The primary services included in every tune-up are changing out your oil, replacing the air filter, and replacing the spark plug. Many professional tune-ups will involve more, checking tire pressure, cleaning the mower, and provide other such preventative maintenance services, so be sure to shop around to find the best tune-up offer that you can!
Today we’ll tell you about tune ups, average working life of riding mowers and tractors, DIY tune-up tips and more… Read on to find out what you need to know in the Mower Maintenance FAQ!
How much is a tune up for a riding lawn mower?
For getting a tune up for a riding mower, expect to pay a ‘ballpark figure’ of around $140, though keep in mind that prices vary quite a bit from vendor to vendor and with a little shopping around you can often get good service and a great deal. For standard mowers, expect to pay around $70, while Tractor mowers are often in range of $220 to $250.
How much should a lawn mower service cost?
If you are looking to hire a lawn service to mow your lawn for you, then you should expect to pay around $50 to $210, but this is just a general approximation. The biggest factors are going to be lawn obstructions, hills, and overall size of the lawn itself, as well as bagging, mulching, or other options that are available through the vendor.
How do you do a tuneup on a lawn mower?
Basically, you need to disconnect the spark plug, drain your oil, and you are going to need to replace your air filter. Following this, you can put in a new spark plug (leaving the spark wire disconnected for now), sharpen and balance the blades, and put in some new oil and fill up your gas. Reconnect the spark plug wire and you’ve just done a very basic tune up.
Pro services will include extras, such as checking tire pressure, belts, cleaning the mower, and more, so they are well-worth looking into!
How often should you tune up a lawn mower?
It’s a good practice to tune up or bring in your mower to a professional for a tune up every 100 hours of work use. While mowers are pretty durable from the get-go, it’s important to maintain them if you want to get every last minute of work-life that you’ve paid for – if you do, that mower will last a very long time, indeed.
How long do lawn mowers last?
Provided that you maintain them with regular tune ups, cleaning, and taking care of problems as they arise (instead of putting them off), most lawn mowers are going to last a good 10 years or more. 20 year old mowers are not uncommon, it just takes a little care and regular maintenance like you would with any other favorite tool.
Is it worth getting a lawn mower repair?
In most cases, yes, and especially so with larger mowers such as riding mowers or tractors. With the latter two, repairs can run in the hundreds, but the units themselves are much more expensive. As such, repairs followed by regular maintenance can save you a lot of money. For push mowers, the average cost on repair is around $90, which is still a good savings!
How do I know if my lawnmower spark plug is bad?
Some telltale signs that the spark plug is ‘on its last legs’ are the mower stalling out for no apparent reason, having to pull harder on your rewind, gas requiring refills more frequently than usual, or the engine simply won’t start at all. If you are seeing these issues, try replacing the spark plug – it’s cheap, easy, and might be exactly what the doctor ordered.
How long should a lawn mower battery last?
With a riding mower battery, you should realistically expect about 4 years of good running operation before the battery will need to be replaced. Around or after that time period, you’ll start noticing that the battery is not holding it’s charge for as long and at this point, you should go ahead and get a replacement.
4 years is not bad at all, as battery life goes and you can often get a brand-new battery for as low as $40 to $75.
How long does the average lawn tractor last?
The average residential lawn tractor should last 250 to 300 work hours, although with proper care and maintenance they can last 10 or even 20 years. Like anything else with an engine, regular maintenance, quality fluids, regular cleaning, and good old common-sense care make all of the difference.
How often should you change the spark plug in a lawn mower?
A good habit to get into is replacing your spark plug at the same time that you sharpen and balance your blades. Every 25 hours of use is the time interval for when both of these tasks should be done, so if you do them together it will be easier to remember and you’ll your mower will reflect this care in the reliable performance that it provides you.
Should I use synthetic oil in my lawn mower?
Be sure to check your owner’s manual for specific information as to the make and model of your mower. That said, the best practice for this is look for high quality detergent oil that will be marketed as ‘For Service’, listing oils rated at SF, SG, SH, and higher. Synthetics are going to be absolutely fine and will not hamper your performance or reduce the life of your mower.
How often should I change the air filter on my lawn mower?
Your filter helps to keep dust, grass, and other contaminants out of your engine and so you want to be sure that you replace it regularly. If you replace the air filter every 3 months, then this should do the trick, although you might want to adjust that to a shorter time if you will be using your mower commercially.
How often should you change fuel filter on lawn mower?
Your fuel filter should be regularly maintained to help in ensuring that you are getting the best performance from your mower. Every 200 hours is a good time interval for this, just be sure to consult your owner’s manual if you haven’t removed and replaced the filter before.
Alternately, you can bring the mower in to your local hardware store and let their professional services replace it for you.
Hi, I’m John Stephens, chief editor and writer for Totalgardener.com. I’ve been gardening and raising animals for over 15 years starting with a small backyard plot in Northern Virginia where I grew corn, potatoes, squash, and using a high mulch technique called the Ruth Stout Method. I also raised ducks and small mammals for meat and eggs in a movable pen similar to the ones used by Joel Salatin. I later moved to Colorado where I experimented with growing greens using aquaponics inside. I eventually added a microgreens setup and home sprouting operation. I’m excited to share everything I’ve learned plus more from the other local gardening and animal raising experts I know.
