A Razor Scooter Roadside Find

Someone abandoned this Razor scooter today by the roadside in front of my home.

People do the oddest things. The scooter appears to be complete and in reasonably good condition. A label on the underside of the deck says, "DATE OF MANUFACTURE: 01/10/2012".

I'll check out all of its bearings and clean it up. 'Should be able to get something for it on Kijiji.

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Inoperative 'Fold' Feature

The fold feature was frozen from disuse. Removing two black plastic side covers from the scooter's neck with a 2.5mm hex key and some judicious prying gives access to the fold detent pawls. Some WD-40 got the pawls freed up so I could fold the scooter.

However, the fold detent release action is still balky. I'll add some grease to the detent ways at final reassembly.

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Loose Headset

There's slop in the headset bearings

To correct that, I'll need a 36mm spanner. So, it's off to the bike shops in Pickering tomorrow to see if they have one.

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Front Wheel

With two 5mm hex keys, the axle can be unscrewed to release the wheel.

The axle was assembled with blue threadlocker, so it took some effort to unscrew it.

The bearings feel ok. I'll scrape the grime off them and see if I can ID them.

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The bearings are ABEC-5, No. 608ZZ. 'ABEC-5' is a tolerance rating. P/N 608ZZ is a bearing with an 8mm bore, 22mm O.D. and 7mm width, shielded both sides. They're widely used in skateboards, inline skates and scooters.

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Rear Wheel

The rear wheel is identical to the front, but its bearings are noisy; they'll have to be replaced. I've ordered replacements from Amazon.

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36mm Spanner Update -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2018

My trip to Pickering was fruitless. 36mm spanners appear to be as common as hens' teeth; neither of the two bike shops there had one. I could get one from Amazon for about $35.00 CDN, but I neither want to spend that much nor wait for it to arrive, so I'll see if I can weld up a crude facsimile of a spanner that will at least do the job for me. I have some steel flat material on hand that should serve.

Here's a close-up view of what I'm up against with the headset nuts.

An adjustable wrench can be used on the upper jam nut, but the thin cone nut underneath calls for a suitable spanner. Anyway, here goes with fabricating a spanner.

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Possibly The Worst, Ugliest, Nastiest Welding Job Ever Done By Anyone, Ever

Here's my welded up 36mm spanner. The spanner is about 12" long overall.

As you can see, I'm no welder. I have next to no experience with my little Princess Auto, flux-core wire-feed unit, and it shows.

Now we'll see if my creation will at least do the job of a spanner for me.

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Headset's Apart

My spanner has worked so far. Now I can clean all the headset components, pack the bearings with fresh grease and reassemble and adjust the headset.

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It worked. The headset is back together, tightened and adjusted for zero preload. Here's a view of my spanner on the job.

So the scooter is done for now. It can go in the shed until the new wheel bearings arrive from Amazon.

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Wheel Bearings Arrived -- TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2018

They were a day late, but they did get here -- a package of sixteen ABEC-9, 608RS bearings for $14.99 CDN + shipping.

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New Wheel Bearings Installed -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2018

The bearings are a light press fit in their hubs, so it's easy to knock out the old ones with a suitable punch. Thumb force is adequate to press the new bearings into place. There's a 10.5mm long spacer inside the hub that resides between the two bearings.

Reassemble the axles with blue threadlocker and you're good to go. Wheel rotation with new bearings is positively silky and noiseless.

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FEEDBACK

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An MTD LAWN FLITE Reel-Type Mower

Here's something a little different -- a self-propelled reel-type mower, probably from the days when cars didn't have seat belts.

Model No. is 150-518-004. Serial No. is 74377. Looking up that model number on MTD's website got me nothing, unsurprisingly.

Note that there's no spark plug wire -- not an encouraging sign. So that's the first order of business here -- to get the cowl off the engine and see what's what with the missing spark plug wire.

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And here we are with the cowl off the engine.

