OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Confused - Victa / Tecumseh 207cc

G'day all, found this forum with a search and I'm hoping someone here can help me please.

I'll start from the beginning... purchased the mower in the attached pics in '95 to mow a 1/4 acre block, in the near on 20yrs I've had it, it's never skipped a beat, never changed the plug (until now) or blades and from memory only changed the oil twice. I know, very slack on my part.

It played up last time I mowed, started her up, it surged, then wouldn't, then surged again, up and down, like clockwork. It did this for a minute or so then came good so I mowed the lawn.

Now, 2 weeks later, would start no problem then starve. A search of google says I have a 207cc Tecumseh with a temperamental carb but somehow I've been lucky all these years. Is it worth trying to source a carb kit?

The mower base (alloy), catcher, wheels, etc. are still in good condition so I thought I could fit a Briggs & Stratton, I get the feeling I can't, unless I buy an identical disc boss... I think that's what it's called, with 22mm internal dia. Do Briggs make a suitable engine with a 25mm dia. x 50mm long shaft? or do they make only 70mm long in 25mm dia.? and if so, assuming they can be purchased... could I use an extra or thicker spacer ring under the engine?

Assuming an engine is available... I now only mow a 35sqm patch of lawn, so could I fit a smaller 3.5hp engine?... I'm looking for a cheap as possible fix. Or, should I scrap the whole idea and just go buy another mower for a few hundred?

I'm baffled, please help.

Hi Coopers, welcome to Outdoorking.

That Tecumseh Ultima (to Victa) or Vector (to everyone else) engine is prone to carburetor problems, but they usually just add up to it having accumulated some gum, which most carburetors do when run on modern fuel. Your symptoms (mainly, the engine hunts, or has cyclic changes in speed, with a cycle time of a few seconds) are almost certainly associated with lean mixture. It is likely that cleaning the carburetor carefully with carburetor cleaner will overcome your problem. It is important not to expose the plastic parts to the carburetor cleaner for long periods, though: spray the parts until they are clean then wash them in petrol. Do not soak any plastic part in carburetor cleaner.

Having said that, many people find that carburetor difficult to work on. Parts are less available than for some other engines, but most of them can be obtained.

G'day Grumpy, thankyou for your fast response, you're correct in saying lean mixture as I could keep it running with the primer.

Will a Briggs engine fit using my existing bits and pieces?

You would need a Briggs engine that was intended for a Victa mower base: Victa uses a shorter output shaft than everyone else, for compatibility with their 2 stroke engine. There might be some minor cobbling of the speed control Bowden cable. Otherwise, as far as I know, it should fit. However check the output shaft diameter as well as the length, because Briggs and other engine manufacturers offer various output shafts as options: different diameters, with and without keyway and axial thread, even with taper or external thread, though these are unusual.

See this recent thread in the 'Q's on Engines' section HERE too; it has some good info/link on servicing the Vector carbies. Parts are available out of the US.

Carby cleaner is something to be very careful with here, as the bottom end of this carby is all plastic.

The original shaft diameter would be 7/8", just over 22mm. 3.75hp Briggs engines are available with this diameter shaft, if you go for a new engine, and in 50mm length as Victa use. It will do the job, no problem.

I see a new 3.75 is as cheap as $160-170 delivered, on FleaBay.

Thanks Grumpy & Gadge, I've had 4 goes at this carby with no luck, I think it's a bin job. I see new carbs for $125 in Aust. and about $90 odd from the states, I don't think it's worth the expense & trouble, not even a cheaper repair kit, I had a good run.

I like the sound of throwing a new motor on with readily available spares.

Gadge if you look at the pictures you can see the orig. shaft dia. is 1", the disc boss is a one piece set up that slots into the keyway on the shaft, this is where I'm confused...

Yes, I have seen the cheap 450 series on ebay, I only have 35sqm of lawn now, would this engine suffice?

Am I correct in saying, if I can acquire a disc boss the same as my orig. but with a 7/8" shaft dia. I can go ahead and bolt it all up to my orig. base using my orig. blade disc provided the shaft length is 50mm.

Thanks again for your help, I've got conflicting information from local mower guys

these engines run a 1" crank, and its the only 4 stroke victa that I have come accross that does....

Quite often its the O rings inside the carb that seal the top to the bottom that fail and cause lean mixture, there was a thread on it years ago but Icannot seem to find it now.

That victa base is a goodun and still looks in good nick, I personally would either track down the cause of fault in the carb or grab a replacement engine (and suitable crank boss) and bolt it onto the frame.

Yep, your call. From past threads here, the blokes who run a sideline in buying cheap fixer-uppers to fix and sell, won't spend much time on these Tecumseh engines. They reckon, if it runs OK, quick service and move it on; if it don't, scrap the engine and fit a PowerTorque 2-stroke off a rusted out steel chassis.
Yep, sorry about that, misread that bit. For sure; scads of 18" cut push mowers have been built with 3-4hp Briggs engines over the years, and they are fine. This use of 5-6hp engines, on this particular mower type, has been a development of the last 10-15 years, as governed engine revs has decreased from 3600 to around 3100-3200.
That's it in one.
Shaft bosses for the 7/8" shaft are readily available; the ODK Shop has them HERE. Or just about any older Briggs engined Victa at the tip shop will supply one of that type. The centre bolt should fit, but I'm not certain which type of key that boss uses - square or Woodruff [part moon shape]. Briggs cranks are usually machined for both, but only one will match the boss internal keyway. Check with Bruce [ODK Shop owner]. Keys are only a couple of dollars, in any case.
Heh heh - they'd just rather sell you a new mower. Nothing wrong with that; they have a living to make, after all. Here on ODK, we prefer to keep the good old gear going.

