Recent content by jeepman3071

I'd just give that area of the piston a good polishing to remove any burrs. I would also replace the crank seals. They are a known issue on these saws anyway. Once back together it will be a good saw though, those 445s are nice little saws and good power to weight ratio.

It would definitely require some extensive modification. The mounts are different and some of the higher series machines will have a shaft driven mower deck. Not worth it in my opinion.

I've used all flavors of Rotella for OPE over the years with good results.

Nothing wrong with that at all. Probably a pain trying to find a used one that isn't rusted or tweaked from people hitting stuff.

I think they would sell well, but they would never pass the safety regs that would be imposed on them and therefore wouldn't be available here.

How much of this is tariffs and how much of it is companies using tariffs as an excuse?

My go-to would be a lightly used Echo top handle. The Chinese saws I've found often need tuning out of the box to run right, or can be temperamental. Parts can be hit or miss. Not a big deal if you like to tinker, but not something you want out of a dependable tool.

The mower engines had aluminum flywheels. You can get a flywheel off a non-mower engine and it should be easier to start. The carbs may be different for the 6.5hp, it has been awhile since I messed with one of those engines.

+1 If it is just for trim maybe something without self propel would be lighter, but I've never had an issue trimming with a self-propelled mower, even a RWD Toro Super Recycler. I tend to like the Toros, since they are a good value and cut quality without the Honda price tag. Briggs or Kohler...

+1 I'd at least get a good condition used piston if I'm going through all that work.

Yeah definitely a better idea to try and find a better deck to swap on instead of painting. For what it's worth a lot of those 100 series decks have very similar if not the same mounting as long as the deck size is the same. So any LA tractor or even L with the same size should fit even if it...

+1 on just repainting it if the deck is still solid. I owned a 2005 G110 which is the garden tractor version they sold at Home Depot for a few years. The deck paint flaked off pretty easily even though mine was stored in a garage. Rustoleum sells a Deere yellow matching spray paint.

I'd probably just run a 10w30 or 15w40 HDEO and call it good. Those engines aren't hard on oil, the most critical part in my experience is several early changes, since they tend to shed break-in metal for quite a while when they are new.

If it has been sitting for a long time, it likely needs a carburetor diaphragm kit and new fuel lines, since they dry out and get hardened with age. I've started saws that have been sitting for many years by just putting in a carb kit. Definitely a saw worth fixing.

@BC1 Yes, still have perfect heat. It's better than it has ever been since now the heater core isn't plugged full of junk. In theory, if the filter plugged up then yes the heat would suffer, but especially now that the filters are much cleaner inside when I cut them open it isn't an issue...