Small engine repair

I've given up trying to figure what ails my rider mower.  It's a first but I'm going to load it onboard a trailer (if I can get that done without a running engine) and haul it in to the repair shop.  I checked with them yesterday and they have a 10-12 day backlog on rider mowers.  That surprised me but considering the time of year and the nature of rider mowers I guess it shouldn't have.  I feel like I've been defeated, not able to do a DIY fix.

Thanks for your encouragement however obstacles have reared their ugly heads.  I got the mower loaded, hooked up the trailer and found one tire I was hoping would be ok enough ... isn't.  The trailer has been sitting for a couple of years.  Anyway I finally got it backed into position to get the compressor hose to it but the bead has parted company with the rim and I haven't been able to get 'em back enough for the tubeless tire to hold air.  Nothing is ever as easy as one imagines it.

Thank you.  I'm aware of it but had forgotten.  I'll see if I can apply it after lunch (I'm also having trouble with the lug nuts ... rusted, and I have gotten one of six loose so far).  I'm calorie empty and need to refuel.

They are soaking as we speak.  I'm glad it's only 75 degrees now and not 85.

Three loose now!  I think I have the problem figured out and the problem is 80.  80 is not like 50, 60, or even 70. 

Hallelujah!  All six now loose.  I applied the old "lengthen the leverage" trick (long pipe slipped over the relatively short lug  wrench ... and also a little strategic heat applied to the last stubborn nut.  I thought I was going to twist the lug wrench into.  A 30 minute job stretched into 3/4 of the day.  Now I will waste a little more time with R&R.  If I get it to the shop today it'll be a miracle.

Something like a ratchet tie down strap routed around the center of the circumference of the tire, tighten it down a little and it spreads the sidewalls out to where the bead is in contact with the rim and will hold air.  I finally am hooked up, tire changed and aired up and after I clean up a bit I'll drive 'er in.  Then knock off for the weekend.

Sounds like a good night for a visit with a bud...or two.  (Or maybe a Shiner.)

This morning my muscles and joints tell me that I haven't done much real physical labor recently.  I did a bit of pre-bedtime sleeping in my recliner last night.  I actually don't like that - waking up groggy, making the coffee for morning and winding down the kitchen before 'really' going to bed. 

WhoWhee...think I'll pass on that trick. It gave me visions of a tire necklace. LOL