OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Briggs & Stratton Engines Briggs 5.5HP OHV Intek Engine - On Rover Base

Gday Guys,
I picked up something different to work on. Well I will pick it up from the olds joint this weekend as Dad got it for me very cheap. It appears to be an OHV 5.5 HP Briggs Intek engine from what I can tell. Never actually come across one before in the junk yards I frequent.
The engine actually runs spot on apart from a massive oil leak from the OHV cover .This should be pretty easy to rectify with some RTV silicon. I am assuming these engines follow the same principle as sealing up the Honda OHC and OHV covers (different to the chonda�s as they all have gaskets for the valve covers.
I haven�t had a chance to inspect it yet but was hoping someone could confirm. The valve cover is smothered in silicon by the previous owner however I suspect the wrong type has been used.
Lastly I wanted to confirm the correct valve clearances. Sorry I haven�t got the engine codes on me at present just the photos. I will put the codes up this weekend when we go up the coast for some fishing.
With a good clean up and valve adjustment I suspect this will be another good mower for very little cost.
Open to others experience as always as I suspect this mower may have some additional features I need to take into consideration to ensure its longevity.

Jaffa

Hi Peter,
Just a point on the Honda engines. The OHV does have a gasket on the tappet cover. The OHC doesn't and is sealed up using goop(that's the technical term, lol). I'm almost certain that the intek does have a gasket but the IPL will tell us for certain when you get the numbers.
So, my guess is that the gasket is damaged and they've tried to rectify it with silastic to no avail.

Boy what a mess of sealant on that cover.

This setup does use a valve gasket but that the mounting plate also has gasket behind it. There is two bolts plus the rocker arm studs that can become loose and cause leaking too.

Peter, when you post the Model, Type and Code we can access the Illustrated Parts List and Owner Manual, which will provide some diagrams and part numbers. We can also check your model out in the service manual.

AVB thanks for that - there are relatively few small Inteks here, though they are popular with some mowing contractors. Most people buying push-mowers for home use choose either a side valve Briggs or a chonda (unlicensed Chinese copy of an OHV Honda). The chondas seem to be gaining market share rapidly, which is unsurprising since they are usually priced well below a side valve Briggs.

It just the 110000, 120000, and 150000 OHV series that used this setup.

The other Briggs OHVs uses just valve cover that can have either a gasket or RTV with Briggs recommending using RTV even on the ones that came with a gasket. The above are the exception to the RTV recommendation.

Personally I dealt with those that are RTVed by Briggs and they are a pain to get off without damage to the cover.

As you said the Chinese clones are taking over the market. Even Briggs OHV are now Chinese made engines. I recently ordered a replacement Walbro carburetor for the Briggs OHV Horizontal and got one those of Ruixing carburetor instead.

A lot of the Chinese junk we can't even get parts for when they breakdown; we either install a new engine or just send the equipment to be recycled. It is plain don't make sense to me as tech that I got tell customers their equipment is unrepairable due to the lack of parts especially on something that is only a year or two old.

That is interesting AVB, and some of it is new to me. I know that Briggs finally transferred the manufacture of the last of the large side valve engines to Chongqing about two years ago, after transferring the small side valve ones there in the early 2000s, but I was under the impression that all OHV and DOV Briggs engines were made in the US, except for the two and three cylinder Vanguards which have always been made by Daihatsu in Japan. I know the single cylinder Vanguards were made by Mitsubishi in Japan for a while, due to problems Briggs had building them, but were returned to the US when Briggs fell into commercial disagreement with Mitsubishi, and I believe they have been US-built ever since. I believe Briggs' strategy is to try to stay in the business of making engines in the US by concentrating the production of high-value engines there, while allocating production of the low-value engines to their Chongqing plant. Of course the purchased components will end up being sourced in China though.

The only Ruixing carburetors I've had much to do with have been exact copies of the Keihin carburetors Honda uses. The copies are so good that the parts are interchangeable with Keihin ones, and I regard them as good carburetors. The chonda engines do often have really awful governor linkages though.

