I normally curb side shop since various people do what you said. Not worth the effort to fix them, Don't know how, and easier to just park them curbside due to costs of parts and repairs with time as an issue also. So I take them fix them and use them. Thanks for this video it helps me revisit some things that go wrong with the Toro personal pace mower.

Great video. You just saved me a lot of headache.

U covered all the bases in this Vid! Thanks

It depends, sometimes they go out as a pusher. I've only had one electric start, I fixed it up and kept it. Like I said, just depends. Great video

Another banger video 👊

Thanks for the video I have the same mower, needs the cable and that return spring

Yes, I learned how to clean the carburetor on a lawn mower i bought for 35.00. Got tired of doing that so put it out on the curb for free and it was gone within the day! lol Now, I have Toro that its self-propeller does not work anymore and it smokes up. My daughter said she fixed their mower replacing the self-propeller cable. I'm almost 70, love to tinker ... but getting a little tired of it now. This is my last resort to try and fix my mower before taking it to a service place.

Very helpful. Thanks

I've never given one away, simply because I've worked on them for over thirty years . I can see since I've never worked on one of theses Toro's that they are time consuming too work on . I know why people give them or just throw them away , the labor cost here is or was $60.00 an hour . I usually charge $20.00 to $25.00 an hour . So usually people are happy with my labor cost since I'm retired , thanks for the video ..

Great info, thanks! Swapped the cable out no problem but it doesnt engage when I push the pace bar forward…however, if I pull the pace bar all the way back it does engage forward! Any ideas?

You must loose a lot of screws in the grass… 😂. great vid. Helped me a lot.

I haven't pushed a mower to the curb in about 12 years, and that was before I learned how to work on them. After that point, any mower I got is either still running to this day with a few inexpensive repairs here and there or was stripped down and thrown into the scrap pile.

Awesome thanks for the overview of repair. Wish me luck my friend lol

Great video I’m replacing the belt now 👍🇦🇺

Absolutely classic. Idiots shouldn’t be allowed to own equipment. Treating a battery pack like that should be a crime. Takes 30 seconds to blow a machine down after each use.

Very helpful!

Unfortunately I scraped a mower a few years ago because parts were unavailable and the local machine shop wanted thousands to make a couple gears. A lathe, mill, od grinder, id grinder, surface grinder, and some tooling is becoming a necessity for everyone to own as parts seem to disappear almost immediately after a product is sold! I can’t even get parts for a newer washing machine anymore it was built in 2005! Parts are all discontinued for it already! I’m definitely looking for a good deal on some machine tools without them one just can’t function these days.

Thank you for your video. Our torro has a problem with the self propel making a bring sound and the right wheel adjust lever slips out of place dragging on the ground. Any suggestions?

Good video, thanks :-)

Just today, I took in an AYP-made 2011 Craftsman 22" self-propelled mower in trade (the previous owner pretty much asked me to dispose of it for him) that had a ventilated block and 4 very worn wheels. A spare engine/blade/blade adapter/4 wheels later, it's ready for sale.

Great video, thanks! I do have one question for you tho. I have a Toro self propelled, and after a couple seasons of use, either the self propelled drive or the wheels themselves are squeeking. Is there regular lubrication I should be doing? The user manual doesn't discuss that for maintenance. Thanks!

GREAT VIDEO period!!!!!!!!!! 2 the point and less talk. keep more comeing THANK U.

Thanks for sharing

This is a great video. I just replaced the belt on my mower, but now it will not diesngage the self propel. When fidgeting with it, it looks like the transmission doesnt have enough room to guve the belt slack. Any tips on fixing this?

I have the exact same mower, a curb find. The bushing on the drive wheel is shot. How do I go about getting a owners manual with part number and diagram of assembly

This is our second Toro Personal Pace mower that we found on the curb in a very rich neighboring town. The first one just needed the cable adjusted.

The battery is in wrong spot but you got that mower back in too shape I nevt gave a mower because it was so expensive to fix later young man glad you are doing well on fixing the yard equipment people are tried of broke down

I had a Sears Craftsman push mower last about 18 years then I disposed of it about 7 years ago but I don't really recall what was wrong with it nor how I disposed of it. Separate topic, I have a Toro Recycler, I believe the mower can be tipped on its side with air filter up with no issues for maintenance. In your video you pinch the gas line with vice grips and state that allows the mower to be turned on its side with air filter down, is that correct? I thought there was some other risks of the engine or carburetor fouling from tipping the mower with the air filter down, can you comment on that?

I had an old Snapper rider that the real axle snapped while mowing and the city came by after I emptied the fluids and took it away!

Nice score 😎

Have same mower, but without battery. Engine cuts out when self propell is engaged. Cannot figure out why.

If I have enough of a problem with any machine I would just buy a new one, But that was before watching your videos I might try to fix more items now

my self propelled Toro never fully disengages making pulling the mower backward very difficult. It's as if the drive wheels are locked when in fact the wheels want to push the mower forward. Is there an adjustment for that? The return spring next to the the belt transmission, has it weakened, needs replacing? tx

HOW did you get that belt guard over the pulley off at 0:56?!?

I've a question about the gearbox, is it needed to add grease in it with the time going or will it last anyway? /L

Nice detail, great video quality and overdub. The only question - and perhaps I'll figure this out when I try on my mower - is why do you need to remove the wheels?

