# Toro GM1000 engine dies when blade engages



## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

Hey everyone, did part two of my scalping today where I brought my blade down to some really short heights.

I'll be mowing at 0.5" but I brought it down to about half of that. In doing so my yard looks like a disaster today and I know my neighbors think I've gone nuts considering it started raining during the process and of course I continued! 

Well right towards the end I was trying to scalp an area by my mailbox where it intersects with my driveway. I think my blade may have nicked it because at that point the mower stalled.

It restarted fine but each time I try to drive forward with the blade engaged it stalls again. If I disengage the blade I can propel it forward using it's own power but not with the blade moving.

I figure it's something to do with the clutch or belt but before starting to go on a wild goose chase wanted to see if any of you know what I should look at first? Thankfully since I have the other mower I have tons of spares but I want to get back out there tomorrow again and finish the side and back yards. Any ideas?

Thanks!


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Does the reel spin freely by hand when disengaged, engine off?


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

Ware said:


> Does the reel spin freely by hand when disengaged, engine off?


In one direction it'll almost do a complete revolution and then feel like it's hitting something solid and won't move any further.

In the other direction it spins freely and then begins to become increasingly difficult to move but doesn't really stop as solidly as the other direction.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Sounds like you hit something and bent the reel.


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

Noooo!!! That stinks. Ok looks like I'm doing a reel transplant from the other mower...


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Depending on how bad the bent blade is, it is possible to straighten minor bends but be warned that that blade/area of the blade may not cut like the other, unbent blades. If it's not mowing a putting green, you may get away with having 1 blade of an 8+ blade reel. Not pulling it's weight.


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

MasterMech said:


> Depending on how bad the bent blade is, it is possible to straighten minor bends but be warned that that blade/area of the blade may not cut like the other, unbent blades. If it's not mowing a putting green, you may get away with having 1 blade of an 8+ blade reel. Not pulling it's weight.


That's good to know. I'm going to try and see what I can do tomorrow. You're right, my yard is far from perfect and during the season I'll be mowing at 0.5" so it might work. My options are as follows:

- Fix the existing blade
- Transplant the blade from my other mower
- Move the carb and spark plug to the other mower and see if I can start it. The previous owner said the blade and bedknife were just sharpened so it might be a better base to start working with.

Guess I'll make that decision tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion though, I didn't think of that.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

fp_911 said:


> MasterMech said:
> 
> 
> > Depending on how bad the bent blade is, it is possible to straighten minor bends but be warned that that blade/area of the blade may not cut like the other, unbent blades. If it's not mowing a putting green, you may get away with having 1 blade of an 8+ blade reel. Not pulling it's weight.
> ...


Grab hold of the reel in the secondary Machine and check the bearings by trying to move the reel up and down or front to rear. If you can discern any movement, your going to have get into it anyways, and I'd think about ordering bearings and seals then doing the swap. Also, if you need to replace a reel, it's a good time to think about what reel you'd like to have. Ex. If you're cutting at 1/2" to 3/4" and running an 11 or 14 blade reel, maybe you'd be better served by a 7 or 8 blade reel and a fairway knife?


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

@fp_911 sorry to hear this.

+1 to all the comments so far. I do also like the idea of getting the second mower running.


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

Spent a few hours in the O.R. (garage) last night to figure out next steps.

Took a closer look at my working mower and found that when I nicked the driveway one of the blades actually pulled off of the weld that holds it in place. When I used vice grips I could put it back into position but of course that doesn't do anything to address my issue.

So I focused my attention on the non-working mower. Cleaned the carb but didn't take it apart and then cleaned out the fuel filter. It still wouldn't start so I took the carb and spark plug from my good machine and installed it on the "broken" one. It started right up!

Now I'm excited so I disengage the brake and try to propel it forward. It goes nowhere! Argh...Belts are in, pulleys appear to be fine and troubleshooting this thing at 11pm doesn't seem like something I want to do. So I begin the task of removing the reel. I pulled a few things apart but the more I read into it the more likely it seemed I was going to run out of time. You see I'm heading out of town for the next 10 days so I figured I'd just throw in the towel and take my good mower into the shop.

Called up the shop and they said they can either weld or replace the reel. Hopefully they can do the former rather than latter but given the fact that I won't be able to use it for almost the next two weeks I figured now is as good time as any to get it into a repair facility. Hopefully they can turn it around quickly and I can have it back in time for my return.

In the meantime I'll order a new carb or repair kit for the non-working unit and start troubleshooting the drive mechanism. The bearings on both appear to be good so if I can get that unit to move itself I should be good!

So moral of the story, stick with the weed eater when scalping close to your driveway.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

My vote is to buy a new reel, and have the existing reel repaired. So next time this happens, or you need a reel sharpened, you have a spare!


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

SCGrassMan said:


> My vote is to buy a new reel, and have the existing reel repaired. So next time this happens, or you need a reel sharpened, you have a spare!


I dropped off the mower this morning at the shop. Let's see what they say. Alternatively if I can get the drive mechanism working on the "broken" mower then I'll always have that as an option.

I saw the replacement reel on R&R for about $230! Wow I'm definitely playing in a different league when I'm used to spending $25 on replacement blades for my Honda mower.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

fp_911 said:


> SCGrassMan said:
> 
> 
> > My vote is to buy a new reel, and have the existing reel repaired. So next time this happens, or you need a reel sharpened, you have a spare!
> ...


Sounds like a plan! I wouldn't mind paying that for a spare reel to be honest, because they last a long time... and no, nothing like a $25 honda lol. I have a honda myself, and I just sharpen them myself. Still waiting on my Toro GM1600 to ship :-|


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## Cavan806 (May 2, 2017)

@fp_911 Which shop in Charlotte did you bring your mower to?


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

Cavan806 said:


> @fp_911 Which shop in Charlotte did you bring your mower to?


I took it to STI Lawn Service on Golf Acres Drive by the airport. Unfortunately they're really busy so even after two weeks they haven't gotten to my mower yet and it still could be another two weeks so have a backup plan!


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

So sad...

I got the quote back from the shop and they found the reel needs to be replaced. Plus a lot of "while you were in there" work that should be done. Total estimate is close to $1000 which is significantly more than I paid for the mower.

I didn't really think I'd have to pay that much so I need to figure out quickly if I'm going that direction or if I'm just going to try and get my non-working mower working again.

Decisions, decisions!


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

fp_911 said:


> So sad...
> 
> I got the quote back from the shop and they found the reel needs to be replaced. Plus a lot of "while you were in there" work that should be done. Total estimate is close to $1000 which is significantly more than I paid for the mower.
> 
> ...


Depending on how much bonus work they are doing, I assume that includes bearings, seals, new bedknife, etc. that's a pretty fair price. More than half of that is probably the parts bill. So give yourself a $500 budget and figure a full Saturday's worth of time for you to DIY. Then ask yourself is it worth it? You can always tinker with the other mower to get it running again, and you probably will have an A+ primary while you work on the other.


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