Guys thanks for the assistance. Sorry for the delay but here are the codes:
124602-0111-01 98090256

I have included a few photos of the Over Head Valve Cover and the gasket. I cleaned the majority of whatever type of stuff the previous tenant installed and now the unit doesnt leak as much but but it still leaks. Can I add the RTV Silicon as well or not?

The gasket does look a little shabby but its not split so it really should do the job and prevent the oil from leaking. Any tips or adjustments to rid the leak? I will get a new gasket if they are available but the old one should be ok.

Are these little Inteks good engines for push mowers as they seem to have plenty of power.
Thanks
peter

Thanks Peter. Here is the Illustrated Parts List:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/BInnCFXBnfBhU7y.pdf

Here is the Operator's Manual:
http://bsintek.basco.com/BriggsDocumentDisplay/flmtxLX-nfBhU7y.pdf

The engine was made on 2 September 1998 in "Plant 56", which is actually an administrative center at Briggs HQ, not an engine plant. So far I've only seen this trick done on engines that were actually made in Plant 28, in Chongqing, which further supports AVB's information that this is a Chinese engine.

That rocker cover gasket has had the final gong and is due to be hauled off-stage by the bouncers, Peter. The attaching screws have been overtightened, which has destroyed parts of it, followed by the use of some unsuitable glue to supplement the gasket. This is trivial except that it tells you something about the previous tenant.

The carburetor is a Walbro LMS, which like most modern emissions carburetors is a bit more challenging and less forgiving than the pre-emissions Briggs carburetors, but is nevertheless a decent piece of equipment which should not be troublesome.

The technical manual (Briggs P/N 276781 Intek Single Cylinder OHV) makes no specific mention of the rocker cover that I can find. AVB is obviously familiar with the in-service information, and usual US service practice for this engine, so I accept his advice that the use of silicone RTV sealant in place of a gasket is commonplace and accepted. The RTV will peel off metal easily, and a new bead of it can be used each time you remove the gasket. I think I personally would replace the gasket rather than do this, because it is quicker and cheaper if you find yourself removing that cover fairly frequently.

SKU 124602-0111-01
Top No Load Speed SET ENG NO-LOAD SPEED TO 3300 +/-100 RPM
Gross Horsepower* 6.50
Oil Capacity 22 fl. oz.

We actually have a Grey RTV here that sticks very well and I use a backbone razor blade to remove it. I have had some I have cut my way through that sealant while trying pry off the covers.

But in this application the gaskets are the way to go especially since you can deform that mounting plate from trying remove the cover later.

As for on the OHV sealant vs gasket here is a copy of the
SB746 that was released in 2009.

Thanks for posting that AVB - it's exactly what was needed to clear up this issue, and will be very useful in our archives.

Peter, I see that your rocker cover has the rib, and therefore can be used either with gasket or sealant. With regard to whether the 450 series Briggs are good, ordinary, or whatever, we just don't have enough on them in the archives to say, at this point.

Guys thanks for all the comments. I have had to order a separate primer plate gasket as these are different to the normal Briggs and Stratton Primer Plate Gaskets. The engine still starts first pull with a quantum gasket but I�d prefer to have the right part in place for starting longevity. I must admit these are a strong engine and perform really well after a good service.

I still have an issue with the Rocker cover after I reset the valves. It is still leaking oil ever so slowly and I can�t work out why. The cover is nice and straight with no kinks. I sealed in all up nicely with RTV silicon which has always worked perfectly on the OHC Honda�s I have worked on previously.

AVB mentioned the 2 bolts under the rocker arms. I checked these and they are tight.

I let the RTV go tacky (2-3 mins) before I joint it to the engine as per the instructions but it still leaks. Both contact areas where cleaned and dried with turps, so I am a bit stuffed as to why it wont stop leaking! I have fairly good eye sight and to me the OHV cover is not bent out of shape!

