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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Ransomes Auto - Certes 18in MK8

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Good Afternoon

If anyone can spare a few moments I need a little help.

I have been given a MK8 auto-certes which has been sat in my neighbours garden for the last 18 months and is now pretty rusty.

I have also got the original manual so its not all bad.

The bits I need help with are

  • I am going to drian all the oil from the engine, what should I be replacing it with
  • I am also going to drain the petrol, I understand I need use Ethnol free petrol ie BP Ulitmate
  • Do I need add anything else to the petrol before starting.

 

Is there anything else I need to do.

If any body wants a scanned copy of of the user guide please let me know.

 

 

Forums

hillsider Thu, 29/03/2012

Hello and welcome to the Old Lawnmower Club, 

Re the Ransomes Auto-Certes that you have it would help to have confirmation of the engine that it is fitted with. Most that I have seen have been fitted with a Villiers F12 (Sloper) engine but I have seen some that have been fitted with a Briggs and Stratton engine. 

The engine oil for both engines can be an SAE 30 oil, http://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/scripts/prodview.asp?idcat=70&idProduct=160

Re the petrol I have not heard of the need to use a specific fuel type all of the mowers that I have experienced have run happily on ordinary unleaded fuel and not suffered any problems. However modern fuels do not store very well so try not to leave a full tank at the end of the mowing season. 

Good luck with this mower they are very good when running well so please keep us informed of progress,  if you can confirm the engine type I may be able to help with some information for it if you need it.

Ray.

 

twingo Fri, 30/03/2012

Ray

Many thanks for the response and the help with the oil type.

Are you able to tell from the picture what engine type i have

 

 

 on t, 

Regards

hillsider Fri, 30/03/2012

Yes your engine looks like Villiers F11 `sloper engine', You should be able to locate the type and serial numbers on the edge of the engine base below the carburetor. 

Ray. 

redfernmowers Thu, 31/05/2012

Good to hear another owner of this fine machine. 

A tip or two for this...

Drain the oil by undoing a square horizontal bolt at the front base of the engine. before this, if you can, run it. if not then drain anyway. to do this, tip the mower to stand up, with a bucket directly under the hole to drain. Whilst doing so, rotate the flywheel to help clear the oil out, it creates a pressure point for excess oil.

Close the hole with the bolt. a good tip is to clean this bolt of swarf and debris.

Normal SAE30 oil will do.

Regarding fuel, normal unleaded will do perfectly. It would be worth using a drop or two of fuel additive to protect the fuel. Or, as I use it, Aspen 4 stroke fuel which is stable and lasts longer, gives your engine and carb a healthier run and less junk out of the exhaust.

The carb is the ultimate nightmare to clean if it's been left to stand for a while. it can be done with a bit of patience, a stainless steel mini wire brush, a nylon wire brush or tooth brush, a pot of paraffin cleaner to submerge the carb with the ports opened, filter out, etc. Be warned though, it's a fiddly and tiring process. just finished the service on mine and runs like a babe now. couldn't be more proud.

A very useful thing to do is remove the fuel hose from the tank and carb and replace with a new hose.

the fuel tank will need to be unbolted from the engine with 3 bolts. 2 behind the engine to the outer flywheel and 1 under the tank to the engine case. after that, use a spanner to remove the fuel tap.  be careful though. if there's fuel in there, just pour out fuel from the filler cap. now, clean the fuel tap by soeaking in paraffin for a few mins. this works a treat. then go in with a sewing needle or nozzle cleaner for oxy acetylene systems. re-install the tap to the tank.

if there's rust in the tank, fill up the tank with a few nuts and bolts, pour in some paraffin and give the tank a bloomin good shake for a while. this will knock off loose rust, etc and help clean the tank., empty the tank and pour in a bit of paraffin, shake the tank and empty again to remove remnants. solved.. then a few spoons of petrol will work wonders.

with the carb, it's worth spending a bit of time slowly cleaning the jets out. the most crucial one here is the inlet from the hose to the carb.. . If you need some help, I can spare some time over emails. etc.

lew