Feeling Like a Dope
White streaks of painted frost were sprawled across the yard as I ventured into the garage to start the process of replacing my lawn mower engine. I opened the garage door and the blast of the cool morning air set me back again. I proceeded to dust off the “Mr. Heater” from the top shelve and attach it to the propane tank. In a few minutes, my Dad would be here and I at least wanted to work in a little comfort.
It had been a couple of weeks since I was able to mow my lawn using my less than two year old mower. After hearing a disturbing noise coming from the engine area, I quickly brought it back to the garage, checked the oil and knew this was not good. I packed the mower up, brought it to the shop and waited for the report. As I expected, the engine was blown and by the way, it is was covered by the warranty. They were happy to put a replacement one in for me. Price: $1100 – $1500. I was stunned. I need time to think about this one.
I had the weekend to explore my options. After looking around for a replacement engine, I was able to buy one locally for $560 before taxes. It was a 24hp engine compared with the 22hp I had on it. It was cheaper than anything else I could find on the Internet. I ordered it but it would take another week before it arrived.
In the meantime, the grass kept growing and I pulled out my nice 22″ push mower and fired it up. I hadn’t used it in years – and yes I checked the oil. 1 acre + 1 afternoon = time to mow. 3 hours later I was finished.
A few days later, the engine finally arrived and it was time to dig in.
Dad arrived, we assessed what we had to do and dug in. We needed to move some of the engine parts from the bad engine onto the new good engine. We dropped it into place and cranked it down. The morning air warmed and we shut off the heater. The sun was doing it’s job. A break for lunch and then back at it. We got all the wiring back in place, hooked up all the pulley’s and belts and double checked our work. Last thing was making sure the oil was filled to capacity. A novel idea! I fired it up and all systems were a go. No adjustments needed!
So yes, I blew the engine. It is not an easy thing to fess up to. For cripes sake you should know better that that! A fairly new mower and this happens? But here’s the deal, even in those times of trouble, God is always working on your behalf. It was not looking so good and then the sky brightened and hope started to shine. I ultimately saved about half the amount of money by doing myself and I was able to spend time with my dad doing something we both love.
I am thankful for that . . .
