Broken mower engine.

Diggerjonny

Elite Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2016
Messages
1,183
Location
Cass county Indiana
When I’m not detecting or working my full time job,I tinker with lawn mowers. I just received an old rider with a 14 HP Briggs. Guy gave it to me,said had a blown engine. It still cranks over,had a weird noise , didn’t sound like a broken rod. I removed the head and couldn’t believe what I saw! Exhaust valve broke and stuck it self upside down in the piston.
 

Attachments

  • ABA78B19-8484-449B-892D-D1A364C97574.jpeg
    ABA78B19-8484-449B-892D-D1A364C97574.jpeg
    56.9 KB · Views: 510
You probably already know this and I hate to say it but most B&S engines are junk. Even the Chinese clones are better. Nice pic, good luck.
 
I’ve got a 16hp Briggs on my Simplicity rider, going on 40 years old. Just changed carb, points and condenser. At 12 y.o., I took small engine classes at 4H, rebuilt my first mower engine at 15. Good luck it’s a lost art imo.
 
Not really. Most all Amish kids around here are small engine wizards.
Oh yeah, well they are self-sufficient Amish after all. My comment was geared more towards “the English” lol. Most kids around these parts wouldn’t know the difference between a crescent wrench and a grease gun. They know every app on their IPhone though. :no:
 
You probably already know this and I hate to say it but most B&S engines are junk. Even the Chinese clones are better. Nice pic, good luck.

Most are sadly. I never cared for the OHV engines. I have an older 10 HP Briggs on a mower that was manufactured in 1979. It runs like a top.
 
I’ve got a 16hp Briggs on my Simplicity rider, going on 40 years old. Just changed carb, points and condenser. At 12 y.o., I took small engine classes at 4H, rebuilt my first mower engine at 15. Good luck it’s a lost art imo.

Lack of maintenance causes most issues in my experience. I have 10HP Briggs from 1979,and a 12 HP Briggs from 1990. Both were maintained and run great.
 
I've been a mechanic for 25 years and hate the term "the engine is blown up".

Non mechanics use the term all the time. To me that means its in 500 pieces because it blew up. I've only seen one engine that blew up. The guy was stuck in a ditch and had it wide open spinning the tires and the rod leg go. The block was in 3 pieces other parts could not even find.

People don't want to use the correct descriptions.
1. You ran it out of oil and seized the engine.
2. You over revved the engine and broke a rod.
3. You left the mower outside and the crank case is full of water now.

People tell me the engine is "blown up". All they need is a new battery.
 
I’ve got a 16hp Briggs on my Simplicity rider, going on 40 years old. Just changed carb, points and condenser. At 12 y.o., I took small engine classes at 4H, rebuilt my first mower engine at 15. Good luck it’s a lost art imo.

na plenty of people still doing it. my buddy rebuilds motorcycles to resell. people beat them up all summer and he buys and fixes em over the winter. The pistons and such are cheap for them so it is pretty profitable.
 
na plenty of people still doing it. my buddy rebuilds motorcycles to resell. people beat them up all summer and he buys and fixes em over the winter. The pistons and such are cheap for them so it is pretty profitable.
Sure, one person is “plenty of people” :lol: Is he an older guy? How many youngsters do you know that rebuild engines? That’s my point.
 
Add my grandson and a few of his friends to the list.
Not as big of a demand now in the throw away era. A lot of times things aren't worth repairing, like weed eaters. New items with a warranty and time is money too. My buddy was saying that he cleaned his carb on his pressure washer but it still wasn't right. I told him to just buy a new carb Simple, quick and under $20. .
 
Sure, one person is “plenty of people” :lol: Is he an older guy? How many youngsters do you know that rebuild engines? That’s my point.

He is 35, i can also rebuild engines and I am 34. My two cousins from another state are and also have the skills and knowledge and they are 33 and 36. Take a trip anywhere in a rural area and you still see kids rebuilding their own truck, go carts, dirtbikes, and so on. They are not all gone. just less and less people find it a necessity to do it, yet plenty more learned for fun and hobby...
 
He is 35, i can also rebuild engines and I am 34. My two cousins from another state are and also have the skills and knowledge and they are 33 and 36. Take a trip anywhere in a rural area and you still see kids rebuilding their own truck, go carts, dirtbikes, and so on. They are not all gone. just less and less people find it a necessity to do it, yet plenty more learned for fun and hobby...
I hear ya. I live in a rural area, quite a few homes/farms around, problem is I never see any kids outside! :?:
 
A lot of times things aren't worth repairing, like weed eaters.

Just as an FYI; I'll concede the truth of the above, but also, don't be too quick to throw out the engines.
There's a fair amount of R/C airplane guys that use them in their builds.

Roger
 
A friend and his dad would put them in their R/C race boats. They'd polish the ports, put on larger carbs etc.
 
Just as an FYI; I'll concede the truth of the above, but also, don't be too quick to throw out the engines.
There's a fair amount of R/C airplane guys that use them in their builds.

Roger
Are they still using them? My brother builds some huge RC boats and planes but he went electric decades ago.
 
Live in metro Atlanta. And the local nextdoor.com has 1-2 mowers for free each week. They say they don't run. Nearly all of them don't run because they stored them over the winter with cheap leaded gas and the gas ended up with water in the tank. And of course the mower won't start.

I know a guy who gets them for free and just empty's the gas and puts in premium gas and sells them for $90 - $200.
 
Back
Top Bottom