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something stupid that shouldn't have happened


MarcS

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I just bought a 717 simplicity. Does anyone know what year it is? It has a split steering wheel and a 36" deck. I just put a new techumseh 8 horse motor after the original Briggs finnaly died. A short block for the Briggs was the same price as a new engine. Anyway, I was mowing a fairly steep grade parrelel to the hill, yes it is unsafe, but I was in a hurry because the rain was coming and I was almost done mowing. There are concrete steps in front of our house and I was mowing towards them. When I got within roughly six feet away, I planned on turning up the
hill. The grass was slipery, and I hit the steps, I could not disengage the PTO fast enough, and I couldn't reach the clutch with my foot because I was leaning uphill for balence purposes. The blades hit the concrete with a sickening sound, and I proceded to drive across the stairs at full speed until I hit the other side and went down them. It all happened so fast. I checked everything over and I didn't wreak anything except bending the blades. The moral of the story is: NEVER RUSH, always go up and down
steep grades, anticipate manuvers ahead of time, and go proper speeds. I realize that I could have been hurt, thankfully I wasn't.
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Hey Marc - glad to see that you are safe and have posted your mishap for a reminder for us all. Too many times we are in a rush and don't think what possible harm might come not only to ourselves but others around us - thanks for the warning and lets all try to slow down and be careful out there! You know - you may have invented a reason for a new "blade sensor safety switch". :)
BTW - your 707 is a 1967 model and we can see that it really can take a licking and keep on ticking. When you replace the blades also see if they are all still level with each other (within reason) by rotating them tip to tip.
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  • 9 months later...
Are you alright? It was stupid to install the Tecumseh even with the price difference. Now I know it fits, so go to a 25 horsepower Intek, with few modifications, of course. I have done this to mine and it fits perfectly. I quickly noticed the power difference. Of course, I am joking. But my true advice to you is this: NEVER BUY A TECUMSEH.
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