# My mower sounds like an Apache



## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

As the subject states, my lawnmower sounds like an Apache helicopter. It is a 3 years old Craftsman. It ran great all year until the last three times that I used it. When I start it, there would be some white/grayish smoke and then just sounds like a helicopter. I thought at first that I need to change the plug and when I took the plug out, it was covered in oil and residue. I replaced the plug and it still runs the same. This thing shakes like heck now too. I now think that the piston rings are fried and it is not getting full compression. Am I right in my assumption?


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## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

Could be a head gasket...


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## NorthSouthOhioFisherman (May 7, 2007)

Lol it sounds a bit different than the trouble I had with our old one...

It started to sound so loud I couldn't even get near it when it was on

So I checked a hundred things 

Turned out simply the muffler was loose lol


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

Everything is tight and snug. I tripled check. lol 

The thing sounds weird enough to where my wife could tell it was not running right. There just isn't any power to it like it used to have. I just cannot believe that one day it was running great and 4 days later, it is not running worth a penny. 

My next idea is to use a carb cleaner to clean the carb and see if it helps. If I do not get it fixed or figured out, I guess it is an excuse to buy a new one in the spring.


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## firehawkmph (Aug 14, 2008)

Soua,
Just a few thoughts,
Have you changed the oil at least once a season, and is the oil up to the proper level now?

Is the deck clogged up on the bottom with a matt of dead grass, sometimes it will cause a racket.

Have you changed the air filter at all since you bought the mower?

Just dump the gas out and put some fresh in. You may be able to take the float bowl off the carb and check it for any dirt or water in the gas. There isn't a whole lot to the lawnmower carbs.

Last thing, did you maybe hit something hard with the blade and maybe bend it or the crankshaft? If either is bent, it will cause a lot of vibration and noise. You can check this by taking out the spark plug, flipping it on it's side and turn the blade slowly by hand and see if it wobbles during it's rotation. Taking the plug out will make it easy to turn, but more importantly prevents it from starting while you are turning it. 

Mike Hawkins


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## willy (Apr 27, 2007)

thats the first thing I thought of as well, bent/damaged blade, if its way out of balance it can even make the motor run bad. anyone feel free to chime in if you think this is a bad idea because i haven't done it myself but after you check everything else mentioned remove the blade and start it with the blade off - but do not rev it just let it idle - if the thump thump thump goes away I would say that is probably your issue, if it doesnt my next guess would be the shaft or bearings are bent/toast from hitting something. Another thing is when you tip it on its side make sure you always make sure the oil fill is down and the gas is up, I have heard if you do it the other way oil can leak back into the carb and make it run like crap.


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

I just checked and the blade is not bent at all. I have not hit anything with it either. I mow my lawn at the highest setting so I do not run the risk of hitting anything. 

I checked the oil level too and it looks good. I change it every year and I check it periodically. 

I have not tried cleaning the carb yet but I will do that this weekend. Hopefully this will help.


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## icefisherman4life (Aug 5, 2007)

my guess is maybe the airfilter needs cleaned.


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## powerstrokin73 (May 21, 2008)

Could the engine be a twin and you droped a cylinder?? with the amount of vibration i would be will to bet thats whats wrong. What modle is it??


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

It is only a single piston. Its a push mower with a Briggs and Straton 6.75 torque motor. 

I pulled out the air filter when I got home from work and the air filter had some motor oil on it at the bottom. Otherwise it was clean. I also pulled the plug back out to look at it and the electrode is already covered in oil. It looks like it is not getting a full burn.


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## willy (Apr 27, 2007)

sounds like what i mentioned before, when you put it on its side to clean it the oil side was up and leaked back into the carb and air filter. I would clean the plug (or replace with a new one) clean the filter or replace it, and maybe add a little sea foam to the gas to help clean the carb. we have just a half acre and use a good quality husqvarna selfpropelled mower, and i always buy premium gas because it really doesnt use that much so it sits in the 5gal can in the garage for a while. it's only a couple bucks more but my thought is it will help keep the carb cleaner. also it still has the plug it came with 3 years ago and still starts on the first or second pull.


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

I just checked the plug again and it is again covered in oil. I took a quick video of the mower running but I do not know if I can upload it on here. You can hear and see how the motor is running. It barely has enough power to turn the self propelling wheels. 

Can anyone tell me if I can upload a video?


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## Snobal (Jul 26, 2005)

I more than likely have the same mower and the same problem. However, mine doesn't even like to start and if it does, you don't dare shut it off until you're done mowing. Had a mower shop tell me it needed the carb cleaned and that if you let it sit with any gas in it for any length of time, there is a little jet in there that is notorious for plugging up on that engine. He quoted me $35 to fix it without even seeing it so it must be very common. I got a tractor shortly before that so I pushed it into the corner and that's where it sits.


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

I fixed it! I guess the carb needed to it be cleaned. I cleaned it up and then with the mower running, I lightly sprayed some cleaner through it. After a few coughs, it started to idle and run smoother. I then replaced the air filter and it ran like a champ again. I still do not know how the air filter was skinned with oil.

Thank you for all the help and input!


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## Iowa Dave (Sep 27, 2009)

soua0363 said:


> I fixed it! I guess the carb needed to it be cleaned. I cleaned it up and then with the mower running, I lightly sprayed some cleaner through it. After a few coughs, it started to idle and run smoother. I then replaced the air filter and it ran like a champ again. I still do not know how the air filter was skinned with oil.
> 
> Thank you for all the help and input!


When the air filter is dirty it sucks the oil up from the crankcase when the piston comes down and puts it back into the intake. Air filters should be changed yearly but at least blown out with an air hose.


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## 5Cent (Jun 4, 2004)

I highly recommend using SeaFoam every now in then. Use it in all of your combustion engines gas or diesel. You can add it to your oil for crankcase cleaning or into the fuel for fuel system cleaning.


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