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“0.15 ± 0.02 mm (0.006 ± 0.001 in) for the intake valve and 0.20 ± 0.02 mm (0.008 ± 0.001 in) for the exhaust valve.” Thousandths is for inches, hundredths is for millimeters. No judgement - just making sure newbies understand that you were using the metric side of your feeler gauges. That engine is 6 and 8 thousandths of an inch valve clearances.

Muffler filled with lots of oil or carbon - I bring them outside, mount in a vice and get them red hot with a propane torch. Smokes like a freight train but clears up a lot faster than running on the engine.

JD, you said the piston arrow is oriented towards the crankshaft. Do you mean towards the output side of the crankshaft? I already know about 2T going towards the exhaust but couldn’t remember about 4T.

Each of us probably bought this gadget about the same time. Having a yard full of curb finds I’ve grabbed some old cables at one time or another to stick on machines whose cable had broken strands. This tool definitely works, but only if you orient the grommet correctly. Ask me how I know! 😂 Having gone through a half dozen mowers to find one cable whose strands weren’t broken and the overall length was close I learned a couple things. More cables fail from broken wires than anything else (seized didn’t seem to happen) and matching up the correct length and end fitting means often I won’t find a used one that works and I’ll have to splurge for a new one. I’ve also watched videos on actually building cables from scratch or fabricating a new lead end but don’t have enough call at present to justify purchasing everything that’s necessary, plus this is one of those things where it’s probably not worth the time instead of buying new.

You're a great instructor. Keep them coming.

Just came across your site Sir and now subscribed. Thank you for the detailed info. I am in the market for a used RZT50 as well. Is there major concern for a light smoke the current owner is indicating ???

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A friend gave me a Champion because it does the same thing. I am going to check all the things you showed on here. Thanks for the video!

It just occurred to me, in a couple of years Jack is going to be old enough for one of these and your buddy’s son may have outgrown this one, so now you’ve already got some hands on and know where to come up with one and what to expect! 🏍️

Great job on this video, JD! You got a lot of comments and did some great troubleshooting for folks as well! I suspect there must be a lot of these lawn tractors out there and this is a really common failure, given the number of views and comments. This is actually the best video I’ve seen on swapping out a PTO cable. 🔧👍👍👍

Wow, that bent blade almost throwing you off the ramp reminds me of a donated Cub Cadet push mower I got in. Guy said he hit a stump and it wouldn’t start again, plus the pullcord snapped back every time he tried. I figured it was probably a sheered flywheel key. When I finally got around to working on it I had the devil of a time trying to push it from the yard to the garage. Looked underneath and one end of the blade was a full four inches lower than the rest! No wonder he couldn’t start it! 😉 In the end this was my first mower flip so far. Checked to make sure and the key wasn’t deformed at all. Electric start,beautiful machine and I got top dollar for it after cleaning it up and a full service plus a bit of touch up paint.

FIRST SHOP BURNOUT!!! YAHOO!!! 😁👍

I think the dumpings from the carb were oil on top (oil always floats on top, right?) and water on the bottom because water always sinks to the bottom. Yes, gas in the middle! Duh! 😉😂😂😂

Hey, JD! Would have liked to have seen a pressure wash so I could eyeball the innards a bit better, but like you, I learned something, and that’s a good thing. 👍 I’m unclear about the automatic oiler. Is that automatic 2T oil instead of mixing the fuel? Where’s the tank for that and how is it metered? Is there an adjustment to control metering? Is that line simply a push fit? I didn’t see any tools involved when the line came off or went on. As usual with new stuff, I have more questions than answers, but just like you, I’m glad to learn new things because they may be usefully applied to other things in the future. 🔧👍

Was surprised the air filter wasn't caked up with cement dust. Glad to see you got it running and back in service for the guy. Nice work!

That’s the first time I’ve seen jelly on the emulsion tube. Phew! 🔧👍

So I guess balancing on the edge of a hacksaw blade in a vice is out too. Darn, my entire childhood mowing to earn spending money shot down in one video!😢 Ignorance is bliss!

Great job Sir! Diagnostic rolodex, I like that.

I’ve now worked my way through a bit over 50 of your videos, in order from the beginning. Trying to get your numbers up. 😉🔧👍

Nice! I’m seeing some videos now with multiple capabilities for $150-200. That’s what I’m shooting for eventually. Donyboy has reviewed several of them in the last few months.

Thank you for this. I am not a tinkerer but the way you explained things I was able to swap out my broken cable in a little under an hour.

I totally loved working on a Kawasaki FX730V recently. The adjusters are the cam type, which are really easy to adjust, plus the service manual instructed to adjust to .002 and tighten, to hit 4 to 6. Nailed it at .005! Doesn’t get any better than that! Sometimes it really pays to read the directions! 😉🔧👍

Sometimes you can tighten the lock nuts alone and the adjuster will move with it just enough to hit the right spec. It’s magic!

