How to Repair a Tractor Mower

Check the fuel level of your tractor mower and add gasoline to the tank, if necessary.

Add a splash of new gas to the gas tank if there is old fuel left in the tank from a previous season. Turn on the tractor mower and let it idle until all of the fuel in the tank has burned away. Refill the gas tank entirely with new fuel.

Open the front hood of the tractor mower to access the engine assembly. Check the spark plug. A black, thin plug wire should connect to the spark plug near the front of the engine assembly. If it is not connected, reconnect it. Attempt to start the tractor mower.

Replace the tractor mower's spark plug if the engine cranks but doesn't start. Disconnect the plug wire from the spark plug and remove the old plug then reconnect the plug wire to a replacement spark plug.

Follow the plug wire to the rear of the tractor mower's engine assembly if the mower still will not start. The plug wire leads back to the magnetic coil, and directly behind this part is the distinctively circular flywheel. The slight space between the two mower parts is the air gap. This air gap cannot be less than 0.010-inch or greater than 0.015-inch. Measure it.

Use a wrench to loosen the magnetic coil if the air gap is too wide or too narrow. Apply a bit of pressure to the magnetic coil to slightly reposition it so that the air gap falls within the specified width requirement. Measure the air gap again to be sure your alteration was correct.

Set the tractor mower's front cover back into place.