I've been looking for an isolation project for some time and came across an early 80's Ren-O-Thin.
I was told it didnt run properly and the carby needed attention.
Its in pretty good condition and doesnt seem to have been run in a very long time.
The 7hp Briggs & Stratton is model no. 170432, was built in '79 and appears to be ok from my initial eveluation. (Never owned a briggs before)
It currently has no spark so I pulled it apart to check the points and coil. As expected the points have a little corrosion and unfortunately the coil is dead. I will be ordering a new coil and once that arrives will try and fire the engine up.
The rest of the machine seems solid enough and thats what convinced me to buy it. The reel and blades are all stright and just a little rusty.
So to my question.... im pretty sure the bearings in the attached video are fine and that they are shapped this way so the blades also move left to right as they rotate? Having never owend a dethatcher/scarifier/power rake I've not come across something like this before so would appreciate it if someone could confirm my theory.
Here is a link to a video showing both sides of the reel.
they are not just self centering bearings that are a bit stiff are they?
With a self centering bearing when not held in place the outer is free to move in any direction, if they are stiff and have been moved whilst removing that is what they look like when turning by hand, I suspect that is what they are, give one a very good wash dont be alarmed when you have done that if the outer flops from side to side.
