Lawnmower Engine ?
Which do you like better Kholor or B&S.
I like B&S better but i do not have a reason why.
I like B&S better but i do not have a reason why.
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Tecumseh. Don 0 -
i work on and repair lots of lawnmowers, i very, very seldom see an internal engine problem with any brand. 0 -
I use to prefer B&S until I bought a POS Poulan Pro with the OHV Briggs. About three years in it started throwing the valve caps. Tried adjusting valve lash, and no joy. Can't adjust down to proper specs. The Kohler on my wheeled string trimmer is 11 years old and hasn't required anything beyond clean and gap the plug and change the oil and air filter.
I've got a JD X350 with the Kawasaki VTwin now and love that machine. Much much quieter and not near the vibration. I can easily see this thing outlasting me.0 -
If it wasn't for bad gas screwing up small engine carburetors you'd be hard pressed to find any brand of small engines these days that's not a good one. 0 -
I always knew there was something off with you!dcon12 wrote:Tecumseh. Don0 -
I have an old Briggs and Straton on a rotary mower I bought around 1990. I sure can't complain, keep oil in it, periodically clean the air filter and occasionally clean or replace the plug and it starts right up almost every time. I've had to patch the rusted out blade shroud, I drilled out the wheels and added bushings, it is on it's fourth or fifth blade. The motor keeps right on chugging. I have a whole set of Briggs and Straton special tools and replacement parts I've never needed. 0 -
You just can't beat B&S.
Here's my B&S......Barney & Samson
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regular service and keep em clean......oil and filter every 20-25 hours and after mowing i blow engine and air filter clean and wash out under deck....have a hustler super z with 640 hours since 2009 and it runs like new.... 0 -
Had a White mower with 18 hp B&S that lasted for 15 years. The engine was still going strong but the rest of the mower disintegrated. This is the 3rd year on a Husqvarna with 24 hp kohler 7000 series engine. So far so good. Doesn't burn any oil, easy start, plenty of power. I would be less concerned about who made the engine than the quality of the rest of the mower. If you do the required maintenance the engine will probably outlast the rest of the mower and probably you as well. Bob 0 -
I think most are fairly good. I always look at the then current forums for known issues. I have a 25 horse Kohler Courage engine that has been decent but they have a weakness that I forget now. Something plastic that should probably not be. That said, the ONLY issue we've had in 11 years mowing ~3 (of 10) rough, uneven acres, is they have this EZ oil quick drain twist-lock thing that sucks. I used to never get a year out of them before they leak. They are so close to the frame they are hard to open. I finally put some pipe on it a few years ago with a valve. I still have those on the end of the pipe, but now it goes to a place that is easy to drain and has the valve so I don't care if the other part leaks. I had that original valve start leaking real bad mid-mow and had I not driven across a place that I could see the oil on the next lap, I am convinced I would have burned the motor up by running it dry. 0 -
I've got a 1998 Simpilcity lawn tractor with a 16HP B&S engine sitting idle in my garage since last mowing season. It started smoking badly and going through about a third of a quart of oil every time I tended my 2 1\2 acre lawn. I found that a lot of the oil was being thrown into the air cleaner compartment. Totally soaking the filter. It was a great little tractor since new but not being able to find anyone local that would do an engine overhaul, I ended up buying a new Huskavarna sp 24 horse twin B&S tractor last year.
So far the Husky does OK but for its advertised horse power does not have the pep my old Simpicity had at only 16 horses! I live on a hill and most of my mowing is up and down the slopes.
Not sure yet what I will do with the old tractor needing engine work. The wife is complaining my garage is too full of junk and I may just put it out in front of my house with a free sign on it.0 -
Brookwood, you might look around online. I have put various new engines on older mowers with very little issues. There are many places that sell them. I used to order them through my mom's late husband, but have ordered one through Northern Tool. My favorite was a ~32" Snapper mower. It originally had an 8 horse recoil start. I swapped it for a 11 or 12 horse electric start (can't remember which). That thing was awesome. It would mow anything, at least until the drive wheel got wet. We had one area where we only mowed once or twice a year just to keep the trees from growing. There were these very tall plants that look somewhat like sunflower. They were so thick that the front of the rear-engined mower would lift up sometimes well over a foot, maybe even 2 feet, before the combined momentum and weight finally pushed it over.
It might be worth it to also upgrade to fuel injection if you were so inclined. Most of the ones I have installed were straight bolt-in affairs, but I have had to drill or elongate a mounting hole or make a spacer. The biggest adaption I have done was the aforementioned Snapper mower. On it, the motor was taller. So, I ended up using heavy duty rubber 'stopper' bungs for the rear of the seat to lift it up. It gave a very slight damping to the bumps and more notably, the vibration.0 -
I have been considering putting a Loncin(Chinese Honda) on my old Snapper.They must be pretty good engines because from what I understand Toro and Exmark are putting the on their mowers. 0 -
Honda 0 -
I have used several of the Harbor Freight Predator motors on tiller, pumps and air compressors. They hold up well like any motor when taken care of. I also have a 74 Sears suburban mower with the onan 16hp motor that is still running strong. My 1980 Troybilt econo horse with the 6hp Tecumseh run as well as when new. Don 0 -
Mr. Perfect wrote:Honda
I had one Honda self propelled mower. The motor was a good one but the rest of the thing was not so good and parts were expensive. Maybe I just had a lemon but I probably won't ever buy another one because of that one.0 -
and always put some stabil in the gas to act as an upper lube ......on every small engine.... 0 -
I have a 1982 Wheel Horse with a 14 HP Kohler that my dad bought new and still going strong (was rebuilt around 98, but was easy to do.) Sold my 91 Wheel Horse last year that had a 20hp twin Onan and that machine cut 6 acres every week during the season since new. 0 -
bambihunter wrote:Brookwood, you might look around online. I have put various new engines on older mowers with very little issues. There are many places that sell them. I used to order them through my mom's late husband, but have ordered one through Northern Tool. My favorite was a ~32" Snapper mower. It originally had an 8 horse recoil start. I swapped it for a 11 or 12 horse electric start (can't remember which). That thing was awesome. It would mow anything, at least until the drive wheel got wet. We had one area where we only mowed once or twice a year just to keep the trees from growing. There were these very tall plants that look somewhat like sunflower. They were so thick that the front of the rear-engined mower would lift up sometimes well over a foot, maybe even 2 feet, before the combined momentum and weight finally pushed it over.
