A little general help for a new guy: Poulan Weedeater

Hello all,


I'm new to the lawn mower game. I have a few questions and this forum seemed to be very knowledgeable. I would appreciate help anyone could offer.

(1) I recently purchased a used Weed Eater VIP riding mower. I have searched and read some past posts and believe that replacing the steering shaft and support shaft will fix my slipping gear problem. When I replace these, how many washers should I put back in place on the pitman arm shaft? It only had 1 when I took the C-ring off.

(2) I'd like to find a manual online to help me find all the grease points, however I've had little luck finding mowers exactly like mine on the internet. I looked under the seat of my mower and found:
Model # 130 - 405
MFO ID: HD3K4F9A

I'm not sure what MFO stands for, and my model number doesn't turn up anything in google.
It's a 14.5 hp 42" cut. It has a briggs and stratton on which I found the following numbers:
Model: 387700
Type: 0255 01
Code: 9602094A

(3) The carburetor is leaking gas continually any time the motor is cut off. It runs out of the bowl, but is not the fuel line. I assume a carburetor rebuild kit would come with the small plug with a rubber, cone shaped end which is attached to the carb float and stops the fuel. This also means my emergency cut off is not sealing either, however the pin does engage when the key is off. I plan to install a manual cut off valve in the fuel line. Will a carb kit most likely fix this problem with the overfilling float?

(4) I've changed the oil and plan to change it again after I use it a couple times. The mower sat outside for some time and hasn't been used in a while. As I mentioned, I hope to find all the grease points and grease everything. Are there any other places I should grease that may not have alemites and are there any other general maintenance tips I should know to properly prepare the mower for use again?

Thank you for your time,
Brandon

 

Hello and welcome Brandon,

Hopefully I can help by answering a few questions.

1: If the gears are slipping, you will probably need the sector gear (fan shaped gear) and the shaft support. Generally you put the same number of washers in place that came out during disassembly.

2: The mower is made by AYP (American Yard Products) and you may be able to look up a manual on their site.

3: The leak is caused by the needle (cone shaped piece). The solenoid on the bottom of the carb doesn't have anything to do with this problem. A carb kit should fix the problem. A new needle might be all that is needed.

4: On most of the AYP products, the only grease fittings are on the insides of each front wheel and the front axle at each spindle. It wouldn't hurt to check the air filter, fuel filter, change the plug, and adjust the valves.

Hope that helps and post back if you have more questions.

 

Thanks for response, Cheese. I appreciate it.

I'm about to order the steering shaft, support shaft and sector gear. I found them all much cheaper online than any of the few places in town that could even order them.

It was suggested in one of the threads to replace the pitman arm bearing (pn 154404), because if this is worn it could cause the same problem over again.

The guy at the shop told me that typically the needle doesn't stop the leak, but I find this difficult to believe. I was told at another store the float doesn't come with the carb kit (the carb kit is super expensive at that store by the way, like 60 dollars expensive) but if I buy the float separately, it comes with a needle. I'm going to try the float anyway. Everything else with the carb seems to be in order.

I also found starters to be much cheaper online, so I think I'm going to order one from there.

Thanks again,
Brandon

 

Hello Brandon,
The float is not likely to be a problem. Yours should be plastic and I rarely see these leak or sink, but you can check it by removing it and shaking it next to your ear and listen for any sloshing.
I think you also have a rubber tipped needle so you might want to replace the needle, and just the basic gaskets that you remove.
cheese has a good trick for polishing up the seat if you do have the soft needle. Q-tip in a drill with a dab of polishing compound of some sort.

 

That's a good tip. I took the carb off, took it to a friends house, we took it apart, (just as I had done before) and it looked the same. Put it back and it wouldn't leak at all. It may start later, but for now I'm going to concentrate on the steering once my parts come in.

I'm a bit confused about one thing. I ordered the pitman arm bearing, part number 154404, but after looking again at my steering assembly, my steering does not appear to have this part at all, and there seems to be no room for it.

My assembly, which has the clips rather than the bolt, looks like this assembly:

Craftsman / AYP Steering Assembly # 167902 - eBay (item 370396603613 end time Jul-14-10 05:40:24 PDT)

All the diagrams I have been able to find on the internet show the assembly with this piece. I have only been able to find a picture of this used one on ebay. The problem is that I need the plastic bushing that goes between the sector gear and the bottom brace, but I can't find a part number because all of the diagrams I find don't show this part.
Any ideas??

Thanks,
Brandon

 

ok, I think I have finally figured it out. I've been looking forever, and not 10 minutes after I posted this, I seem to have at least found the difference.

I have the 1989-1998 mower. This uses a different bushing than the part 154404...
page 7 of this manual:
http://www.gardening-tools-direct.co...5321635-78.pdf

shows the 2 different versions. however I still am unable to find a part number for the bushing I need.

What confused me was that in figure 2 on page 83 of this manual:
http://www.gardening-tools-direct.co...5321635-78.pdf

it shows a steering assembly with the large pitman arm bushing (part 154404) and retainer clips holding it all together. On the next page it seems to contradict itself. It shows two drawings, 1989-1998 and 1999-current. The 89-98 shows no 154404 and clips, the 99-current shows bolts instead of clips and does have a 154404. Looking at the picture should make that a little clearer. This is what threw me off. My steering assembly just has the very small bushing and that is what I need to find and replace.



Brandon

 

I believe if yours doesn't take the 154404, then it should take a 109816x.

 

109816x, That's It!! Thanks Cheese, that's a huge help!! Now to order.


Thanks,
Brandon

 

No problem, glad I could help!

 

I searched for the manual for a 130-405 Weedeater Poulan and couldn't find it. It is listed under MFG ID HD3K4E9A.