OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Question On Scott Bonnar Cylinder Mowers Scott bonner diplomat issue

Hi all,

I'm on my second sb diplomat. The first one died due to the common nylon ring gear issue. At the time I happened across another one in pieces. I took them both to the local mower guy in camp hill (Brisbane) who kindly cannibalised one for spares to get the main one going again. He'd never worked on one before but managed to get it going again. It's worked perfectly for five years up until yesterday when I heard a loud pop and it stalled. The belt looks fine and still has good tension. it starts fine but when I engage the drive lever it instantly stalls. It appears that when the drive lever is engaged there is something causing too much resistance/load on the back roller and it stalls. At first I thought it was the nylon ring gear again but recall when it went the first time there was no loud pop nor stalling upon driver lever engagement - it just wouldn't drive.

Before I go down the road of pulling it apart to inspect the ring gear - anyone else report similar issues or make any suggestion on what it could be?

thanks

Pete

With the belt cover removed and the spark plug disconnected, do all the pulleys turn freely, spin them one at a time to see the result, start with making sure the reel is spinning freely and then the drive pulley.

If they both spin freely keep working your way up towards the engine.

Thanks Joe. Problem solved. Took your advice and worked the problem back from the belt system. Two minutes later I noticed the blade assembly wasn't spinning. The culprit was a rusty old wood screw jammed in between the bottom blade and cutting blade. The screw was a mess but only a little nick out of the bottom blade. I guess I'll need a sharpen an blade alignment. Thanks for your advice.

Pete

You're a legend Joe....of course I now realise that you can't see the reel from the front of a Diplomat....I wouldn't have considered a reel obstruction as the cause.
Joe..
As this thread is now complete I will now close it. If any member has anything to add, just PM a moderator.