Mark O'Brien

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Garden Guides uses a knowledgeable team of editors, writers, and experts to create all our content. We dive deep into the ever-evolving conversations surrounding gardening and landscaping, striving to deliver the most current and helpful tips, strengthened by expert insight and tutorials from our talented team.

As we cover many fields of expertise, we make it a priority to ensure every beat remains fresh and comprehensive. Additional information on our editorial process available here.

Stories By Mark O'Brien

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    Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022

    How To Change The Transmission Fluid In A Sears Lawn Tractor

    How to Change the Transmission Fluid in a Sears Lawn Tractor. Every year before the mowing season begins, you should inspect your Sears lawn tractor and perform any necessary servicing and maintenance on it. It's also a good idea to make sure the transmission fluid is full in the rear axle crankcase. It's advised to replace your transmission fluid every four years as it will begin to lose its viscosity and break down at this point.

    By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022

    How To Remove The Drive Pulley From A Briggs & Stratton PTO

    How to Remove the Drive Pulley From a Briggs & Stratton PTO. When an internal repair is needed on a Briggs & Stratton engine, you will have to remove everything from the PTO shaft in order to take off the oil pan to get inside the engine. The PTO shaft protruding from the base of the Briggs & Stratton engine usually has the drive pulley bolted to it. The drive pulley is the main pulley the makes a belt rotate at variable speeds and runs another machine's pulley.

    By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022

    How To Remove The Starter Solenoid On A Murray Mower

    How to Remove the Starter Solenoid on a Murray Mower. When your Murray mower won't start, there may be several reasons. If the battery and starter are fine then you will need to replace the starter solenoid. The starter solenoid is the component that links the ignition, starter and battery all together safely. Sometimes the starter solenoid will have a shorted out wire and you will need to replace the starter solenoid to get your Murray mower running again.

    By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022

    How To Clean A Briggs Intek Carburetor

    How to Clean a Briggs Intek Carburetor. When a Briggs & Stratton engine doesn't start easily or if the engine dies as though it is running out of gas, the problem may be traced to the Intek carburetor having become gummed with dirt and old gas. Carburetor cleaning spray can eliminate the problem; it is made of a B-12 Chemtool solvent that loosens debris and rust or dilutes gummy gas in the carburetor, allowing the gas to be properly injected into the engine.

    By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022

    How To Remove And Clean The Carburetor From A Kawasaki FB460V

    How to Remove and Clean the Carburetor from a Kawasaki FB460V. The small Kawasaki FB460V engine is used on a variety of machines and needs to be properly maintained in order to extend the life of the engine. Without common repairs and overhauls on the engine, components will begin to malfunction. A common component that will stop working is the carburetor because of gummy gas clogging the valves and float within the carburetor. Removing the carburetor and cleaning it is the best solution for getting it ready to be used again.

    By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022 Read More
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    Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022

    How To Remove The Engine From A Riding Mower

    How to Remove the Engine From a Riding Mower. If you want to rebuild your riding lawn mower engine, or it is broken, you must remove the engine from the mower frame. This is harder than it sounds, as there is a variety of connections from the engine to the mower. Removing the engine yourself will save the few hundred dollars a mechanic would charge.

    By Mark O'Brien November 4th, 2022 Read More
  • Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien September 6th, 2022

    How To Remove The Oil Pan Seal On A John Deere L Series Lawn Tractor

    How to Remove the Oil Pan Seal on a John Deere L Series Lawn Tractor. When you notice that you are using more oil than usual in your John Deere L-Series lawn tractor engine, it is a good sign that the oil pan seal is going bad and leaking. The oil pan seal is located between the oil pan on the base of the engine and the engine block. Over time the oil pan seal will deteriorate and allow the oil in the engine block to seep out.

    By Mark O'Brien September 6th, 2022 Read More
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    Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien September 6th, 2022

    MTD Mower Steering Repair

    MTD Mower Steering Repair. If you have to hold your steering wheel on your MTD riding mower slightly off -entered while mowing and then when you let go of the wheel when you veer one way or the other, then your steering alignment is out of kilter. The standard cause of an unaligned riding mower steering wheel is running into a fence or tree. You can easily repair your MTD riding mower on your own lawn with a few tools.

    By Mark O'Brien September 6th, 2022 Read More
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    Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien September 6th, 2022

    How To Install A Snow Plow On A Poulan Lawn Tractor

    How to Install a Snow Plow on a Poulan Lawn Tractor. When the snow begins to fall, you don't have to scoop the snow with a regular shovel. An excellent plan is to bolt a snowplow onto the front of your Poulan lawn tractor and push the snow with it. You can buy any standard snowplow for a lawn tractor from a lawn tractor supply store, and bolt it to the pre-drilled holes in the front of the Poulan lawn tractor frame. You can't adjust the height on your snowplow while driving, but you can set the height of the snowplow when you install it on the front of the Poulan lawn tractor frame.

    By Mark O'Brien September 6th, 2022 Read More
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    Lawn Care
    Lawn Care By Mark O'Brien September 6th, 2022

    How To Clean The Carburetor On A 6.5 Toro Lawn Mower

    How to Clean the Carburetor on a 6.5 Toro Lawn Mower. After storing your Toro lawn mower all winter, there is a good chance that the carburetor is gummed up with old gas. Cleaning the carburetor is much easier than it sounds. Once you clean your Toro carburetor, clean gas can easily flow into the carb and be injected into your engine so it can run smoothly. Cleaning the carburetor yourself will save you the $50 or more (2010 prices) a mechanic would charge.

    By Mark O'Brien September 6th, 2022 Read More
  • Trees
    Trees By Mark O'Brien March 24th, 2022

    How To Debark Pine Trees

    How to Debark Pine Trees. Making your own wooden posts or prepping a pine tree for cutting wood planks out of the pine log is a fairly straightforward process. Debarking machines can cost up to $1,000 alone to rent, depending on the log size you plan to debark. If you only have to debark a few pine trees, this is something you can do on your own without a large debarking machine. Debarking without a machine is physical, but rewarding labor.

    By Mark O'Brien March 24th, 2022 Read More