Hmmm. The ignition coil is missing entirely, and what I take to be an air-vane governor is in utter disarray.

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Replacement Ignition Coil -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

A replacement coil is supposedly Briggs & Stratton part number 591420. That part represents a conversion to solid state ignition; it would render the points and condenser irrelevant.

An OEM coil from the small engines shop is $72.92 CDN -- that's a heap of money. Amazon lists it for $48.03 CDN. My son is going to see what's available on Ebay.

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Ignition Coil Obtained -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018

See this post for the story of the coil's installation. That linked post also has a good photograph of the correctly assembled governor linkage.

The Ignition coil installation was successful, and the mower now has a working engine.

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Engine

Engine model/type/code number is 60102 0294 01 690801. According to "Chilton's Guide To Small Engine Repair Up To 6 HP", the first five digits of that number signify the following:

6 = 6 cubic inches displacement.

0 = basic design series [whatever that means].

1 = horizontal Vacu-Jet carburetor.

0 = plain bearing.

2 = rewind starter.

The engine no doubt predates solid-state ignition, so there will be breaker points and a condenser under the flywheel.

The next step is to pull the flywheel and examine the points and condenser.

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And here's a view of the points-and-condenser arrangement.

That appears to be in good order. Breaker points gap for this engine is 0.020".

Spark Plug

The engine's Operating Instructions call for a Champion J-8 plug. That's a 14mm, gasketed plug with a 13/16" hex. Gap is supposed to be 0.025".

The spark plug that's in the engine is an AC LM46, in reasonably good condition. It's a non-resistive type.

Air Cleaner

The air cleaner appears to be on the wrong way around.

It's covering the fuel tank's cap. Here it is correctly oriented.

Inside the air cleaner's enclosure is a foam element that's maybe still serviceable.

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Fuel Tank Cap Gasket

The original gasket is badly embrittled. I made a replacement from some 1/16" thick cork gasket material.

The venting arrangement on old Briggs & Stratton fuel tank caps will admit rain. Don't leave an engine with such a cap out in the rain uncovered; you'll end up with water in the fuel tank. I believe that Briggs & Stratton has finally solved this with a fuel tank cap design that vents from underneath its perimeter.

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V-Belt

The V-belt measures 19 3/4" outside length. There is no OEM part number visible on it. A 20" belt might work.

The belt looks serviceable, although it has one break in its traction side. From what I've seen of worn V-belts, their strength is all in their outer spines; their inner 'V' portion is just tractive 'filler'. They can have breaks in that area and still function, so I won't pursue getting a new belt for now.

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V-Belt Pulley Alignment -- SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2018

It's not good.

The engine's pulley is too far inboard. There's shaft-length enough for the pulley to be moved over into alignment with the driven pulley on the countershaft. I'll see if I can persuade that rusty arrangement to loosen up and let me adjust the engine pulley's position.

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Much Better

I loosened off the pulley's setscrew with a 5/32" hex key, put a three-jaw puller on the pulley and was able to shift the engine's pulley into alignment with the driven pulley. The engine's pulley didn't want to come all the way off, though -- the shaft is not badly rusted, but it's rusted enough that the pulley won't come off readily.

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V-Belt Tension Idler

The tension idler is just a shielded-both-sides ball bearing that bears against the inner surface of the belt to tension it and engage the drive. The bearing feels a bit grease-starved and rough.

Removing a 5/16"-18 x 5/8" hex head screw allows the bearing to come off its bracket. Here's a view of it along with its retaining screw.

The bearing is a NICE 3023-DS; 5/8" bore x 1 3/8" O.D. x 7/16" width. There's no way to repack it with grease. I'll clean it up and get some oil seeped into it as best I can.

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A V-Belt Tension Idler Anomaly -- TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2018

I was wondering why the operator's DRIVE ON/OFF lever only had about half of its possible travel, and why drive disengagement wasn't terribly effective. It turns out that the tension idler's positioning crank had gotten flipped around 180 degrees from its normal position. It doesn't photograph well, but here's a view of the correctly positioned idler arrangement in its OFF position.

