" You have actually been a bit quiet lately?"........................
Yea I suppose I have Well my laptop going belly up over Christmas internet access was a bit of a issue then the microwave died no DIY there .. the 99 is at a bit of a stand still at the moment (Pensioner Budget) although I am going to glue the steering wheel next week and I still have the gear box mount to do I might round my neighbor up and bribe him with beer and we might do it next Saturday Now the cloths drier decided to quit I took the back off and this is a DIY one of the drive belts is broken easy fix ..
I found the part I need online $37 so thats ok and my stupid ride on mower is driving me insane!?!
I had it running Fixed I Thought! but now it wont go? it has spark (new plug) it has a new carby it is a Briggs & Stratton engine so it should be half decent it has the most stupid electric start I have ever seen it uses a electric motor running on small wires to a solenoid switch thing then to a small deep cycle or lithium battery you only get one start attempt then it runs outa enough charge to turn the weak starter and the wires get hot? I am going to pull the carby off tomorrow and see if the main jet is blocked so it has been more than Jeeps giving me the shits lately .
Never the less it could always be worse.

Mark, sounds like everything is shitting itself at your place at the moment.
I think we all go through those stages where everything at the home needs fixing, rebuilding or replacing. Im 56.5 years old and have decided to retire at 60 if i can pay of my damn house.
Looking forward to being a pensioner!!

Cheers,

Look I cant complain really I'm 64 in May I was told I might never walk again when I was 38 after spinal surgery lost my business and investment property .. ripped off by second wife ... too much of a long story for here but I walk I fix things not a lot of $ these days but I am alive My 96 was new when I broke .. it took a bit of DIY to fix me "LOL" the microwave and laptop were both nearly 10 yrs old so I cant complain I got the ride on for a $100 spent about $300 on it as the motor was good so it might be a crappy time at the moment but really I do homebrew and Never Run Out Of BEER! and drive a XJ or 2
Shit will happen it's how you come out the other side

I know I don't always talk about XJ's so I hope the mods forgive me ..
The gearbox mount is going in Saturday and it will be interesting to see the old one as the 99 still vibrates in reverse it's like the exhaust touching the gearbox .
Now the Stupid Ride on Mower You wont believe this .. I am sure I have it sorted now I was going to test it yesterday but by the time the battery charged it rained. I decided to pull the carby off so I got a container to catch the fuel and pulled the fuel line off .. No Fuel? it has a full tank?
I opened the cap to check and fuel poured out I close the cap the flow stops ? I drained the tank and was looking at the cap? it didn't look like a vented cap like on other small engines? it was one piece plastic
I used my reading glasses and a magnifying glass to have a real close look .... this is Insane! on the cap there is a molding picture of a petrol pump saying only use ulp and there was a tiny mark? it was not centered it was off to one side a bit so it was done by a human not precise like a machine .. I got a pin and I could easily push the pin through the cap? its hard plastic? is this the cap vent? clogged up by a grain of dust? it was a WTF moment?
If this was a cap vent it was the smallest and stupidest I have ever seen on anything! So I put a 2mm drill through it and will add a fuel line filter and I bet that solves all it's starting issues
So I think I have a win here
Lets hope my winning streak continues ........ yeah sure ;)

When I had my ride on mower, whenever it rained I had problems.

It was usually some sort of green algae forming in the carby. A couple of capfuls or kerosene (from memory it was kerosene!) seemed to solve the issue.

maybe I should get a lotto ticket :lol:
I got a fuel filter today and the ride on mower is sorted I had to move the 99 today (started perfectly) to get the 96 up the back yard to hook the trailer up
I always let the XJ's run for a minute before purring to gear I like to get the fluids flowing .. while it was idling I was playing with the drivers window switch and guess what It Worked! it must of been moisture after all the rain it might be old frosty contacts so that's good no panic there :D

I was thinking of this kit from Ebay to keep the rain out of the doors.
My wiper seals are all getting cracked.
Not cheap though..
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Window-S...J/361457842925

Rockauto has front outer wiper seals for about $20 each i think.

Cheers,