Would love any suggestions!

Peter

Is there a possibility that too much pressure is building up in the rocker cover and hence causing it to leak. I had a chonda that had blocked oil passages that was doing a similar thing. i ended up stoking the passages back towards the crankcase with some 1.5mm tie wire, spraying some carby cleaner through and blowing with compressed air and all was good.


On my particular example i've circled the passages i'm referring to in yellow.

I think the gasket on the right(circled yellow) that is under the part on the left (circled orange) is probably leaking. All 3 parts comes in 696268 kit. You can always save the head gasket as spare for later use.

I'm not a big fan of rtv silicon for these applications, have had great success with Loctite 518 flange sealant. Get the surfaces nice and clean, apply a small continuous bead, tighten bolts evenly to spec, then let it cure before running the engine. If using the gasket just apply a smear to both sides.

Guys thanks for the assistance. It�s taken me a while to get back to this mower. Been repairing a heap of mowers as the grass has been growing flat out down my way!

I ended up taking the valve springs and retainers off and removed the metal cover underneath the rocker cover (exact name for this I am not sure. See my pictures.

They pretty much confirm AVB�s assumption that the gasket was leaking.
I have ordered the kit from my local mower shop for $25 as AVB suggested. Just completed my last outdoorking order so got it from my local.

I haven�t taken the head completely off this type of engine and just wanted some tips before I do it. I am assuming its pretty standard to re-install the valves that I will have to remove the engine head. Since the head gasket is coming in a kit � should I replace it if the unit is un-damaged?

Next question relates to lapping the valves � I have only completed this process for a side valve engine and not an OHV engine. Do I need to complete this process (not the engine is running absolutely perfectly minus the rocker cover valve leak of course.
The over head valve engine�s I have worked on to date have only ever required valve adjustments and I haven�t really had to remove a head yet for repairs (it had to come eventually). So any pointers you have in this process would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry one last issue was in relation to one of the springs having a round guide underneath � note the other did not. Hoping someone more experienced could clarify.
For the benefit of others I should note this type of engine does not use a standard gasket (quantum type that most people sell) between the air filter and carby. You need the special OHV gasket to get consistent 1 pull starts.
Theo thanks for your theory, I will note it for future chonda�s however I am pretty sure it�s the gasket in this case.
Sorry long post � but I just want to make sure I get this right.
Jaffa

That would be your intake valve stem seal. This has been change to a new style.


Now this where the new head gasket is needed.

Sorry to hijack this thread but I have just gone through this very issue with my 5.5 hp briggs intek engine and was wondering if anyone has the torque values for the bolts that hold the rocker plate on and also the torque for the rocker cover bolts

Cheers

Chris.

The Rocker Plate (Cylinder Head Plate) > 90 in-lbs

The Rocker Cover (Valve Cover)
Diecast > 90 in-lbs
Stamped > 40 in-lbs

Got an interesting data point for you here, grumpy. My current everyday mower is a Masport Maxicatch 550, with a Briggs Quantum XTS50 on it. Alloy deck, extended [snorkel] air intake, multi-position handle; it's a nice machine to use.

With these numbers: Model 12F802 Type 3112-E1 Code 01052157 Which was before Chongqing came online, IIRC.

The numbers are off the cowling itself, not the muffler heatshield - that was a bit too rusty, when I picked this one up secondhand last year.

I don't know exactly when Chongqing began early production, Gadge, but the project is dated 2002 in the Briggs history statement:
http://www4.briggsandstratton.com/miscpdfs/RNT/history%20of%20briggs_MS8751.pdf

Here is the list of Briggs locations large enough to be called "facilities" and therefore have plant numbers, as it stood in 2011:


That is taken from Page 7 of 32 of a published conformity document called "Briggs & Stratton 856 Ship Notice/Manifest Version 004010", and is headed "B&S facilities and their associated plant numbers are as follow."

