A Mouse .....

[capetan]

...... started making a nest inside of my mower engine, tiny bits of paper towel all packed underneath of the engine cover ( the area where the starter chord recoils ) ... WTF ...... anyway i pulled the chord it started up, and then started blowing bits of paper everywhere ...... my question is should i take the cover off and clean everything out, now i already mowed 5 lawns no burning smell or anything , what do you guys say ? i already removed the half gnawed at paper towel roll, and set up two mice traps .......

[Hawg City Lawns]

hahahaha might have already beheaded the mouse

[44DCNF]

Definitely remove the shrouds and clean it all out. This is a common cause of engine failure. That area that is blocked by debris, whether it be from nests, grass and dirt build up, or an oil leak and the dirt it accumulates, doesn't cool properly, leading to damage. You could wind up with scored cylinder walls, damaged rings, broken rod, and at the very least, oil that is spent before it's time. Air flow around the engine and flywheel is responsible for governor function on some engines, so blockage could affect performance negatively. Annual inspections which would include shroud removal and cleaning, as well as regular clearing out of those areas with compressed air, should be part of your maintenance program.

[CAT powered]

Do you have a Bobcat Ransomes mower? I had a few dang mice do the EXACT same thing to my mower except they built it under the cover that goes over the belts first. Then once I cleaned that out they moved into the engine.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Make sure you check all your electrical wires. I had one get up into my four wheeler last year and besides making a nest, they chewed the covering off alot of the wires. It took me a couple of weeks to notice this, and luckily nothing caught on fire.

[razor1]

44DCNF is right, I know someone who blew the engine on his Hustler just to discover later that a mouse built a nest (during the winter) under the sheet metal around the motor.