Help. Onan 216 will not restart. This might be bad.

[jchris 27]

31 minutes ago, RED-Z06 said:

PM can help lengthen an engines life but the sudden hard part failures from bad design cant be helped.  Today i put a new camshaft in the 19.5hp engine in a 4 year old Deere, this is its 3rd camshaft..the compression releases fail...when i drop it off in the morning ill be picking up his neighbors Craftsman for a head gasket...that will be the 4th ill have done this month alone.  Commands had head gasket issues, Kawasaki used plastic cam gears in their Liquid Cooled twins up until mid 98, Kawasaki still suffers from ongoing head problems.  Onans had the plastic flyball spacer, K/M Kohlers had balance gear problems, governor shaft problems, head leaks from warp, tecumseh couldn't build a carburetor worth a crap throughout their existence.

 

Stuff breaks...its just something you are going to come across eventually.  

 

Id venture that OP lost an oil pump and his flywheel side main bearing is seized up on the crank.  Its likely very fixable but, you really have to like something alot to put that much into it.

It isn't currently seized,  but seems to lack compression on the inboard cylinder,  along with an imbalanced running condition indicative, to me at least, of a lost wrist pin, broken connecting rod or bearing cap. I would love a professionals insights into the possibilities. Might I add that when it quit I a lazy 2 inch flame from the exhaust that lasted approximately 2-3 seconds. That tells me that the exhaust valve was open upon "death".

[RED-Z06 2,221]

17 minutes ago, jchris said:

It isn't currently seized,  but seems to lack compression on the inboard cylinder,  along with an imbalanced running condition indicative, to me at least, of a lost wrist pin, broken connecting rod or bearing cap. I would love a professionals insights into the possibilities. Might I add that when it quit I a lazy 2 inch flame from the exhaust that lasted approximately 2-3 seconds. That tells me that the exhaust valve was open upon "death".

Ah I was thinking it locked and rocked free.

You cab pop the plugs out, crank it over..see if air shoots out both holes.  Could be a stuck valve

[jchris 27]

5 minutes ago, RED-Z06 said:

Ah I was thinking it locked and rocked free.

You cab pop the plugs out, crank it over..see if air shoots out both holes.  Could be a stuck valve

I will try it, but its up for sale regardless. Will update post test this weekend. 

 

And I did rock it free, albeit it was effortless to do so.

 

Thank you 

[Bill D 1,916]

5 hours ago, johnnymag3 said:

A Kohler is a far better option you know this

Maybe so, but they have their issues too.  I've got two Onan P216's.  I've grown to like them, despite their quirks. Maybe I'm just partial to an underdog.

[johnnymag3 2,519]

You know Bill......       i,m just messin with ya !!!!    

[Handy Don 12,212]

13 hours ago, jchris said:

Case, ingersoll

I’ve seen examples of these from the 70’s onward.

The "completely hydraulic” operation of the larger models does offer some advantages if supplemental hydraulics is of value. The larger-diameter rear wheels compare to the 953 or GT14 or C-195.

Simplicity and Allis-Chalmers, too, offered some solid models.

Due to smaller market penetration, implements may not be as commonly available. As with WH, however, lots of the maintenance items (bearings, filters, carb kits, etc.) can be had easily. 

In both cases, though, you are back to Kohler or Onan as the main engine choices, with B&S in the mix at the lower end of each line.

For many folks, though, the price is as critical a factor now as it was in the time when WH was active in the market and priced below many of the competitors. If you wanted (or needed), and could  afford it, then buy it!

 

I should point out that several members here have posted threads re-powering using either B&S Vanguard or Honda OHV twins with great success.

[Handy Don 12,212]

Double post -- oops....

 

Edited June 26 by Handy Don

[RED-Z06 2,221]

My parts dealer sold Case/Ingersoll 3000 series from the late 90s until the mid 2000s, briggs vanguard twins, hydraulics...they were neat.  They rusted away quickly if not garage kept but they were nice.  Mid $4000-mid$5000 back then was pretty steep when a deere 4x5 model could be had with a water cooled kawasaki and 54" shaft driven deck for around 6500