As you can see, 57 is not a Briggs plant, so your engine does not have a valid plant number in its Code. This is the phenomenon I was talking about when I suggested that the engines with non-existent plant numbers in their Codes, may come from Chongqing. All such numbers I've heard of so far, are in the 50s. Note that most of Briggs' older plants, all of which have numbers lower than the 20s, have been closed and do not appear on this list. There are also a couple which appear on the list but have been closed since 2011.

All this may mean that you have a very early Chongqing engine, from before the plant's opening ceremony. Alternatively, my whole hypothesis may be wrong - but AFAIK, no-one has ever reported an engine carrying the Chongqing plant code "28". It may only be used on engines sold within China. The reality is that no small side valve engines have been made anywhere but Chongqing in approximately ten years now, and no side valve engines at all, including large ones, have been made anywhere but Chongqing in the past couple of years. All of the Chongqing engines that have been reported to me have Plant Code numbers in the 50s, and those Code numbers do not match the Plant Code numbers of any actual plants.

Thanks buddy!

Grumpy,

I think you have a little misunderstanding on how the date code is read in reference to the above chart. This is just my opinion but I can be wrong.

The above chart is for shipping manifests and doesn't correlate to the date code. If it did we here in the States would need a much broader chart as I have customer engine with last digits that are no where on the list. I haven't seen a chart anywhere that correlate the date code with a particular plant; this is an internal item that Briggs hasn't released publicly. It would be nice if they did release it. Now if they are starting to use true serial numbers then they might include those style numbers above but I haven't seen any to date here in my shop.

Here is some examples of date codes that I have on file here as I use them to track a customer engine for service warranty.

080312YG, 0106287ZE, 070301ZA, 090327YD, 93062952, 95033132.

Hi AVB, the Briggs literature says that the last digit in the early days of the modern model number system, or two digits from then onward, are the plant number. (Initially they said the last two digits were the shift the engine was made on, and the plant number, but I'm not sure they ever did that, and if they did, it was only very briefly). So, the first six digits of the Code are the date of manufacture, and the last two are the plant number, except on early engines that only had seven digits altogether, and on those the last number is the plant number. We have a short summary of how it works in this old thread:

https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=47946#Post47946

I agree that Briggs had no intention of the public being able to interpret their plant numbers, but for some reason, perhaps having to do with ISO quality standard compliance, they published a formal document explaining their logistics system, for the use of suppliers. Perhaps they hoped that nobody else would ever find it on the internet. You can read it here:

http://iconnect-corp.com/specs/vendors/briggsstratton/856_v4010.pdf

I am aware that some Codes have appeared recently with two letters at the end instead of a traditional plant number. I haven't yet "broken the code" on the meaning of those. However we haven't seen any instances yet where the last two numerical digits are not either the number of an engine plant (including half a dozen or so engine plants which have now closed) or a number in the 50s in the case of side valve engines made since the Chongqing plant was established. There is still more work to be done in identifying the locations of the older engine plants which were closed during the "bad days" prior to establishing the Chongqing plant, when Briggs was losing money on side valve engines and was taking steps to stem the hemorrhage. Because they were gone before the 2011 document was produced, they are not on the list.

Tnx Grumpy for the info it looks like we and especially myself got some more research to do to get things straighten out on these codes.

I have only been working on these engines professionally since 2009 and there is a lot I got to learn. This was and still time of large changes to the whole small industry especially with China getting into the game.

This one of the reason joined here as I am trying to both expand my knowledge of these engines and to provide help whenever I can. Feel to correct me when I am wrong as need to be providing correct info and not misinformation.

I looked at the Australian Briggs site and it is setup a little than ours here in the US and some of the info is different but I try to compare and weed out things that I know is outdated.

It is sorta like working on Stihl products. You can't get the service manuals or even the parts lists here but sometimes there are overseas sites that have the info.

