OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Victa Full Crank Tilta Cut - 2 Stroke

Hi Guys, I was trolling around the recycle yard today and got lucky. I managed to find a Victa Full Crank 2 Stroke Tilta Cut. See below. I have had quite a few people ring and ask if I had any available however I've never been able to find a decent one until today for a good price. $20. The only thing missing was the blade cover/ guard.


I have managed to get it going after giving it a wash. It spills a bit of fuel out the starter bulb which is easy fixed and seems to run alright considering I havent cleaned the carby yet and replaced all the seals.

This is the first edger I have worked on. Always been doing mowers so I would appreciate any tips to get the old girl going at 100%.

I have already ordered one of the round blades.

Thanks guys
I

Enginewise I would apply the same methods as a mower, with a carby clean it would probably run very well, I have the very same edger, while it sits unused a lot it does go quite well.

Hi Peter, ive got the same one too. As Joe said, enginewise same as a mower. Just check the bearing in the front housing behind the blade is not sloppy because it will eventually flog out the housing and check the belt is not too loose, you cant actually tighten the belt as it has a preloaded spring applying the tension but make sure the belt is not stretched and loose as it will slip a lot if the blade gets onto some light resistance(theyre designed to slip[ so you dont bend stuff),
Good luck with it!

Thanks Joe and bigted
The blade bearing has very minimal play in it so I will leave that alone.
The belt does seem a little too loose. Do you guys have a method for judging whether or not the belt has stretched? I am thinking of just giving it a whirl and see how it cuts to judge it.

Any suggestions on making a replacement blade guard would be appreciated.

I'll put some photos up once it's all finished.

Just try it out and see how it goes. As for the blade guard mine is missing too and i've been too lazy to replace it. Trace it out on some 16 guage steel plate and cut it out. They are also still available new but they're around the $40 mark.

That's good advice bigted. Here's the best pic of mine....
You can see enough of the cover to get the idea...if you need a better pic, just let us know.
Re: the belt....my rule of thumb is...if you think it has stretched....it probably has....I would be tempted to replace it; especially as you are going to use the round edger blade.

Thanks guys. I will order the blade and belt shortly. I am thinking of doing the sprindle bearing as well. I assume the shaft only has one bearing as per bruce's shop?
While it's part I decided to give it a good once over and do it right.
The shop also has two full crank belts available. Could someone point me in the right direction regarding which belt is the correct one?

Hi Peter, given your machine is a top pull and not a side pull i would go with the "earlier" type belt. Part no. 020512-13265. There's only half an inch difference between the two belts anyway so given this one is shorter it should still fit as the tensioner has enough in it to allow for the difference.

Thanks Bigted. Any advice on the spindle bearing? I just wanted to make sure the one in Bruce shop would fit my model thats all. I will order it all in one hit to save on postage.

Not sure about the bearing, they should be all the same unless they specify otherwise.

After a busy summer fixing mowers I have got a few spares so I am back on the edger job. Decided this is one I am going to keep for myself. First edger Iv ever owned so I think ill keep it.

My spindle bearing and replacement belt should arrive on Monday from Outdoor Kings site along with a number of other exiting goodies so Im ready to get back on this job.

So far I have managed to get the engine off the base along with the blade and the belt.

Its lucky I ordered the spindle bearing as its really noisy when you rotate the shaft and it has too much play in it for my liking.

I have run into a couple of issues. The flywheel nut was super tight so I leveraged it against the motor pulley nut which seemed good in principle however only the motor pulley nut came loose. I coulnt get the flywheel nut off which I will need to in order to adjust the points and give it a good clean out.

The engine seems in pretty good nick with only a little scoring on the exhaust side. The inlet side is clean. The rings look good and move when you poke them with a screwdriver. I will strip if down to give it a clean.

So id appreciate some advice on the following:
1) How to get the flywheel nut off as you have not blade plate to leverage it off like a normally do.
2) How do go about replacing the spindle bearing. It looks as it I will have to take the whole assembley off the frame to break it down.



I have already bought the cirle blade.

Hi Pete, 1) Flywheel nut use a rattle gun; if you dont have one take the engine down to your local mechanic or tyre shop and they'll have it off in less than 10 seconds.
2) Spindle bearing, i'm pretty sure you'll have to strip it down to replace in order to press or whack the old bearing out.
I also notice there is no belt guide around the front pulley, try to source one as this will stop the belt from coming off while you're using it. With no load there's not much of a problem but under load they hop and jerk a bit and this is more likely when the belt will come off.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi guys, here's a pic of the belt guard (circled)....also Pete, can you please post a pic of your machine from the front as in the following pic of mine....I want to make sure that the front axle support arm is straight. Thanks mate.

