Farmall Cub

I have a JD LA105 mower with 17.5 Kohler with a trashed hood (don't ask). There is a large sign on the hood that says not to run the mower with hood up. Does this mean that the engine will not get enough air without the "flue" down on it or just a safety issue? Under the hood is a round flue that draws outside air from a plenum that attaches to large louvers on side of hood.

I would like to continue using the mower to cut grass until I can get another hood.

The flue and plenum are there to draw in as cool air as possible to cool the motor. It also has the air drawn in from up higher to keep from drawing grass clippings and other objects in to the fan and blocking the cooling fins. No it will not hurt the engine unless you do alot of slow speed mowing or let the mower run without moving it for along period of time. Kolher recomends pulling the blower housing cover (cover on top of motor) off every spring and cleaning cylinder and cylinder head fins of debris. You might be surprised at what grows in there over the winter.

So, maybe I can fabricate a Rube Golberg stack from a plastic bucket to get me by in the short term.

Thanks