I have a rear self propelled Toro that the self propelled isn't working at times. It will work when you start it and hold up the rear wheels, but when you put it down on the ground the self propelled won't move the mower. It does sound like the gears are having a rough times. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Picked up a Lawnboy from a junk pile, got laughed at but had a great mower after messing with it for less than 1/2 hour.

I sold a bunch of stuff in March . After 47 years of messing with it, I’m getting kinda tired of it. But I do have my moments.

nice video thank you, subbed ofc, this morning i bought one sr4 super recycler with briggs 600 gts and the self propel system doesnt work, i m gonna work on it , paid this baby .... 10 euros only

Toro best hands down

Please help! My drive will not stop oor even slow down. I haave to run behind it. I have removed the cable that is suppose to engage the power drive, but it still drives and I can not turn it off!

How do you check transmission on self propelled mowers

Yes I have. I gave away a $200 Tecumseh piece of crap after it got left outside. The cables wouldn't work and it wouldn't run. I couldn't figure out how to fix it so I just let a friend have it

I just did the same thing you are doing with a mower I bought for my daughter. I used the mower for about 2 hrs. Then the self propelled quit mowing. I noticed there was no key in the shaft after I took the guard off. I didn’t see one in this video either. Should there be one on the shaft? I’m thinking so. It was making a growling sound from the left wheel before it quit. I will check that next. It looks the belt is ok but I don’t have the belt cover off completely. Thanks.

I have a 28 year old Lawnboy Gold series made by Toro where the entire belt is on the top of the deck . The belt and the 3 speed transmission have never failed in all that time and I cut a 1/4 acre once a week. Why can't they make them like that anymore? Planed obsolescence ? Except for cleaning and greasing the small drive gears so they will slip when going backwards and replacing the wheels when they wore out and split the drive train has been trouble free. What recently failed the blower housing from metal fatigue where it bolted to the engine from so many pull starts and I replaced the pull cord itself once.

I have an old 22" Toro Recycler and although the self propel works, It just doesn't seem to have the "get up and go" that it had when new. I've replaced the belt, the wheels and cable a number of times over the years and found that if I adjust the cable any more tighter than I have it, for the propel, it will snap at the handle. So I'm always careful not to over tighten it. That said though, I can't figure out why it just doesn't work as well as when it was new.

Here is an issue I cannot figure out. Rear wheel drive Personal pace Toro and the rear drive gears would grind showing wear I replaced the drive gear and the wheels. Not much better. I then adjusted the cable length for that function and again not much of a change. This year 2023 The Grinding was the same and I decided to let it roll on that way but I brought the rear wheel lower it appeared out of level. The results are the grinding is gone and that fixed the problem? Anyone think this has any bearing on it? Or ??

Hey man just a quick question. How do you fix the self propelled system on a cub cadet s621? Because I took the engine off of the deck so I can spray paint stripes on it but anyways as I put the engine back on the deck and start it up the self propelled won’t engage. I know it’s not the belt because it works good, not the drive wheels, and it’s not the self propelled cable because it’s works. Any causes? Thanks!

You run that mower by the original owner to see a reaction or share your video with them?

Should the gears on the wheels be greased?

Hi I have my personal pace but for some reason self propelled only working if you pushing the handle up and not down like supposed to do

I replaced my gears on the self propelled on my toro.Running straight is fine but turning to the left has a grinding noise.Can you help my please. Thank you for sharing your video's and tips.

i bought one of these mowers only recently being told that it needed a new gear box and wheels Turns out it only needs wheels :) replaced gear oil with new as was in there anyway now just need the wheels ideally the older style with the metal gear not the newer plastic ones parts are hard to come by here in Aus though

I have a Toro Recycler similar to this one. The problem is that it won't go backwards when I need to pull it back. I have to lift the back wheels in order to move it back which I'd prefer not to do. Any ideas?

yah I have given away a mower before, but not after I stripped it for parts, and took it to the metal scrapper and sold it for worth in metal.

My toro 22in Recycler Lawn Mower Model #: 20334 is not moving. It appears to be a different model number. I replaced the cable 115-8435 but there is a lot of slack. so the mower does not move. Any help appreciated!

I currently own a Toro 22" recycler mower. It has front wheel drive. My only problem I have with it is the self propelled mechanism sometimes doesn't work. The belt is good, I adjusted the cable several times. Do you recommend anything? Please help.

Thats a good find=money in the bank.

Nice

Gave away an old Ariens commercial unit that had a failing transmission. The parts were going to be crazy high. I just went and got a new used mower.

Yep. I gave away a yardman because it burned oil so bad and had a broken muffler.

Yo yo good video mate I don't give any mower away if need be I strip them out for spares.

My belt keeps coming off on the drive cable end of my 20332 rear wheel drive. I’ve tried two new different belts. The last one I tried was toro original. Any tips on how to fix this?

Just paid in parts 160.00 for a Honda hrr216...was it worth it? I wanted to put a trannie in for expierence. Runs great now...those smart drive controllers are tricky...

Those Toro made engines are not too bad. Mine needs a carb, but at $45, I will settle for the leaks. I have cleaned it several times and tried to seal it, nothing works. Yours is a lot prettier than mine though

The old style self - propelled mowers like the AMF Homko were gear driven. Seemed to not have as many issues. AMF died out.

Thank you. It was my belt.