lawn mower is locked up??

Question

I attempted to mow my back yard today which has been extremely neglected. the grass is like a foot high and it is damp because it stormed yesterday. i did my best at making the load a little lighter on the mower by raising it up and skimming over the top of the grass and then going back over it. anyways i was using my neighbors self propeled push mower when it cut out and died. i attempted to restart it and the rope would not pull. it also seemed like it might have been hot, not sure if this is normal as i obviously dont mow lawn...please help!! is this common and fixable of do i need to replace the entire mower??

Answer 1

Did you check the oil before and after it froze? Did you pull the blade release when you tried to restart? Will it start now that the engine cooled? Let me know how things do or don't work out. RScott

Answer 2

First thing I would do is remove the spark plug wire from off the spark plug. This helps prevent the mower engine from accidentally starting. Then look at the underside of the mower and see if the blade is jammed up by any objects. If it is, then unjam the blade wearing leather gloves so you don't get cut. Then plug the spark plug wire back on. Another thing you will want to do before you attempt to start it is to check the oil. The oil level should normally be checked before it is ever started. If you ran it without oil, it could possibly have locked the engine up and ruined the engine.

Having a mower worked on is pretty expensive unless you have a friend that likes to tinker on them. If the engine has locked up not due to something jamming the blade it will probably be cheaper to buy a new cheap mower or to replace the engine than to try to have it taken into a shop to have it fixed. Most small engine places charge about $45 an hour. So it doesn't take long to reach the price of a new push mower and thats just for labor. That doesn't include parts.

Answer 3

Does the engine have oil in it? If not, it's dead Jim.