How to Destroy Your Riding Mower

• Seat gets wrecked due to sun and rain
• Water gets inside the wheel hubs, eventually rusting the rims to the axle
• Mice and other small rodents make a nest in the cooling fins inside the engine cover
• Mice eating wiring
• Rain water gets into air the filter, carburator and maybe the engine block
• Water gets into the fuel tank
• Sun degrades plastic parts and rubber hoses
• Hard on batteries
• Wiring, switches, solenoids and relays corrode

• Run with no oil or low oil
• Run with too much oil
• Run with cheap oil
• Never change the oil
• Never clean around the engine fins
• Allow mice/rodents to build nests in colling fins
• Let engine overheat
• Over rev the engine

• Leave outside
• Leave grass on top
• Never clean the bottom
• Run with loose belt shields
• Don’t grease the spindles
• Ignore weird sounds
• Ignore smoke from belts

• Violating safety system (parking break on, PTO/mower disengaged, transmission in nuetral)
• Weak battery (common)
• Corroded battery terminals
• Corroded or loose positive cable to starter solenoid
• Corroded battery ground to mower; loose ground
• Corroded solenoid control wire; not connected control wire; not grounded
• Bad wiring; shorted wiring
• Bad safety switch (or disconnected safety switch)
• Bad starter switch
• Bad starter solenoid
• Bad starter
• Drive belt seized or jammed
• Internal damage to engine (cam shaft, piston, piston rod, valve, etc…probably not worth repairing the engine)

• No fuel; old or stale fuel; ethanol fuel; water in fuel tank and carburator
• Gunked up carburator (common)
• Plugged fuel filter
• Weak battery
• Spark plug wire disconnected 
• Cheap spark plug; fouled spark plug
• Dirty air filter
• Corroded battery terminals / corroded battery ground to mower 
• Bad coil
• Bad wiring; shorted wiring
• Bad starter switch
• No compression
• Internal damage to engine (e.g., stuck intake or exhaust valve)

• Bad transmission drive belt
• Belt slipped off
• Worn belt or pulleys
• Wrong belt
• Belt tension too loose 
• Problem with brakes
• Bad transmission

• Safety switches will normally kill the engine if you get out of the seat if:
• the parking brake is not set 
• the mower blades are engaged
• If the engine dies when going backwards with the mower blades running, many mowers will kill the engine. See if there is an override switch. You may have to disengage blades before backing up.
• No gas / low gas / bad gas
• Low rpm
• Fouled carbeurator
• Bad spark plug or loose spark plug wire
• Problem with stator (aka alternator)

• Low engine rpm (have at least 75% power)
• Starting in very thick grass
• Bad safety switches
• Bad wiring; shorted wiring
• Jammed mower deck belt
• Problem with mower deck brake

• Problems with the mower deck belt
• Faulty PTO clutch (if the mower has one)
• Rear tires different profile
• Rear tires at different tire pressures
• Front tires different profile or low air pressure
• Mower deck not set level
• Low engine rpm
• Mowing too fast for the conditions; grass too tall; weeds too thick
• Wet grass
• Dull blades
• Damaged or extremely worn blades
• Loose blades
• Bad spindles, idler pulleys, etc.

• Low front-tire air pressure
• Front wheels locked up on front axles
• Spindles frozen to front axle
• Bad steering column; locked up steering column
• Bad steering gear or locked up gear
• Problems with front axle
• Problems with tie rods

However, new mowers may be built with lots of plastic, plastic in engines, plastic transmissions, small tires, small frame, simple steering, stamped mower decks, fake hydrostatic transmissions, etc.

• Avoid ethanol fuel
• Keep inside or at least covered if left outside
• Maintain the proper oil level in the engine
• Maintain the proper tire pressure
• Change oil and oil filter
• Change spark plug
• Change fuel filter
• Remove mower deck and reinstall mower deck
• Replace mower deck belt
• Remove and sharpen mower blades; replace when needed
• Keep engine fins clear
• Adjust throttle and choke cables
• Drain carburator for winter storage
• Add fuel stabilizer for winter storage
• Check battery terminals and wiring
• Test battery and replace when needed
• Grease front wheels
• Grease and lubricate mower deck
• Remove wheels; reinstall wheels
• Repair or replace seat
• Scrap off rust and apply spray paint

• Test for compression
• Test for spark
• Replace transmission drive belt
• Grease and lubricate drive belt pulleys
• Repair flat tires
• Replace mower deck spindles
• Clean or replace carbuerator
• Adjust governor
• Troubleshoot wiring problems (cut, corroded, disconnected)
• Test/replace safety switches
• Replace ignition coil when it goes bad (and it will)