My current engine was bought from Thesmallmachinewarehouse in 2019. Before purchasing, I made sure that it would fit the Model 45, and they told me it was a straight fit, off with the old and on with the new, which it was. Although there are references to Briggs & Stratton [USA] in several places, it was actually made in China.
The problem I have is that after backlapping the cylinder, I had to tilt the mower with this new engine, backwards [say nearly 90 degrees] to check the quality of cut using some couch. I always use grass for doing this, as I have never seen a lawn anywhere that grows paper.
The chains and sprockets cover was removed, due to the fact that I wanted to remove the chain from the driveshaft sprocket, in order that my drill didn't "give up the ghost" during the backlapping process, which also meant that only the cylinder was turning, and nothing in the engine was.
The motor has never ever had a problem, until this happened. Something is preventing the piston from turning it's complete cycle. I can turn it physically until it gets to a point where it becomes extremely difficult to do so.
Engine Features:
Engine model: 18019 [Although the owners manual that came with the machine says it's Model 83100]
Engine Type: 401702850
Engine Code: 0831321172H1
Starting System: Recoil Start [Impossible to use at the moment!]
Oil: SAE 15W-50 18 Oz, Or 532 mls [Approx]
Fuel: Unleaded
Power On/Off: There is an On/Off button, but I always turn the fuel off until the engine finally stops, then disable it via the switch.
Regular Maintenance: Check height of cut, keep cutting gear well & truely clean. Oil change every year. Keep air filter clean, Check and clean spark plug, [replace when necessary]. Wash mower down and blow any excess water & debris off engine with compressed air after each use. Then spray WD40 onto cylinder, to prevent rust.
The Cutting Gear: 7 Bladed cylinder, which, along with the base plate, is due to for grinding next winter.
Any advice/help here would be very much appreciated.
I have tried this but when I removed the spark plug, and used the recoil start handle, it spat out oil all over the place from the empty spark plug aperture. Should that be normal under these circumstances?
That is what you would expect, the oil has to come out through the plug hole, or seeing this is a horizontal shaft motor and the piston is sitting upright, leave it a couple of days and the oil might seep back down through the rings and back into the sump
Yes you need to pull the engine over a lot of times elf with the plug out to get all the oil out ,sometimes I add a little petrol down the plug hole to thin the oil out and turn the engine over to remove the fuel and oil and if I don't want a mess everywhere I put a rag above the spark plug hole to soak up the oil.
The spark plug will need to be cleaned and dried also if it's covered in oil.
Once you turn the motor over and nothing is coming out the spark plug hole it should be ready to put the plug back in and start the engine.
You will need to check the crankcase oil level and top up to the correct level because of the loss of oil.
I had to go to Repco this am, to replenish my oil supply, and while there, I also got a spare spark plug [Champion 300 N9YC] for the mower engine, which is still a problem for me.
I successfully fixed the piston, which now moves freely using the Recoil Start handle. Oddly enough though, there was virtually no oil that came out, not like the first time I tried. I worked on it for an hour or so, ensuring no oil came out. Suspecting part of the problem might be the plug, I replaced it with the one I bought this morning, but to my dismay, it refuses to start!
My normal starting procedure for this engine is:
Turn On The Fuel, set the choke to nearly full, move the speed lever to 3/4 and turn the Switch to the On position.
Then pull the Recoil Handle and it usually started on the first go.
There are no abnormal audible sounds while I tried to start it, in fact I couldn't even get it to splutter at all. The one thing I did notice, was that there was no smell of petrol, considering the number of times I tried to start it. It can't be the plug, as I tried it with the existing one, then the new one, both of which were cleaned and dried, with no sign of oil.
Could it be something electrical, or fuel blockage perhaps?
When the engine is tilted oil can get in the air filter and fill the carby fuel bowl ,I'd remove the air filter just to start the motor but also remove the fuel bowl and tip the oil out and then bolt it back onto the carby and try starting the motor without the air filter ,that way you can pour a little fuel down the carby throat this will make starting easier.
(your carby probably has a fuel drain plug on the side of the bowl that you could remove and drain the carby then fit the bolt back in , if you do this you won't need to remove the fuel bowl to tip the oil out)
Check the air filter isn't covered in oil then fit the filter after the motor is running.
I shall follow your advice, although in the owner's manual there is no mention, or photograph of a fuel bowl, but I had a Pic which I somehow failed to upload on my first post, in which I think shows a carby bowl in the bottom right hand corner. Am I right on this?
The Air Filter is a different story though, plenty of info on that, and I have had it apart many times when I do maintenance, so Ill start with that.
Cheers,
mice_elf
Please Note: There was an error of the Briggs & Stratton Model Number in the heading of my first post, and also in the first post itself. The Model Number is: 181019, Not 1809.
Last edited by mice_elf; 01/03/2510:09 PM. Reason: Added a pic. & extra Info,
Yes that's correct elf the fuel bowl in the bottom right hand corner in the pic has a drain plug (bolt) that can be undone to drain the carby then refit the bolt.
I did as you suggested, and drained the carby bowl, via. that Bolt. No wonder the machine never kicked over [see pic 1], the petrol was blacker than the "Ace Of Spades!" Once it appeared to be fully drained, I turned the Fuel Button to On and flushed everything out, until it was clear, then turned the fuel button Off and replaced the Bolt.
Then to the air filter, I took every thing off, gave it all a quick clean, and left it as you suggested. The only thing I didn't do was pour any gas down the throat, as by this time, I could very definitely smell petrol. At this stage I also replaced the plug, with the one that was originally in there, when this mess originally happened, because I knew it was not that old, and I cleaned it well before doing so.
I then turned the gas shut off lever to the On position, and followed my normal starting routine, and it kicked in instantly on the first pull, although there was plenty of smoke coming out of the exhaust, but I new that it was the oil residue burning off that caused that.
I then went straight out and 'Double Cut" our Croquet Lawn, followed by a Single Cut, [see pic 2.] just to check how the back-lapping went, by which time there were no visible exhaust issues!
Once again, thanks to all who helped me on this, and let's hope if someone else gets in this unfortunate predicament, they can refer to these posts, as a guide, perhaps...