You are already a very valuable member here AVB, and are also playing a strategic role: AFAIK, we don't have another active US-based member who is a professional repairer. Our information on things like US-made ride-on mowers is woefully inadequate, and you may be able to help us with that.

The nearest thing there is to perfect information is what we can get from service manuals, and even there they need to be read in conjunction with service bulletins that we often don't have, so I don't think any of us is ever completely sure that we know the "truth", whatever that is. The system is that if somebody thinks a member may be wrong, they pose the question in a post. Sometimes that leads to a debate of course, but as long as everyone remembers that, as John Denver said, "The truth is hard to come by", we get by. You are following that system, and if I ever depart from it, please tell me immediately.

One of the things we need, is access to more and better information from the manufacturers. The closest we can come to that, apart from publications, is information from dealers and repairers who are in touch with the manufacturers themselves. Of course they are not always able to pass on what they know, but sometimes they can, and it is a great help to this site when that happens.

The global movement to sourcing most small engines and small engine powered machines from China, is an obstacle to service work at the moment because most of those machines are sold unbranded, and an importer somewhere in the world puts a label on them. Those importers usually don't produce proper service manuals and in Australia at least, usually don't handle spare parts. The Chinese source doesn't usually produce manuals either, at least not in English, because each importer wants an individualised document to make it look as if they produced it themselves. This is especially a problem with items like line trimmers, which often need repair (usually due to mishandling by owners). For the moment, what usually happens is that nearly new mowers and trimmers are scrapped over a fault that could be put right in a few minutes.

We may have a different attitude to some of these matters in Australia, due to a distribution system which makes most items incredibly expensive to the end-user unless (in the case of small items) you just buy them direct from a Chinese distributor, with no form of technical or spare-parts support.

Just a point on the actual repair.


If you had a air line to spark plug adapter that would make it a hell of a lot easier with getting the valve retainers on and off.

That works fine; unless, you got to replace the intake valve stem seal on this Intek engine. Either way you go at it you're going need to remove the head as the intake valve must be removed in order to install the new seal.

Guys thanks for the pointers regarding the repair. I have finally received the gasket kit has AVB indicated.
As I haven�t completed this type of repair before on a Briggs Intek I would appreciate some pointers and anything I special I need to take into consideration to ensure the repair is successful.
I plan on removing the head and cleaning everything up nicely before re-assembling the engine. I�d appreciate some guidance on re-assembly before I tackle the task.
I also have some separate questions.
1) Do I use the new metal rocker cover plate? If so do I re-use the pushrod guides?
2) Should I install the new head gasket or just re-use the original gasket if it is acceptable condition
3) Tips for re-installing the valves and setting the clearances.
4) Correct valve clearances for this engine type � I have read a couple of conflicting notes although I may be misunderstanding something.
5) Is lapping the valves the same process as a side valve engine or do I need to follow a separate process? I am assuming whilst the head is off I should lap the valves to get a nice seal.
Anything else more experienced guys have would be much appreciated as I have probably missed something.
Thanks a lot.
Jaffa

If you carefully remove the old push rod guides you can reuse them, if not the PN is 691343. This is for one each guide. These are fairly expensive little chucks of plastic; just my opinion about plastic.

I would use the new parts provided including the metal plate. No point of having to do the work over when you got the new parts. The head gaskets will self destruct upon removal.

Valve clearance is .004" - .006" for both valves since this is the vertical engine. The horizontal version does have a different exhaust valve gap setting. Jam nut should be torqued to 75 - 95 in lbs.

When setting clearances put the piston at 1/4" pass TDC of compression stroke. This is measured thru the spark plug hole using a dowel or similar item where you can mark the TDC position and 1/4" pass on the measuring item. Now of course you can convert these the metric measurements if needed.

You may wonder why 1/4" pass TDC, it is to prevent the inference caused by the decompression release on the cam at or just before TDC compression stroke which is to make starting easier.

Valve lapping should be the same. This is optional but you should use your own judgement on this as you are physically checking the condition of these on site.