OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Governer?

Hi team.

I am in need of advice re my Victa PowerTorque 160 mower.

It became hard to start and I disassembled everything down to the block and found the large starter-mount/crankcase o-ring had perished and was failing. Easily replaced, and I also replaced the carb o-ring and the rubber block at the rear of the carb that the black and white wire poke into. I reassembled everything and it started second pull and runs fine, *except* now I have no governer. Before I had a nice 'put put put' rythym that increased under long grass load etc. but now at full throttle it revs way too high. I can pull the throttle back and operate it normally, so at least I have a workaround, but I am puzzled as to how the governer operated before and doesnt now - obviously something I have changed, but I am not sure what.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Dave

Dave,

1. Did you put the governor tube back on the casing?

2. When you replaced the 'O'ring on the starter did you check that it was sealing before you tightened up the 3 bolts?

3. Did you remove the cable from the carby?

4. Can you give us step by step what you did when you did the repair so that it easy for us to give you the correct answers to your problem.

Hi Bruce, thanks for answering so quickly.

When the mower started playing up last weekend I thought it might be the carb, as it would take a few pulls to start (unusual) and then run up to revs then die, as if the fuel wasnt getting through.

I took the tank assembly off the top to get at the carb. I didnt touch anything up here at this point.

I took the white cover off the carb by undoing the brass screw. As I eased it out the float and plastic 'needle' fell out. The needle had worn on the end so I thought I had my problem solved. The o-ring was a bit dodgy so I decided to check the rest of the carb out while I was there to save two trips to the local parts place. I popped the end cap off the carb and took the spring out. I eased the thin metal diaphram cover off the white plastic spindle. The diaphram itself looked good. I gently folded the diaphram back far enough to check as much as I could see in the carb itself. I noticed the rear rubber block, which held the ignition cut-off wires, was perished and the wires were quite loose. I decided to replace it as well.

I put it all back together with the new needle and rubber bits. I replaced the spark plug. I fired it up, which took a bit of pulling, and it ran, but wouldnt idle. Below half throttle it would die. At full throttle though it ran just like it always did, with the governer working OK. I did the lawns and put it back in the garage to worry about it this weekend instead.

This morning I took off the tank assembly, having pulled out the fuel tube from the carb.

I removed the plastic dirt shroud which just lifted away.

Once that was clear, I checked around the crankcase and could see a good 30mm part of the o-ring peeking out from between the starter housing and crankcase - it had obviously been crimped in like that at the factory. It had sealed OK, as the mower ran flawlessly for four years from new, but as it was now perished and had cracks in it, the crankcase joint was leaking.

I undid the three bolts holding the starter housing to the crankcase and took it off. The o-ring fell out in bits. Another trip to the parts guy and I had a new o-ring. I ran some oil around it and fitted the ring to the starter-housing and reassembled it, twisting it slightly from side to side to bed the o-ring in properly. I also opened the carb again and checked everything was OK in there. This time I pulled off the rubber tube from the small 'ufo' shaped thing for clearance (Im not sure what it is called but which I assume is part of the governer). Everything else looked fine.

I reassembled everything and turned on the fuel tap; immediately petrol began leaking from the priming bulb. I opened the carb again and made sure the needle and float were OK - I must have bumped it offline when assembling it as this time it worked OK. I made sure all hoses were back where they came from - the fuel one to the carb and the other one to the 'ufo'. The mower started with two pulls, which made me happy. But, when I throttled up, it just kept going, and I throttled back and let the mower warm up. It now idles beautifully and at about half-throttle it gives me the nice steady 'put put put' that I had before, but long grass just bogged it down - no governer at work. I cant see what I have upset as far as the thing goes, but I also dont know how the governer works on it anyway, so no surprise there.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope this is accurate enough for the pros to make a diagnosis.

Cheers from accross the ditch.

Dave.

Dave,

We have a parts list and manuals area in the Questions on lawnmowers section that has a workshop manual in it on the carby. :Wavey:

My suggestion is to remove the large washer on the poppet valve under the plastic cover and also check that the valve is set on 'C' where the cut out is in the carby (under the valve seat). You will also need to make sure that the diaphragm has not sucked in on the carby.

The workshop manual has pictures showing the position.

Also another thing that I would check is the bearings by holding the blade plate and trying to move it from side to side because if it does you will need new bearings.

I guess I had better donate then to get access to the manual.

Thanks Bruce.

Update, Sunday arfternoon.

Well, I popped the end off the carb and checked the diaphram - it all looked in place and solid. Peeling back the diaphram I couldnt see a letter 'c' under there anywhere, but I took the carb off the crankcase (un-'screwed' it from the bayonet fitting) and looked in that end I could see letters and numbers there. There is a gap in the housing and I lined the letter 'c' up with that. I assembled it all back up and started the mower on the first pull (nice). But! It still revs like hell at full throttle (like it did before - no governer) and now as I throttle back, it slows down as I pull the throttle and when I get to about the 'cold start' point it suddenly revs back up again, so it seems I have altered something, but not the way I intended. At least before it idled and was a bit more controllable.

I guess its time to shell out and let the pros have a go at it; I think it is getting beyond my meagre understanding.

Thanks for your help Bruce.

Dave,

Did you get the carby information from the parts list and manual area?

Hi Bruce.

Like others here I have scoured the forum pages and can see no manuals area.

Thanks

Dave.

Dave,

Try to refresh your browser.

I see it now Bruce, thanks a lot.

Hi Bruce and co. Just to let you know it is back to its old self and I have learnt a whole lot in the process. Many thanks from accross the ditch.

Dave.