Aaand, the very next one for valve adjustments you did what I suggested - calling out the gaps found, plus using thousandths. You read my mind 18 months into the future. You’re absolutely amazing, JD! 😂

If I had electric welding I probably would have made some kind of jig to hold the axle thingy to the wheel straight/true and welded it, then heat treated. Nothing to lose at that point! 😉 What I always say to myself is, a human built this and I’m probably as smart and capable as they are!

When you know it’s going to end up buried in the bottom of Jack’s toolbox someday because he can’t get new blades for it, but you still can’t resist because it’s so Transformers.

I have “wannabe buyer’s remorse”. I can only afford to buy tools that will fill an immediate need for which I have no substitute already. 🥲🔧👍

Thx for the update, JD. That’s what we like to hear - success! About the water and “load” - I could be all wrong, but the weight of the water only has a little to do with the load on that machine. The water has little frictional resistance, which is what the engine is actually working to overcome. The actual mortar has a whole lot more friction involved, especially as it starts to turn before water is added to get the correct consistency. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ TO it! 🔧👍

Ohhh another one i have one with a briggs 8 horse

My cement mixer is a plastic tub and a hoe with holes. Noooo, not THAT kind! 😉

Don’t care what the metric specs are for valve clearances - give us the thousandths! Probably .004 and .006 anyway, right? 😉🔧 Oh, by the way, if you tell us what the measurements are before adjustment and explain exactly how that affects performance that will help some newbies who don’t understand how this works. For myself, I like to hear them to confirm what I’ve seen so far and my diagnostic guess is correct. Or not! 🙏

I have plenty of torches but fresh out of pitchforks. 🤣😲

Outstanding! I love cement mixers! You really nailed this fix! 😃👍

lol, I had a summer job way back in the 80’s running a cement mixer, very similar to the one your working on. That thing was no different from a ride on lawn mower, if the engine is operating properly it’s all good. Whatever at idle, under load or at rest. If not it needed some help.

Betting the air filter is stopped up completely 😢😮😮. They never check or change them 😮

If it has anything to do with cement then I just replace the carb and change tank filter and flush it 😊 Can’t get the cement off of the carb 😢😢😢

Multimixer? What the hell is THAT? 😂 Think I could use it for mixing my bread dough? 😉👨🏻‍🍳🔧👍

Ladies and gentlemen this is what you get when you don't oil your ratchets or when you store them and you don't oil them decently before you put them up

One thing I do on every one is replace deck spindle bearing and new head gasket, seems to pay off 😮😊😊😊

Thats disen courage ing

Constructive criticism - never force float axle pins in or out by hammering. The ears are fragile and will snap off very readily. If they’re stuck on I grab an end with pliers and twist, working back and forth until free. If you have to use force to install then something is amiss which needs to be addressed. They should always slide in and out freely, with no resistance.

If the fuel gasket/seal is missing, make sure to check inside the tank. It’s not uncommon for them to drop inside. Same goes for the connector (whatever that thing is called that keeps you from losing the cap).

Good job, JD. I’ve had to drill out one carb so far, on a pressure washer. It was in its first season, so came from the manufacturer this way. Drilled out one micro bit at a time, twice, and finally hit the sweet spot. 👍 I never heard what you said before, about one carb destined for multiple horsepower engines, but now that I think about it, that makes perfect sense. That explains why a carb on a new machine may not be right - the designer may have spec’d the wrong carb or the assembly plant may have grabbed the wrong box of carbs. It could also be the wrong box of pilot jets at the carb factory!

I made a dedicated main jet removal screwdriver a while back. Marked the black handle with paint marker blue stripes so it’s easy to grab out of my screwdriver drawer. It has a smallish handle, so over torquing and breaking the main jet isn’t much of an issue.

First generator on the channel! 👍 I’ve watched MANY JC videos and have restored one so far, including adjusting the speed and AVR. I’d definitely say Hz should be around 61.2 or so. I don’t know that 62-something is necessarily bad - I haven’t come across that yet on James’ channel. I bought the one I restored early on in my small engine career before I realized I could get them for free, but it’s probably got very low hours on it and it actually looks better than new and performs perfectly so I’ll probably get top dollar when I finally sell it on FBMP. I have several more (all free) in the yard to work on if I can ever get the time.

Use copper based anti siese on spark plugs better ground

JD looks into the fuel tank…”Oh nuts!” 😂🔧👍

It’s very common for the axle to break like this and I just weld it most of the time

The only reason I can’t justify buying these is I already have countless numbers of these and other brands in my pliers drawer. All different makes and mechanisms, but they’re all old, so probably good quality anyhow. 😉🔧👍

Plastic emulsion tube requiring two O-rings! Argh! Damn bean counters! 😂😉🔧👍