OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Other Walk-Behind Rotary Mowers The Rover Pro-Cut Chronicles

Rover ProCut 560 – Spring Service

It’s now been a year since I found this beauty, and its been working hard!

When the Rover came to me, it was in remarkable condition for a 10-year-old mower. The previous owner had inherited the machine after his father passed away, both clearly kept it well maintained. Even still, I did a reset on it by changing the oil, plug and air filter. I also had to refresh some of the drive system parts, but overall, I had a near new ProCut 560 for half the price I paid for one new in 2015.

After a busy 2024/2025 spring/summer, in February this year I gave it an oil change and a set of new blades. I also replaced the useless fuel tap with a fuel filter. Now that the weather has warmed up and the grass is growing again, I want this mower in top condition for the season ahead. Look after your tools and they will look after you……………………..




Blades –

The current set of blades have been on the mower since February, and while they looked ok at a glance, I had been noticing a decline in cut quality. On closer inspection, they were well worth replacing. As per most Rover stuff now, finding OEM has become hard. I’ve noticed that when I’ve put the OEM Rover blades on the mower, they seem to last longer than the aftermarket stuff from GA Spares or Jak Max. Depending on where you get them, they will come pre-packaged or drawn from bulk lots of blades and hardware. The Rover branded ones come pre-packaged in sets of two. In this case, I’m using the Jak Max versions.











Deck –

While I had the blade carrier off, I took the opportunity to scrape off the accumulation of dirt and grass. Nothing special or glamorous here, just a paint scraper, wire brush………………….. and a giant mess afterwards.





Oil Change –

Briggs normally specify SAE 30 oil, which I use in their older engines or for break-in. Otherwise, I’m using Penrite 10W-30 semi-synthetic. For the big block 850-series, you need 590 – 600ml of oil.

If Penrite is good enough for a Bathurst win last weekend, its good enough for my lawn mowers. …………………



I normally drain or suck the oil out via the dipstick tube. On this occasion, with the blade carrier removed, I decided to remove the sump plug instead. I’ve actually never done it this way, in fact Briggs & Stratton have removed the drain plug from their engines in recent years. Victa’s fitted with this engine are pressure lubricated via an oil pump, which is ran through an external oil filter. Those little filters are extremely expensive at $19.95 each, twice the price of some automotive filters. For the ProCut, Rover went for the basic splash lubrication, which saves me $20 per service.



Cleaning –

With the oil change finished and the blade carrier reinstalled, I decided to give the unit a clean. Shine Supply Wise Guy was sprayed on, left to soak, then rinsed with the pressure washer. A little Hydr02 for the deck, and some Hyper Dressing for the plastics, I then used my blower to dry it off.




Spark Plug –

The plug was last changed 12-months ago when I got the mower. I could have just cleaned it, but I had them in stock so just went ahead with a new one. I went with the Champion RC12YC, but NGK BCPR5ES works as well.




Air Filter –

I’m actually a little disappointed in myself for not checking the filter sooner. I normally tap them out weekly, but for whatever reason I had let it go. No wonder the engine was running rich.

Briggs & Stratton -

Early Models (Long-type) – 795066 (Filter) + 796254 (Pre-Filter)

Late Models (Triangle-type) – 595853 (Filter) + 597266 (Pre-Filter)






Fuel Filter –

With these, you need to make sure you have the correct one. The white 75-micron filters are for engines with a fuel pump, the red 75-micron ones are for gravity fed. The red ones are universal, but the white ones need a fuel pump to draw through the finer filtration material. These pancake filters use a metal screen, which is superior to the paper cartridge style filters that can sometimes break down and send filter material into the carburettor. Both are unidirectional for ease of installation.

Briggs & Stratton – 298090S


Service Cost –

Below is the parts cost to complete this service. If I add my labour rate to that, it would come out at about $177. So I saved about $90 - $100 by doing it myself.

Blade Kit - $39.95

Oil (590ml) - $7.45

Spark Plug - $8.95

Air Filters - $19.30

Fuel Filter - $9.95

Shop Supplies (Towels, Carb Spray) - $2.00

TOTAL - $87.60




Ready for Work –

A quick test fire and the ProCut is ready for the peak mowing season.






This mower also represents the beginning of a massive change to my daily life. I went to pick this mower up on the first day of my long-service leave, and what a sigh of relief that was. In the two weeks leading up to leave, I had a very upsetting and uncalled for interaction at work. I held it together and forged on, so walking out on my last day and the little road trip to buy this mower was the beginning of a new life. Two weeks later, my new car arrived. A month later I landed in hospital, no doubt my body finally giving in, the recovery ate up a month of my leave. Another month on and I resigned, finally putting end to a long running and constant drain on my mental health.

So, every time I use this mower, I’m reminded of how it was the catalyst for change and the feeling of freedom.