Hi Coopers and welcome to the forum.
I wont go over what all the other members have told you, but if you're a patient man take a look at this for a replacement, just be prepared to wait the 3-4 weeks for delivery.
Click HERE

Hi bigted. I've never seen a carburetor like that, with the body sawed off laterally through an aluminium extrusion. With an NC mill to drill the holes, it might be a very practical way to make it in low volume.

A couple of questions occur to me. First, it looks as if pretty much everything except the body and the throttle butterfly is plastic, even the venturi, so it would be interesting to know how it stands up to US "reformulated" fuel (which usually has a substantial ether content). Alcohol might also be a challenge (especially methanol of course), depending on the plastic used. Second, it does not appear to have either a choke or a primer, so I don't know how cold enrichment is handled.

Thanks again all, I now know where I stand with regard to the disc boss and fitment of a B&S.

Thanks Bigted for that link, that's cheap as chips and I'm almost persuaded to test my patience. What's the 'average' life span of these Tecumseh 207cc?

Do B&S engine series numbers relate to ft.lbs of torque, ie: a 550 series has 5.5 ft.lbs?

Gday Guys,
Thought I should comment on this one as I too have used the same method as Bigted for the Tecumseh Ultima's. I have now re-furbished a fair few of these engines and they have all turned out to be great runners. Only one needed a new carby as it still wouldn�t run right even after I replaced all of the o rings. The last 2 or 3 just needed a good carb clean with new o rings.
I thought for $13 bucks it was worth a shot and the engine is still running spot on. The particular carb I replaced was pretty mangled however I suspect if you replace the o rings in will be a good runner. I think MrKay mentioned that earlier.
Grumpy � the Tecumseh Utimah�s have a remote primer on the side of the engine. Check my previous thread (second picture which Gadge referred to in an earlier post.

In my experience which is only limited these engines when running spot on always start first pull from cold and tear down long grass just like a Good 5hp Briggs Quantum � The quantum is much easier to work on though.
Coopers � If it was my decision I�d go buy the new carb. I think it will keep you mower running well for quite some time to come. Just remember to make sure you keep the oil level correct. Don�t let it run low on these engines otherwise you will get a visitor outside the block (usually a snapped conrod). Ive seen a couple in my travels

Coopers, lifespan of the 207cc depends on a few obvious things, like most small engines, in particular regular maintenance and good clean fresh fuel. As for the rest, it's in the hands of the almighty, or more to the point, who you lend it to.
My dad has one identical to yours and he's had it since new and hasn't missed a beat. Victa used these engines between 94 and 96 before either reverting back to or sticking with the Quantums.
Grumpy, like Jaffa said, the primer is remote and requires the front gasket to be in good shape to prime effectively (similar to a "later" model Quantum. As for the fuel, only time will tell, the low price of these units is possibly due to the American consumers rejecting these carbies as they may not be compatible with the gasohol etc, but still a win for the Aussie consumers.
The only minor compatability issue with these carbies is that the aftermarket one does not have the breather port drilled into the body but that could easily be routed to, and tapped into, the back of the air box or left to vent to atmosphere.

Bigted, elastomers generally don't thrive in the presence of alcohol, even ethanol (the least virulent of the elastomer solvents), and I'm told most NSW petrol has ethanol in it. Hence how long those carburetors last in Australia probably depends on which state you live in, and exactly what plastics have been used in the carburetor.

That carburetor would not have much potential for sale in the US I think because it does not have either emissions-control features incorporated, or service parts and information available. Its application seems to be for home tinkerers like us, rather than the general public. It would be interesting to know whether the supplier has other models available - probably based on other aluminium extrusion shapes - that could be useful for bringing various vintage engines back to life.

Correct; that's B&S' current series numbering system. Introduced around 2007 I believe, to replace the horsepower ratings they had used for a long time prior.

Grumpy, that carby in bigted's fleaBay link is actually a pretty faithful repro of the OEM unit. It used that alloy extrusion too, which seems to have been exclusive to the Vector series. That seller has a fair few repro carbies listed, mostly Tecumseh and motorcycle types.

The Vector series had its own service manual, which also covers these carbies. The Tecumseh general Tech Handbook, and Carburetor, manuals don't cover them.

Thanks Gadge, the VLV (Vector) manual is available in the manuals section. It is only 46 pages, but Pages 9 through 12 are on that carburetor. It seems I don't necessarily study and remember the content of everything I upload.

The manual is dated 12/96. I think that was before the US started on the reformulated fuel, gasohol, etc. Most carburetors at that time had some plastic parts, but this one is a mostly-plastic carburetor. Briggs made carburetor bodies from Minion, a hard white plastic, back in the 1980s, but they were not a great success I think - even their own service manual seemed to approach them a bit uneasily. On the other hand, the few plastic parts in Honda's Keihin carburetors seem to stand up well - I (rather cautiously) clean them with carburetor cleaner, though I certainly wouldn't soak them in it. The manual for the Suzuki 2 stroke mower engine specifies that the carburetor be soaked in carb cleaner, but warns you to exclude all the plastic bits when you do it. (We have a thread on that carburetor - it may be the most difficult to clean one anywhere in the archives, because of its non-removable emulsifier.)