Note that the idler bearing is well away from the belt. Belt tension is truly relieved, and the drive is disengaged.

And in its ON position.

The tension idler bearing is permitted its full, spring-loaded travel down onto the inner surface of the belt. The belt is tensioned and drive is engaged. The operator's DRIVE ON/OFF lever now has its full travel.

Note also the washers underneath that upright piece that's supporting the tension idler's positioning crank. Those are not from the factory, and have no reason to be there. I'll be deleting them.

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Combustion Chamber Cleaning

The engine's Operating Instructions recommend a combustion chamber clean-out every 100 to 300 hours of operation. It's likely never been done on this engine, and I've never done one on a small engine, so I may as well go ahead and do it; it will be interesting to see the state of the combustion chamber. And while I'm at it, I may repaint the scruffy looking upper air baffle that sits on top of the cylinder head.

And here we are with the head off the cylinder.

That doesn't look too bad at all. There may not be all that many hours on this engine. The cylinder wall looks good.

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Combustion Chamber Cleaned -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Here's a view of the cleaned up cylinder head alongside its new gasket. It's not immaculate, but it will do.

The gasket is Briggs & Stratton P/N 272167. The original gasket tore a bit when I lifted off the cylinder head; it wasn't fit for reuse. Some observations on the matter of combustion chamber cleaning:

• Work with the piston at top dead centre, with both valves closed. Have compressed air available for blowing away debris.
• Have a new gasket on hand. The original is unlikely to be reusable.
• My original gasket was stuck to the top of the cylinder in places, and 'welded' to the cylinder head. It took some serious scraping to get all the remnants of it removed.
• The carbon build-up is stubborn stuff; it has to be scraped off. I know of no solvent that will dissolve it. Oven cleaner might work, but that would involve a mess that I'm not prepared to make.
• There are YouTube videos out there about this subject. From what I've seen of them, they're utter nonsense. I have no idea why people take the trouble to make them.

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Muffler -- FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2018

The original muffler looks pretty rough, so I got a new replacement.

That new muffler down in front is what's known as a 'sausage' muffler. Briggs & Stratton P/N is 89966. The thread on it is 1/2" NPT (National Pipe Thread).

I can see now that the severe offset of the original muffler's body had a reason behind it -- it's to clear the very nearby carburetor. The new sausage muffler just barely affords clearance for the carburetor.

The muffler also just barely clears the underside of the air cleaner that perches on top of the carburetor. Anyway, 'just barely' will do.

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On Second Thought -- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018

I decided to put the original muffler back on. The original muffler has a deflector on it to blow exhaust sideways -- away from the mower's operator.

The sausage muffler would blow exhaust gases straight back toward an operator. There are reasons things are the way they are on machinery. One makes alterations at one's peril.

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Final Drive Roller Chain -- SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2018

Removing a small cover from up on the mower's deck gives service access to the roller chain final drive.

It's a half-inch pitch chain, but it's narrow; it's not the common No. 40 or No. 41 half-inch pitch chain that I can get from Princess Auto.

Roller diameter and overall chain width are each just shy of 5/16". Roller length is about 1/8". There are 48 links, for an overall pitch length of 24". There's a maker's logo, "D.I.D", stamped on the chain's links, and that firm appears to still be with us. But these days they don't seem to be making that small size of chain -- they're strictly a supplier of motorcycle and ATV chain.

The chain is a little worn and saggy, and it's rubbing on the edge of the hole in the deck that it feeds through. I may end up just giving the chain a good lubrication and leaving it be.

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Roller Chain Update -- FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2018

I found out what manner of chain it is -- it's 1/8" bicycle chain, like this.

It's narrow, 1/2" pitch chain. The 1/8" figure is the chain's roller length. Bicycles with single rear sprockets, such as coaster brake bikes and bikes with Sturmey-Archer rear hubs take 1/8" chain. There's a narrower, 3/32" chain that's used on bikes with derailleurs.

