OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Victa 160 disassembly

G'day Gadge.

I can vouch for that. I got a guy to put WD-40 on one that had plainly sat outside for a lengthy amount of time two days prior to attempting to use my two legged puller on it and it broke trying to slide it off.
Would have been interesting if the 50 50 mix would have made a difference.

Definitely can MF - I can make one in 2 minutes that will last longer (the victa ones seem to squash flat and turn to powder in no time). $1.60 each is nuts for a small piece of foam5 considering I am currently using off cuts from clark rubber that cost $5 and each can make 15 or more


WD40 is pretty useless - penetrene, 1:1 acetone ATF or (at a pinch) 5.56 CRC will all run rings around it.

That being said, it is a good water dispersant. Got 10l worth of WD40 equiv at repco clearance for $15 and refill one of these. https://www.bunnings.com.au/wd-40-330ml-non-aerosol-trigger-spray_p0108296

Spray beneath the mower decks to help with build up so its quicker to clean after each mow

Some success, took the points off to give them a good clean, have the flywheel a bath at the same time. Refitted, set the points and ignition.

Next step to try the restart but will probably be the weekend.

Saw the rebuild kits but would also need the small spring as well as the valve. Someone has a valve listed on ebay for £25 which is a bit much. Supply and demand maybe..

If only I had a lathe... and maybe an annealing oven?

Hi Chris,
An alternative could be to find a complete mower with this full crank engine going on the cheap in the hope of scavenging the parts you need, including the valve and other carby bits that could be handy down the line. The whole mower may be cheaper than the valve itself.

Note a later half crank Victa Powertorque two stroke has a different length valve that's not backwards compatible.

Another possibility is to visit a mower outlet and see how they can help you. One out there may have the spring available individually.

G'day all,
As shown in my how-to, the ODK Shop rebuild kit includes both the small and large springs, as well as both sizes of diaphragm.

G'day again,
Yup; I just use dark grey sheet polyurethane foam pieces, that came as packing for computer parts - I just test that it's petrol-resistant on a small piece first.
Even used a thin piece of this to fix the horn switch on my Ford Ute - that switch is basically just two metal discs with a piece of foam glued between them as a spring/separator. And of course the foam decays with time...

Hi Gadge,

I did notice that, still leaves me short of the poppet valve plus I hate spending more on postage than the actual item.

Lawnmower shops in short supply in Central London, will have a look. Picking up whole mower the same issue, would have to be very lucky.

The £25 eBay item was just for the poppet valve!

The decompressor may have to wait until after I get it running.

Do you know what the material of the diaphragm is?

Thanks

Chris

Hi Chris

Poppet could be complicated by how they used different styles (black or white) which apparently aren't compatible

Would you mind taking a photo of down the exhaust port just in case so we can check you aren't going to all the effort and possible expense for an engine that won't run

Hi Tyler,

As below.
It looks pretty bad, if it doesn't run right then maybe the next project will be to strip it down completely. Plenty of time on my hands at the moment, avoiding going out etc.

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst, how bad do you think it is?

Thanks

,
Hi SR,
that looks bad and extremely unlikely it would run, Now is the time to pull the head off and look at the bore before you spend any money on it. Looks like it has been straight fueled

Thats not good at all - I would say a good 8/10 bad

Rings look seized in the piston - and scoring is pretty bad.

As Norm advised, I would first pull the head, pull cylinder barrel (check), rip piston off, soak in penetrating oil to help remove the rings then very gingerly remove them. Clean up piston and ring grooves, check ring gap in bore

Seeing that through the port, I would personally hone the bore and put a set of rings in minimum (possibly piston as well) but the problem is you are a long way from the parts bin

Oh dear, I think we have found the reason. That looks a solid 10 in my books. Nasty.
Dismantling is inevitable. It takes just one ignoramus to mess it up.
Time for the fun to begin.

Hi Both,

I think I could wiggle the rings a bit with my fingers. So not seized.

Haven't really spent and money yet apart from an air filter so not worried about throwing money down the drain yet.

So, worst case, new piston and rings? Possibly some cylinder bore honing?

Before I strip it apart, what other things might I have to replace?
I presume the head gasket at least?

Can I get the piston out by moving the cylinder as would probably be easier than taking the crank case apart? (Think that's what T was suggesting)
If I can i would need the base gasket?

Are the gaskets special? Can I use stock cardboard gasket material?

There are a few pistons and rings up for sale here so might be OK finding one.

Thanks again

Hi Chris

Undo the 4 head nuts (circled), then take head off.

Then pull on the barrel, it will separate in location I have marked (the studs are screwed into crank case so wont move)

you will be left with the 'crankcase' with a conrod an piston sticking out

Easier to get the lower g clip (which locates gudgeon pin) off the piston with motor off the deck, but is achievable with it on


You need - head gasket, base gasket (can make base gasket from gasket paper but not head gasket)


Don't buy anything till you get the barrel off - as if that is deeply gouged you need a rebore, oversize piston

Thanks T,

Pulled apart as pictures.
Exhaust side looks pretty bad. Think the cylinder may be OK
Although does have a bit of scoring.

You were right, one of the rings does seem to be jammed in on the exhaust side but they feel springy otherwise.

Getting the lower gudgeon clip out is going to be tricky, missing angled long nose pliers but I have an angled circlip remover so will try that.

Of course, I was forgetting it's only around 4pm over there - I was thinking 'gee, he must be awake and alert to do that past midnight' then remembered the time difference

They will latch in on the exhaust side after straight fueling. You can try very carefully getting them out with a good soaking in penetrene before attempting removal

Don't try to stick a flat blade under the ring, try to use your hands to push the springiness to the seized spot to try to pop it on its own if that makes sense. a little light help of screwdriver is alright, but don't go twisting hard

And to answer what might be your next question, there is little chance of bottom end bearing damage - they are tough old things. Plus, yours should have the needle roller little end (as opposed plain to sintered brass) so thats fine as well.


I would also start soaking the blade plate nut in oil in preparation just incase you have issues with the gudgeon

Regards

Just saw photos as didn't come up before

Not liking the piston - free up rings and clean piston with sand paper and it will run - might be gutless and smoky though

Bore looks alright with a hone, hard to tell when I can't feel the scores though

I am not liking what looks to be rust on the crankshaft counterweights though - could be nothing but worth checking bearings arent grumbly. Not impossible to do bearings on one of these, just getting a bit involved

By the way re the missing angled pliers - that why I bought 2 pairs as they come in handy haha

Regards

Thanks, do you know the part number for the piston?
Do I need to think about oversized pistons and rings?

Think I'm heading down the road of a complete engine rebuild. The bearings don't feel as smooth as they should be but not terrible.

Machine has been left in a damp environment for a long time so although it wasn't too wet obviously some moisture has got in there.

Getting this running might keep me out of trouble for a while yet.

Got the blade disk off already, must have known it was going to go that way!

In sequential order:

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Oversize - not unless you want to rebore

Rebuild - No, top end only most likely. But with bearings its all relative - I just tore down a later model with bearings which felt average, but would knock over 1/2 throttle. I would suggest squirting a fair bit of thin oil in them, swish around and then tip back out to check the colour. If brown crusty gunk comes out, you have a problem.

You were very lucky regarding blade plate - last week I (110+kg) was swinging on a 600mm breaker bar + another 300mm of victa handle and even with my heavy frame it wouldn't come off with heat or soaking in penetrene. The blade carrier looked like a pretzel by the time it came off.

And that was 10 year new model than yours

Tyler, you obviously need a good rattle gun, makes it so easy