Ok made some progress after work. Iv put some photo's below which I hope benefit others and not just myself. I find it easier to learn from posts that have photo�s.
I replaced the outer spindle bearing which didn�t turn out to be that difficult. Once you seperate the cutting shaft from the frame the cutter shaft comes out just like a powertorque crank. The inner spindle bearing was nice and quiet so I left it alone. When I rotate the new blade it is nice and quiet with the new outer bearing. After a couple of swear words I now have the shaft installed back on the frame.
Late this week I will tackle the engine. I am thinking the following method if no body has any other suggestions.
1) remove block and clean piston and rings. Ill give it a hone whilst its out. The rings look good through the bore so Ill leave them as is unless I find a surprise.
2) Ill wack on new bottom and head gaskets after the hone.
3) I have noticed the bottom seal is covered by a washer. There was no oil residue so I leave it as is.
4) I have new belt from Bruce's shop so thats going on once the motor is freshened up.
4) Once I get the flywheel nut off the starter cup ill check and clean the points and make sure they are set correctly.
Questions:
1) When you remove the stator plate off these old models how do you get to the top seal? Do you have the remove the keyway cam?
2) Does anyone have spare belt guard they are prepared to part with as I didn�t know these were so imperative to the machine. I would be happy to swing a couple of dollars to cover postage and your efforts.
Deejay - You are correct I need to straighten the front axle as it looks like it�s been repaired at some point.
Its well on the way to recovery.

Hi Peter, and well done thus far mate, she's going to be like a bought one when your finished!
I can't answer your questions, but hopefully our Victa guru, Joe Carroll will chime in and give you some answers.

The best way to get the flywheel nut off is to put a good meter or so of telstra rope down the spark plug hole to lock the engine, either that ot use a rattle gun.

Do not break the flywheel, they are propietary to the TAC

Yes you need to remove the cam from the crankshaft to get the seal out,

Dont bother honing the bore without new rings, they are already seated into the surface there, honing the bore will wear out the old rings quicker than they would otherwise.

Thanks Joe, Makes sence your point about the rings. Ill note that for future projects.

Is their any trick to removing the cam to get to the seal and check it for leaks?

Also im assuming all I need to do is remove the bottom washer with a thin screwdriver to check the bottom seal. Im assuming the washer will just snap back into place or will it need some locktight?

Ok quick update.
Engine is back on the frame after a good clean up.
New blade and belt installed (the old one was stretched something chronic) with new top and bottom engine gaskets. Rings were all good. A little scoring on the exhaust side of the piston but it should be all good.

Have to try the rope in the bore trick to loosen the flywheel nut and check the points although it was running pretty good before my overhaul.

So far so good. I'll get some photo's up soon.

No news on anybody having a spare belt guard as detailed above?

Ta

Hi Peter, after doing some research this morning, it appears that after the take-over of Victa by Briggs and Stratton, the Victa Tilt-A-Cut was dropped from the product line, and replaced by their own design of lawn edgers....I was hoping that the guard was available as a spare part for the later model, and you could have adapted it for your Series 80 TAC.That line or enquiry has petered out.

You might try putting a post in the Wanted forum, starting a new thread HERE Someone may be wrecking out a TAC and have one available....or you might try your local tip....It's amazing what one can find there.

The only other way would be to fabricate one....it's a simple guard, only attached by one PK screw.

Hi Deejay,

Your efforts in trying to find out information are appreciated.

I have some good news. My edger is complete and is usually a first pull starter engine.

I managed to strike it lucky at the recycle yard and find another Tilt a Cut. Its only the second one I have ever found and it only set me back $20. So I used this one for spares to finish mine. Plus I now have a spare tilt a cut engine, base and cutter shaft. They will come in handy to repair broken engines and selling them on.

Overall I am pretty happy with the outcome. It runs pretty smooth for what I estimate is a late 70's/ early 80's engine. This one is staying in MY shed.





The old girl needed a fair bit of work including:
New Drive Belt
New outer spindle bearing
Complete carby overhaul
Install blade guard and belt cover
Cleaned down the piston and rings (were in surprisingly good condition)
New Head and Base gaskets
New Round cutter blade