Your best hope is a "curb find"! Or a dump find, or a five finger discount mower. Otherwise go buy a new one--they all live up to their hype! I saw a nice mower today in the paper. Looks like the same type Sears sold with their Craftsman line. A good dependable mower, self propelled, and parts are readily available. B&S engine, and it should last a long time, with proper care. And, with all of the money you saved on oil and proper maintenance, etc., it will make a nice down payment on a new one! And, your troubles will be over, and you can sit and watch your relatives mow yer lawn/yard!

Came very close to pulling the trigger on a $600 Toro at HD yesterday, but decided that, with fishing weather coming on, I'd be better off buying an assembled one from a dealer. Then I got to thinking about how Rusty coaxes mowers back from Lawn Mower Heaven, and decided the least I could do would be to change the filter and plug in Ol' Red before dragging him out to the curb. He had been running very unevenly, kind of "loping," the other day. The plug looked like something that had been removed from a 54 salvage yard DeSoto. I spent a good 15 minutes cleaning the filter, because I didn't want the parts person to see it like it was. Anyway, I got the new plug and filter in, and whaddayaknow! Ran smooth as silk, no smoke or ominous sounds. The kid was able to start it with the first pull (his arm may have got a little stronger.) I may try to get another 10 years out of this sucker. I suppose I ought to change the oil.