Lawn mower repair for seized engines is a snap with Engine Release

Lawn mower repair can get expensive, very quickly. Our local hire shop charges nearly $50 per hour for a service alone!

This page provides instructions for using Engine Release to free your seized lawn mower engine or any other item of home and garden equipment suffering from a seized engine.

This includes any of the following equipment:

Engine Release works, OR YOUR MONEY BACK. Click here for more about our no-quibble return policy.

VERY IMPORTANT!

Once you have read these instructions, if technical support is required with your project please email us for advice, we will reply ASAP.

Always read the safety instructions on the can. Click here to read the safety information online BEFORE you begin your lawn mower repair project.

If you have failed to free up your engine previously using Mystery Oil, vinegar, water, ATF, diesel fuel, WD40, or others, purchase a large plastic turkey baster and about 24" of clear plastic hose that will tightly push-fit over the end of the baster and still have a small enough outside diameter to pass through your spark plug holes.

It's important to remove all traces of other substances with your baster so they will not dilute the Engine Release when you inject it into your engine.

It’s a good idea not to try and force more hose down the spark plug hole than is required to just touch the top of the piston, so you can be sure to get everything.

Pushing more hose into the cylinder than is required will just force the end of the hose to curl up in the air, defeating the purpose of this exercise. You won't find this advice covered in your lawn mower repair manual!

IDENTIFY YOUR ENGINE TYPE

Most lawn and garden maintenance equipment is powered by either Tecumseh engines, Honda Engines, Kohler Engines or similar, usually a single cylinder small engine under 25 HP. These engines can be divided into two types. Identify your type before you begin your lawn mower repair.

Type 1 Engines

This type has its crankshaft rotating horizontally. These engines usually power generators, snow blowers, garden tillers and antique garden tractors and are used as lawn mower engines on real type mowers.

Power is fed directly from the crankshaft end, which exits the engine through a centrifugal clutch to either a tensioned belt or gear drive that powers the piece of equipment.

Type 1 engines are the easiest to work on in lawn mower repair projects because the cylinder bore is vertical in the machine and the spark plug is situated on the top of the engine. Usually these engines can be worked on just as they stand.

Inclined Type I

If the engine is of an inclined type, as shown in the photo below, even though the spark plug is located on the top of the engine, it is important to get the engine into a position that brings the cylinder as close to vertical as possible, using either blocks or stands.

This means that when Engine Release is injected into the cylinder bore, it will flow freely around the engine's piston, not leaving any dry areas. This is also neccessary when you are working on V-style twin cylinder engines. Work on one cylinder at a time.

You do not have to dismantle your engine to the extent we have. It has been done in order to give you a good view of the cylinder bore propped up in a vertical position.

If you have a type 1 engine/motor click here

Type 2 Engines

The Second type is found on push type lawn mowers, some pressure washers and most garden tractors, especially the John Deere garden tractors, where the crank shaft is positioned vertically in the engine and turns either a cutter blade or a drive pulley for power transmission.

Type 2 engines make for problematic lawn mower repair projects. Firstly, fuel and engine oil must be removed from them before putting these engines on end, to avoid having oil and gas leaking from the engine when you are working on it.

Secondly, to succeed using Engine Release, the engine cylinder has to be positioned vertically with the spark plug located on top. This way, when Engine Release is injected into the cylinder bore it will flow freely around the engine's piston, not leaving any dry areas.

This means your lawn mower may have to be propped up and safely secured in a vertical position so it can be worked on. This can be done by leaning your lawn mower against a vertical support, such as a work bench leg, saw horse, picnic table leg or the nearest tree, and attaching it securely with a ratchet strap to hold in place.

Lawn tractors will have to be propped up as vertically as safety allows so that the engine's cylinders are as close to vertical as possible.

If you have a Type 2 engine/motor click here

Engine Release.
Freed-up pistons, or your money back. Guaranteed!