So, it turns out that I have replacement chain on hand, should I decide to give the mower a new chain.

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Drive Train -- TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

Following is a list of all the drive train's engagement components, for any who'd care to do the math:

• Engine Pulley: 2 3/8" O.D.
• Countershaft Pulley: 4" O.D.
• Countershaft Sprocket: 9 tooth.
• Reel Sprocket: 27 tooth.
• Wheel Drive Pinion (rotates at reel speed): 11 tooth.
• Wheel Ring Gear: 77 tooth.

Doing the math for an assumed governed engine speed of 3,000 rpm gave me a walk-behind speed on the ground of approximately 2.64 mph. That's a reasonable walking speed for an adult.

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Wheels About To Go Back On -- FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2018

Here's a view of the inside of the left side wheel, with its back-plate and drive pinion in place.

I'll grease the gearing and the wheel's axle bearing with white lithium grease prior to assembly.

The mower's original left side axle bolt and nut were lost and replaced at one time with common hardware components -- a 1/2" carriage bolt and a square nut, 7/8 A/F. That arrangement works remarkably well, but it's not quite right. The replacement parts are right-hand threaded, so wheel rotation is in the direction of loosening them. I'm certain that the original parts were left-hand threaded, so that wheel rotation would be in the direction of tightening them. In reality, the loosening forces generated by wheel rotation are negligible, and I don't expect there to be any problem with the left side wheel. But it is another example of the harm that inept tinkers do to perfectly good machinery.

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Recoil Starter Cog-And-Ball Clutch -- SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2018

The starter clutch is also the flywheel nut.

Much the same style of clutch is used on Briggs & Stratton's vertical shaft engines. See this post for more on that. On horizontal shaft engines, DO NOT remove the clutch's cover with the clutch in place -- you'll have six steel balls spilling out.

To remove the clutch, restrain the flywheel and apply a pair of 12" Channellocks. Take care not to distort the two screen-mounting ears. There'll be a slightly convex washer under the clutch; note its orientation.

Here's a view of the clutch dismantled.

Note the felt disk at the centre of the photo. That's a lubricant wick from up inside the clutch's spindle. After cleaning and drying it, give the wick a soaking with WD-40 before poking it back into place with the shank end of a 1/2" twist drill.

All parts of the clutch should be immaculately clean. Use no grease or oil whatsoever on the balls and ball cavities. Here's a view of the clutch partially reassembled, awaiting its cover.

At reinstallation, lubricate the cover's seal and the bore of the spindle with WD-40.

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Engine Oil Change

Sump capacity is 1 1/4 US pints, which is 20 US fluid ounces or about 590 ml.

The square-headed 1/4" NPT drain plug is 3/8" A/F. Fill level is full to overflowing from the fill/inspection hole.

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Recoil Starter -- SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2018

I wanted to paint the engine's cowl, which would best be done with the recoil starter removed from it. Also, the starter was in need of attention anyway -- grime and crud buildup inside were making its rewind sluggish.

Recoil starters are not a pleasant item to deal with. Keeping the spring under control while it's rewound and the cord is installed can be challenging. Following are some photos and notes on my go-around with the starter.

A Crank Rod

You need a safe way to restrain the pulley as you unwind the spring after detaching the cord. On this starter a 23/32" square length of wood served as a crank rod, like so.

You want to count the number of turns it takes for the spring to completely unwind, so you can reproduce the necessary spring tension at reassembly.

Note the two tabs that are folded over the perimeter of the pulley. Those tabs must be bent up straight in order for the pulley and spring to be removed. There are two spare tabs available for use in the event that the tabs break off on you from fatigue.

Here's a view of the unwound spring with the pulley removed.

That's a view of the spring after cleaning. I didn't use grease on the spring for fear of it turning to sludge in time. After final assembly, I sprayed in a fair bit of WD-40 for a lubricant.