It might be worth it to also upgrade to fuel injection if you were so inclined. Most of the ones I have installed were straight bolt-in affairs, but I have had to drill or elongate a mounting hole or make a spacer. The biggest adaption I have done was the aforementioned Snapper mower. On it, the motor was taller. So, I ended up using heavy duty rubber 'stopper' bungs for the rear of the seat to lift it up. It gave a very slight damping to the bumps and more notably, the vibration.
I just may give your idea a go there bambihunter! I have run across a few places that sell various engines. I have to do some serious study as my first question about what engine to buy when I tried to ask a clerk was about my tractor having a horizontal shaft or a vertical shaft. A pretty dumb question for sure, and I still don't have the answer but I will be starting close to ground zero with this project.0 -
Brookwood, that's a pretty easy thing to figure out. Pulley's / drive on the bottom of motor then it is vertical shaft. This is how most riding mowers are for both front engine tractor style as well as rear engine mowers like Snapper. However, many ZTR's are horizontal and there are a few others. Things like log splitters, generators, etc generally use horizontal. Just look at where the 'work' part of the motor is. There will be a gear, pulley, hydraulic pump, etc.
If you want to post your make/model and rough year I'll see if I can find a schematic online. Jack's Small Engine is my first stop for finding info. The site is quite well organized, at least if you know what you are working on. You mentioned a 98 Simplicity above. A quick Google search shows it is a smallish (~42" cut) front engine tractor that is orange?!?!? Does that sound like what you are working on? If so, I am 99.9999999% sure it is vertical shaft motor. If you have the stickers still on it, you might get lucky on their actual site too: https://www.simplicitymfg.com/na/en_us/support/manuals.html.
I am not a mechanic, but I seem to keep all friends and family's lawn gear running. LOL With the oil and smoke you are describing I'd take a few guesses to see if any might spark an idea. If you take the filter off and clean it real well and dry it. Does it get oiled back up? It sounds like it does. Have you recently changed the oil and perhaps got it too full (I've done it). Have you loaded or jacked up your tractor beyond ~15 degrees or so? This is more common with push mowers than riders. If neither of those, then I'd say it is either severe engine 'blow-by' or worst case scenario would be blown head gasket.0 -
dcon12 wrote:Tecumseh. Don
That was the name of a native Indian and years ago, there was a decal on each engine of a native Indian in full head dress.
I've had a few products with a Tecumseh engines and they didn't work or run very long.
I've had good results with B&S and Stihl engines and also Honda.0 -
According to the local guru the Tecumseh engines were solid well amde and long lasting; the issue is carbs that were basically junk from the get go and not rebuidable. Change the oil often keep them cool and you can realistically expect about 4,000 hours of trouble free operation. Use ethanol free fuel, if not available use 100LL available at your local airport. 0 -
bambihunter wrote:Brookwood, that's a pretty easy thing to figure out. Pulley's / drive on the bottom of motor then it is vertical shaft. This is how most riding mowers are for both front engine tractor style as well as rear engine mowers like Snapper. However, many ZTR's are horizontal and there are a few others. Things like log splitters, generators, etc generally use horizontal. Just look at where the 'work' part of the motor is. There will be a gear, pulley, hydraulic pump, etc.
If you want to post your make/model and rough year I'll see if I can find a schematic online. Jack's Small Engine is my first stop for finding info. The site is quite well organized, at least if you know what you are working on. You mentioned a 98 Simplicity above. A quick Google search shows it is a smallish
Thank you bambihunter for this info! My Simpicity 16 HP is a REGENT model bought in 1998. Not sure if that is the same year the tractor was built. Dealers can have new machines for sale a couple years before they are sold. I will keep researching what will be needed to replace my old engine. As I said before, I had to keep adding oil to it after every use. Smoked like a coal burner. Cleaned the foam air cleaner and the compartment every time I used it as well. Oil shot up into it when it was running.
Over the years it has been a good machine. I once replaced the starter along with annual oil\filter changes. Just put a new battery in it the year it was parked. Thinking that a new 24 HP Husquvarna would have noticably more power over my old 16 but the Husky seems to be quite a dog, especially mowing uphill!
Thanks again for taking the time to respond B\H and all the best to you sir! Joel0 -
wish I was closer brookwood, I have a 14 hp simplicity from the same general timeframe, it only has 38 in deck, I love it for the small deck as I mow a family cemetery and it just fits between the headstones. the rear end/transaxle is starting to slip I guess this is a common failure on the regents, though the motor is still good and strong, it is hard to find a small deck on a new mower that would last this long. I paid $400 dollars for it about 20 years ago, will never get that out of a new one...... 0
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