I have a 6.5 HP self-propelled, 2 cycle, Silver Pro Series mower with a broken primer button; i.e., when I push the primer, nothing happens. Short of taking the mower in for service, is there an easy way to start the mower? Thanks.

 

It's not a big deal to replace the primer,,If the carb isn't blocked up inside, just get the bulb, pull the top of the engine off & replace it.. (it pulls out from behind the top cover)) Roger

 

Thanks, Roger. Would the following bulb work on my mower? TORO/ LAWN BOY PRIMER BULB-(LOT OF-2) (PART NO.66-7460) | eBay

 

I'm thinking so, but go to the lawnboy website & look up the part # you need with you'r model & serial #... That will verify it ... Do you not have a local small engine guy you can support, or do you have to buy from the internet??? Just wondering... Roger

 

Thanks very much for your assistance, Roger. That is the right bulb, and I ordered it. I'll let you know if that solves the problem. I had my mower tuned up in March by a local repair shop, but they failed to replace the bulb, which does not make me anxious to patronize them again.

 

Replacing the bulb isn't a part of a routine tune-up. They rarely need replacing, so when it works, you leave it alone. If it is broken, as in split, then it would be the problem. If it isn't broken, there is likely another problem.

 

Thanks for your comment, cheese. The thing is, I was having difficulty starting my mower toward the end of the 2010 mowing season, and so knew that I needed to have the mower serviced prior to this year's mowing season. When I got the mower back from the shop in April of this year, I continued to have difficulty starting it and finally I couldn't get it started at all in early June. So, maybe there is something else wrong, but I don't understand why the shop failed to identify the problem. Again, I'll let you know if installing the new bulb makes any difference.

 

I am happy to report that I received the bulb in the mail over the weekend, installed it, and today the mower started right up! Thanks very much for your assistance, Roger.

 

To continue this thread after a four-month absence, I wanted to use my mower for the last time this year over the weekend, but could not start it. Since the primer bulb is new, I would guess that the problem now may be with the carb. If it is blocked up inside, what should I do to unblock it?

 

Remove, soak and recondition the carburetor with a proper rebuild kit.

 

Okay, thanks. I'll look into that.

 

The first thing to do is to determine if it is a fuel delivery problem. Prime it, pull the cord once or twice, then remove the spark plug. If the plug is wet and smells like gas, it's getting fuel. Look at the plug to see if it still has the electrode there and there's not a piece of carbon shorting it out. Now you'll need to determine if it has fire. The plug has to be grounded to the cylinder head before it will show a spark. If no spark, the plug could be bad but it also could be the CD pack (coil), which is known to go bad on LBs, including your Duraforce.