Retensioning The Spring

Here's the starter back together after almost six turns of the pulley to retension the spring.

The Vise-Grips served as a crank handle. The c-clamp is there to keep the thing from unwinding while the cord is reinstalled.

Threading in a cord is a bit of a chore, but it does go into place. A simple knot at the pulley end of the cord is all that's needed to secure the cord there, though I added some CA adhesive just to be certain.

Finishing Up

At the handle end of the cord, you can use a spring clamp for a restraint while you work out the cord's length.

Cowl Back On

Here's a view of the engine with its cowl, fuel tank and air cleaner repainted.

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Update -- TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2019

The mower has overwintered in the garden shed with its fuel tank emptied. I fueled it, and it started up easily and runs fine. I tried it out on some grass and it cuts reasonably well. A problem arose, though; the left side wheel came loose. I wasn't surprised at that. Old equipment that's been tinkered with is almost guaranteed to have problems built into it by tinkers, and this mower is no exception.

The left side wheel's axle is supposed to have a left hand thread on it, unlike the right side wheel's axle which is right hand threaded. The different threads are designed to resist loosening from the turning of the wheels. Right side wheel forward rotation will tend to tighten a right hand thread; left side wheel forward rotation will tend to tighten a left hand thread -- loosen a right hand thread.

The original axle screw for the left side wheel on this machine was lost at some point, and replaced by a right hand threaded axle screw. The forward turning wheel exerted a small but relentless turning force on the axle that succeeded in loosening it from its nut.

I've added a jam nut to the assembly, like so.

That should take care of the problem.

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FEEDBACK

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MTD SNOWFLITE 3/21 Snow Thrower -- A Roadside Find

It's a two-stroke^[1], single stage machine -- a borderline toy, really. Model Number is 319-180A514. Serial Number is 0857276. When I went looking on MTD's web site for a user's manual, nothing came up, so I'm on my own here.

The compression feels reasonable, and the auger looks like it's hardly worn at all. Maybe I've got a useable machine here -- or not. I'll see if it has spark before I commit any fuel to its tank.

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Ten screws fasten the black top cover in place. When you get the top cover off, it becomes obvious that spark plug access is via a capped hole in the dashboard.

The spark plug is a Champion RCJ8Y, with a 3/4" hex. It looks to be in reasonably good condition.

Gap is 0.030". Let's see if it sparks.

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Yes, it does! We may have a working engine here.

The only problem so far is that the kill switch doesn't work. The switch has come apart, and I'm not proceeding without there being a working kill function. So, I'll drill out the rivet that holds the kill switch in place and get that corrected.

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WTF!?

I pulled the starter cord for another spark test and the engine jammed. A bit of fiddling to turn the flywheel in its reverse direction turned up this clip, magnetically stuck to the flywheel.

That was causing the engine to jam up solidly. 'Glad I found that.

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Kill Switch Repaired

Here's a view of the kill switch fixed so it can't come apart.

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No Start

Not so much as a burp.

I dismantled the carburetor^[2], and cleaned out the muck that was residing in it. 'Put it all back together and still no go.

Start

A hint -- don't skimp on fuel^[3] when you're trying out an engine. Fill the tank. Once I got enough fuel in the tank, the engine started. It's too late in the day for me to give it a proper run; the engine is LOUD. Tomorrow I can pursue it.

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Drivetrain

Four screws fasten the drivetrain cover in place. Here's what we have with the cover removed.

That V-belt has seen better days, and must be replaced.

A bail-operated tension-idler serves to engage auger drive. In the disengaged position, a brake shoe presses on the outer face of the V-belt.

There's a part number on the outer face of the belt that appears to be "MTD 754-0101 AD3D". The belt measures 35" in length, so I may be able to get away with using a stock 1/2" V-belt from Canadian Tire, instead of having to go some distance to the small engines shop in Pickering for an OEM replacement.

