Now now Norm you know all us witch doctors mechanics got to do is to mix a little ash and water then rub on the bad place and it is all healed.
Just like going out slicing off a ham steak and just rubbing a little mud on that place so the hog can grow a new one.
Some people think we are miracle workers. I had one to show this summer with similar problem on a rider wanting to know if I could repair it. I told it a week as it was a major transplant operation and it the mower need at least a week to recover. That owner's wallet had a massive heart attack when I gave him the estimate. He left the mower behind and brought a ZTR. That wallet must has an insurance windfall or won the lottery. I just can't see spending 4000 for new instead of 400 for a repair.
You think Briggs is rough on the wallet but this was a MTD 4P90 engine that needs a new oil pan @ 200 usd because the owner refused to let me fix the original problem which was frozen engine mounting bolts I could had got out before screwed up the oil pan and the engine mounting plate/mower frame. Heck he ran it a year without a muffler.
I am going to rebuild the engine with a oil pan and weld new plates to remove those long slotted hole in the frame. Basically I be double the frame thickness where the engine mounts, just not in any big hurry.
If things keep on the current path people will be willing to buy an used recondition mower next year as the economy is slower quite a bit now. Our Dow stock market has trimmed nearly 1500+ pts in the last week alone.
