Project Scythe : Success

[Following on from this post]

Blimey that was quick! I only ordered the replacement parts on Friday morning and they arrived the next day (yesterday). I was too busy then to try anything out so today was my first chance to have a play.

First thing was to remove the whole tank and carburettor assembly. This wasn't too tricky - the hardest bit was removing the throttle cable.

The old carburettor still attached to fuel tank

Next up was to remove the carburettor from the tank. This is a simple case of undoing the 5 screws holding it on. Once it was off I gave the tank a good clean to remove all the crud that had built up around the mount points.

The old and the new

Although the new carburettor came pretty much assembled, there were still a few screens and springs to put in position. Once these were in place, it was a case of placing the diaphragm and gasket on the tank and then positioning the new carburettor on top. After doing up the screws the job was done.

New carburettor on the cleaned up tank

Then came the tricky bit of putting the tank/carb back on the mower. Again the throttle cable tried to be awkward but after a bit of negotiation it was back in place and all tightened up. I then replaced the spark plug. However I left it unplugged as a precaution.

The newly assembled carburettor and tank in situ

Then it was ready for testing. I moved the mower outside and onto a piece of lawn. I primed the carb three times with the new bulb. It seemed to work perfectly, I could hear the fuel squirting up! Then I pulled on the started cord.
Nothing.
Again. Nothing.
Feeling slightly deflated I realised that I was no further on than I was before. So I walked around the front of the mower and ... hah! I'd forgotten to reconnect the spark plug! I quickly plugged it in and pulled again on the cord. Still nothing. I re-primed the carb and then pulled on the cord once more.
Success! With a puff of white smoke the engine burst into life for the first time in over a year!

Success! The mower is working!

After that it was a case of working out how the mower worked. Then off to mow the lawns in record time. So much easier when you don't have to mess about with power leads.

The next things I need to do are get the blades sharpened and replace the air filter with the one I bought.

But Project Scythe has been a complete success and I'm hugely pleased with how it's turned out.