The tension idler pulley feels a bit lubricant-starved. I'll take it off and give it an oil soaking.

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Tension Idler Pulley Peculiarity

The idler pulley can't be removed from its bracket. The 9/16" A/F hex nut just turns on its stud to no effect. I took the whole bracket off and oiled the pulley's bearing as best I could.

A New V-belt

I got a new 35" V-belt from Canadian Tire.

The new belt has the same cross-section as does the original, so it should serve. Interestingly, though, on the back of the new belt's sleeve the belt is characterized as "fractional horsepower".

This is not a fractional horsepower application; it's a three horsepower application. We'll see how the belt holds up; it has a tough, demanding job to do.

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The Correct V-Belt -- TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2019

I got through one minor snowfall with the fractional horsepower V-belt with no trouble, but I thought it wise to get the correct belt. Here's a view of the sleeve from the new belt.

I imagine it's a Kevlar belt. So there's an end to V-belt worry.

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Tension Idler Trouble

The engagement bail's cable terminates in an extension spring that hooks into a hole in the tension idler bracket. The spring's hook-end exhibited a tendency to jump out of its hole, rendering the engagement bail inoperative.

I installed a 10-24 screw with a nyloc nut on it to trap the spring's hook-end in its hole.

Status So Far

The machine is now more-or-less serviceable, but it's hard-starting and rough-running. I've taken it out to the carport with its covers left off it. I'll keep trying to find a satisfactory cold-starting protocol -- the engine must start readily in cold weather for the snow thrower to be of any use. We'll see how it goes as winter proceeds to come on.

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Update --  FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2018

I tried starting it at a temperature of 5°C, and it started on the second pull. So it appears that I may have a useable toy snow thrower this winter.

I suspect that my earlier hard starting trouble was due to my flooding the engine at relatively warm temperatures. (Above 10°C.) That primer bulb really does its job, and is meant for use in COLD starting conditions.The engine is easily flooded by overuse of the primer.

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Kill Switch Trouble Again

The kill switch is being flaky -- pull the key to kill the engine, and the engine runs on for a bit before stopping. Engine kill ought to be instantaneous when the key is pulled.

I took the kill switch out and examined it. It appears that the switch's steel frame that the spring contact is supposed to short to is oxide-coated -- not rusted, just oxide coated. I scraped the contact surface portion of the switch's frame down to clean, bright steel, reinstalled the switch and hosed it down with WD-40. That should be the end of that malfunction.

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And Still Kill Switch Trouble -- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

The kill switch is still not reliable. I pull the kill key and the engine keeps running. I reach in behind the dashboard and wiggle the switch's wire, and the engine finally dies.

I took the switch out of the dashboard again and gave it a real close look. The crimp connection right at the switch is questionable.

It has sufficient intact strands that it ought to be ok, but the connection looks badly oxidized. I'll try opening up the crimp, scraping it clean and re-crimping and soldering in a length of wire that I can butt splice to the kill wire.

Here's my repair attempt.

We'll see if that solves the problem.

I reinstalled the switch using a 10-32 screw and nut and two internal tooth lockwashers, instead of a 3/16" hollow rivet.

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Update -- WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019

My last kill switch repair did the job; the kill function is now reliable.

I've referred to this machine as a 'toy', and I was wrong to do that. As of this date, the snowthrower has had some real workouts, and I'm impressed. The amount of work the machine has done for me is amazing. I would never again be without a snowthrower

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Notes:

[1] Engine is Tecumseh-Lauson Type No. AH600-1640N 8153

[2] The carburetor is a very simple float-bowl type. I could find no type number on it, aside from an embossed "46" on its frame.

[3] Gasoline to oil ratio is 32:1. Regular gasoline. For a litre of fuel (about a tankful) add 31.25 ml of two-stroke engine oil to one litre of gasoline. (31.25 ml = 2 tablespoons + 1/4 teaspoon.)

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FEEDBACK

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