OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Reel Lawn Mowers, Atco & Villiers etc. Morrison reel mowers

I have an old Morrison 4 Olympic reel mower that I am changing the drive clutch cable on. The cable is threaded into a bicycle style lever however I don't know how to attach the cable to this lever as there is no pivot point. The model type and code is 80202 4016 01 89071903 (or 8). It is about 1988 or earlier

Hi Mick, welcome to Outdoorking.

Please post a couple of pictures of your mower, plus a couple of closeups of the handlebar control for the clutch. I doubt that many of us are familiar with Morrison mowers, so I think this may have to be worked out from first principles.

Your Briggs & Stratton engine is 8 cubic inch displacement (135 cc), of the first design generation, with a Pulsa-Jet carburetor, plain main bearings, and a rewind starter. It was made on 19 July, 1989, so if it is the original engine, your mower was probably made at the end of 1989 or early in 1990.
Here is the engine's illustrated parts list:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/Z6ntABVJ1DajI.pdf

Here is its operator's manual:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/flivAJX-nfBhU7y.pdf

The Outdoorking manuals area has an illustrated parts list for the 2008 version of the 400, 500 and 660 reel mowers. I don't know if it would be similar to yours, but it looks like this:

Thanks for the quick response. Here are the requested images.

I have been told by mascot that it was actually made in NZ by steelforte if that helps

I take it you are trying to fit a new cable inner, to the cable outer that is currently installed on your mower. The cable inner is normally a number of thin strands of high tensile steel, twisted to make them moderately robust. At the handlebar end of the cable inner, there should be a short crossways piece of brass rod. The cable inner should have been passed through a transverse hole in the piece of brass rod, and soldered in place. The piece of brass rod is then positioned in the hole circled in red:

Fantastic thank you. Since last messge I have got a new piece of brass rod and passed the cable through it. I had to redrill the hole as the rod was a bit wider. Now to solder it you say? Hmmm

Sometimes a tiny, almost headless screw is screwed into the end of the cable inner to expand it. I used to just splay out the cable inner a bit (there is often a countersink or counterbore in the cross-hole in the piece of brass rod to support this) before soldering it, so the solder joint did not have to support the full load. I broke a motorcycle front brake cable inner (much heavier than the bicycle type of cable you probably have there) in tension through shear finger-force once when I was twelve years old, in the heat of the moment whilst crashing. It is a lot to ask of a plain solder joint loaded in shear to support that much force, so you should preferably do something to strengthen the joint.

Thanks for the advice Grumpy. The piece of copper has a screw that came with it however I will find another one because the screw that did come with it has a large phillipshead and makes contact with the outside of the lever. Thanks again. Fingers crossed it will connect properly. Should I attach the top end first or the bottom with the lock nuts and then adjust?

First, you can anchor the inner cable in the crossways piece of brass rod by getting a very small wood-screw, inserting the end of the cable inner across the brass rod, and screwing the wood screw into the end of the cable inner to expand it. Then file the head off the wood screw, so it will not interfere with inserting the brass rod into the hole in the clutch handle. Do not try to use a self-tapping screw unless you have a bench grinder: self-tappers are file-hard, while wood screws are soft mild steel.

Second, you can usually install either end of the cable first, but you have to back off the lock nuts all the way so you have some slack in the cable outer, or you will not be able to put it into position on its end supports. Then adjust up the lock nuts while holding the cable outer in place.

Thanks grumpy it's all good and running well. Cheers mate

Thanks for letting us know the outcome, Mick. I'll close this thread.