Re: [Amc-list] Old Gas, Kinda OT

[Matt Haas <mhaas@xxxxxxx>]

At least on Briggs & Stratton (AMC content - they made our keys!), 
that's done with cam timing (extra valve overlap).

What I'd do is pull the head and take a look at the valves. With the 
head off, it will turn over very easy with the blade. Since it's just 
two years old, you'll have either a blade brake or an engine brake 
(likely an engine brake since blade brakes are typically just on higher 
end mowers and they mostly use B&S, Honda, or Kohler on the higher end 
stuff) that you'll need to tie up so you can turn the engine by hand. 
Zip ties or duct tape work great for that. If you can shut it off with 
the throttle and you have an engine brake, pulling that crap off and 
sticking it in the trash works even better. Putting the mower deck up on 
blocks on top of a work bench will make things easier to work on. If 
it's a stuck valve, you'll need to tap it closed and remove the spring 
(there's a special tool for that but if you get some help to hold the 
valve closed, you can remove the retainer with a pair of pliers and some 
light swearing). One thing to note with the valves -- not all of them 
use valve guide liners. If this is the case with your mower, the guides 
may be ruined. On some engines, you can get new guides but it takes a 
trip to the machine shop to fix it plus parts (valves and liners). At 
that point, I'd probably toss the mower unless you paid a bunch of money 
for it.

 From a pure cost standpoint, the counter guy is correct. Parts are not 
that expensive but labor will get you. Since you say it has a Tecumseh 
engine, you probably have something like a low end Craftsman or Yard 
Machine, right? The shop I go to charges $35 an hour for labor so if you 
paid $150 - $200 for the mower, it doesn't take long to buy a new one.

L head mower engines are very, very simple and assuming somethings just 
stuck, you could probably fix this yourself in a weekend for not much 
money. You'll need head, crank case, and breather gaskets plus what ever 
else is wrong. If you need to pull the carb, get an o-ring or mounting 
gasket for it as well. I'd also pick up a manual (or see if Tecumseh has 
them on their web site) for it since there are some end-play adjustments 
and those are typically set with crank case gaskets.

Matt

On 5/5/2008 10:05 PM, Ken Ames spouted this sage advice:
> Some mower engines have a kind of compression release to help when pulling on
> the rope. The release cuts out as the rpm rises.
> 
> Ken 
> 
> 
> Quoting JOE FULTON <piper_pa20@xxxxxxxxxxx>:
> 
>> Well, 
>>
>> I pulled the muffler off and could see the exhaust
>> valve stem.  It's an L-head Tecumseh motor.  But I
>> didn't have a helper to pull on the rope while I
>> watched the valve motion.  I put Kroil in the cylinder
>> (pulled the plug) and put carb cleaner through the
>> carb after dumping the old gas. It would fire but
>> there was absolutely no compression.  I put may
>> compression gauge on it to make sure.  What
>> disappoints me is that I told the guy at the counter
>> (at the shop) that it had no compression and that I
>> suspected a stuck valve or possibly stuck rings.
>> Without even looking at the lawn mower he said "with
>> no compression it may not be worth fixing". 
>>
>> NOT.  I don't need that kind of attitude from the
>> shop.  That mower is only two years old.
>>
>> Joe Fulton
>>
>> --- Wrambler242@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>
>>> I'd have tried a shot of oil in the cylinder before
>>> sending it off to the shop.
>>> Could have washed the oil off the rings and maybe if
>>> it of fired it would have free'd up and run again.
>>> Maybe not too...

-- 
mhaas@xxxxxxx
Cincinnati, OH
http://www.mattsoldcars.com
1967 Rambler American wagon
1968 Rambler American sedan
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