Docwheelhorse 2,670 #1 Posted February 3, 2018 Hello All, Acquaintance of mine bought pair of Husky lawn tractors off local dealer that took them in on trade when customer didnt want to have them repaired. Both running on 1 cylinder and purchased as is... One with gray rear fenders is a 2006 with 133 hrs... other is 2007 with unknown hours. Both have lunched both headgaskets... both full of grass / dirt / oil leaks and crud... both have overheated which caused guides to walk out of head far enough and crash into valve retainer and bend push rods. Gray fender tractor looks like it also suffered from the poor air cleaner design which if not sealed correctly causes the motor to suck dirt like crazy---I think its gonna smoke like a freight train when I get it back together. I agreed to fix both and told owner they may smoke and thats that... he is paying for all parts and I get a very very nice 310-8 with deck in running condition. So far im into it for about 3 hrs labor... going to clean heads, fix guides and order parts and Ill let everyone know how it goes. Guess they dont make engines like they used to... A Kohler K thats 45 odd yrs old still outruns these new fangled ones. Hey Sparky.... remember Claude? Yep there his... Tony 5 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elcamino/wheelhorse 9,326 #2 Posted February 3, 2018 It is a shame for any one to treat equipment like that. It not too hard to at least spray them off with a garden hose after the engines cool down. You did not mention the condition of the decks so I guess they are not in good shape either. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Docwheelhorse 2,670 #3 Posted February 3, 2018 Actually the decks are nearly spotless and dont look like they have ever "crashed" into anything... Tony 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 27,624 #4 Posted February 3, 2018 When you said that they only ran on one cyl, I half expected you to say that they had broken rods. I have seen that happen to a good number of Vanguards. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Docwheelhorse 2,670 #5 Posted February 3, 2018 The inteks seem to hold together in the bottom end... ---but--- the heads are an issue. Get them hot and guides walk out... and crash into retainer. Bends pushrod and walla... runs on one cylinder. I love Briggs but this is a "poopy" setup... there are redesigned heads available but the kit is around $350 for 2 heads, head gaskets, intake gaskets, valve cover gaskets and pushrods. Plus the dealer labor to swap it all...Ill bet its a $750 job. Then theres the air filter base issue which causes dirt to get sucked in and tear the rings up. You would think the engineers could figure these "easy" problems out Tony 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,463 #6 Posted February 4, 2018 I'm starting to think they just don't care - look at how many of them now plug up the cooling fins so easily while others never plug up . Dunno, either lazy engineering or designed failure, hard telling . Many of the Briggs and even Kawasaki's have that air cleaner issue - generally just a simple re-ring will fix that issue but tearing into these modern units is such a labor-intensive job and just a pain in the butt I'm done dealing with them. Older stuff, sure - I'll work on that but some parts are becoming a problem and the fuel issues with ethanol are testing my boiling point these days. Glad I'm at the age I can just say no and I'm trying to get out of turning wrenches for others in my spare time - I've had enough and modern equipment is just getting worse all the time. For what this stuff costs - it should not be designed to be disposable. Sarge 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Docwheelhorse 2,670 #7 Posted February 4, 2018 Amen Sarge... Amen... it sucks. On a positive note I like Briggs and this isn't a terribly hard job... the Intek V Twins run strong when cared for. Tony 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,463 #8 Posted February 5, 2018 I'm not sure what they have done wrong with the bigger Vanguard v-twins, but they sure don't last like they used to. One engine I was always a fan of was the older L-headed twin opposed 18hp, it was a rattling idiot but had great torque and would run forever - almost indestructible unless someone ran one out of oil. One of mine ate an air cleaner screw, stuck it in one exhaust valve and had to limp home on one cylinder. Removed the screw, put it back together and it's probably still running now, no problems. Sarge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Docwheelhorse 2,670 #9 Posted February 25, 2018 Good Morning, So I cleaned up and repaired 3 pairs of heads while I watched the Daytona 500 last week. Yesterday I finished putting the gray fender 130 hr machine back together and to my amazement there was no smoke! Runs beautiful.... now I need to finish the other one. Tony 20180224_121436.mp4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,463 #10 Posted February 25, 2018 Hot diggity - congrats, that's a no-fun ordeal, better you than me, lol... Reminds me , I need to set the valves on my 22hp Briggs in that little JD LA160, not too enthused about it either...ugh. I hope that one is old enough it has the adjusters, need to really get a book but I'd rather just pass it along to someone else - 500hrs now with no issues other than it beats you to death with the small wheels and light weight. It was Dad's so I've kept it around as a back-up mower and use it once in awhile to keep it running good and not let it sit , but it's a wild ride for sure on this rough acre I mow. Sarge 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stormin 9,981 #11 Posted February 25, 2018 On 05/02/2018 at 2:53 PM, Sarge said: One engine I was always a fan of was the older L-headed twin opposed 18hp, it was a rattling idiot Sarge I'm kind of pleased to read that. My 1978 Sears/Roper has the Briggs 16hp twin. That rattles like mad. Tappets I assume. Anyway, I'll not worry as much now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Docwheelhorse 2,670 #12 Posted February 25, 2018 Hi Sarge, Dont worry about adjusting valves until you develop a cranking / starting problem. The valve lash has to be very very close to the specified .004 intake / .006 exhaust for the de-compression to work. If your motor starts up nice and easy just "keep on truckin" Stormin... yes they rattle and alot of it is carbon on piston crowns / heads. Pull the heads, clean it all up and put back together, it wont be silent but it will be ALOT quieter. Tony 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,463 #13 Posted March 2, 2018 The tappets also get worn in the Twinn II opposed cylinder engines after a lot of hours, but they rarely blow up unless overheated or ran low on oil. Just too stupid to die, I guess but the noise in them will make you really appreciate the better series Vanguard V-twin engines. I agree on almost better to leave it alone, but I'd rather not let it start hammering the valve seats if possible. Sarge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
