Hi, I have a Toro lawn mower model 20076 self propelled. It has a bar to engage the blade and the bar will not move. It has worked ok till now. Does any one have any experience with this mower or problem and can help. Any help will be appreciated! Thank You BobbyS1

I looked at the deck of the Honda and the Toro from underneath and they look like ones on my old MTD mower in a way; that is, the deck is a stamping including the wheel mounting points and then has curved pieces applied to make it round for the mower blade. I think grass would get caught on the open seams and also think it wouldn't provide as good an airflow for mulching. The Lawnboy steel deck is round and shaped with curves on the top. The front and rear wheel connections are welded onto the round main deck. The main deck only has two holes cut in (for the side discharge and the rear discharge). I think the shape and integrity of the Lawnboy deck looks better than either the Honda or Toro. I have used the Lawnboy 10685 (Tecumseh engine) and it seems to have plenty of power and mulches fine (deck set to 3 1/2 inches) (bluegrass). I have little mulch experience, I do side-discharge mostly. I experimented with rear bagging to vacuum up leaves with the deck set to 2 inches and it seemed to work very well, also with no apparent bogging down (using a patch of holly leaves). I have bagged grass with the deck set at 3 1/2 inches and it bags well, too. The one area where the Toro looks a bit better is the handle extends full length with a horizontal end so that you can pull on the metal cross piece instead on the speed control bar. This might be better for reversing and to control the mower if you do any mowing across an incline. I have a bank at the front of my yard that is about 2 feet high and about 8 feet long and I need to control the mower while standing on the low part of the bank and moving the mower along above my feet. Other than that, I think the Lawnboy looks a bit nicer than the Toro because of the deck design. You can also get the Lawnboy Insight Gold version with a Honda engine. Mine is the Insight, with the Tecumseh.

I have the same model, now laying there apart. I specified the exact part # for the traction cable at a dealer, got the parts manual for my serial # online. But the old cable had a ball at the end that retained it in the spring. The new one has like an "S" curve at the end of the cable, at both ends really. I see how to insert it at the handle assembly. But there is no way it will go into the spring. It looks like the one I got is made to insert into the bracket at the transmission end rather than through the spring. I sent an email to Toro, maybe they will tell me I was sold the wrong part. Oh, and there is no way that black plastic part at the housing was going to come off by sliding it through the slot into the bigger hole. I had to chisel it off, no matter because the cable was broken anyway and the new one comes with this plastic part. If this works the photo at the link shows the old cable and spring at bottom, new one at top. Here is a link that might be useful: photo

The one way wheel problem is not a problem, as that's the way it works. Since it is self-propelled, you wouldn't normally try to pull it back, unless you bear down on the handle to lift the powered wheels off the ground. Most lawn mowers sold to home owners are not designed for much more than a weekly mow. And, since your son does lots of mows every week, the life span of the mower has been shortened considerably! The transmission parts, or a new tranny, are quite expensive. You must consider if it is worth repairing, or just buying a new one! Many youthful lawn mowing businesses have been shut down by the kid using the family mower, and wearing it out much before its time! Now is the time for the son to learn the facts of life! To wit: Using the family lawn mower for contract or friendly mowing jobs, will not gain favors from Pops! So, that said, have the son buy a heavy duty lawn mower that he can use (or buy the first one for him) for his business. He must save part of the cash he gets, to buy stuff he needs, and that will teach him something more than what he learns in school! And also, he must learn that he needs to save money to buy the new one, when the old one wears out. I learned long ago, that money talks. And, spending it on the latest fads usually begets you nothing more than being broke most of the time! And/or, on welfare!