Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

   Picked up a nice Tory-Bilt Pony with a bum engine, broken rod.   I have a 7 hp Tecumseh (black paint) that would bolt on and work but the Briggs is in such nice condition with great paint I'd like to salvage it.   I'm a bit puzzled by the recoil clutch in the bottom photo.   How do those come off.  There's not enough room to wedge a screwdriver at the flywheel/clutch joint and I've already broken a small section of the clutch housing in back. 

   I wedged a few pickel forks in back of the flywheel and tapped them in a bit but the flywheel is not moving.  There's no rust on this thing and all the bolts and drive pulleys have come of easily.  I'm not sure if I should be using the methods or force I'd usually use with a Tecumseh.   Does the clutch just bang out from behind before trying to remove the flywheel?  The parts view seems to show it just fit on the shaft with no key and there's no allen screw on it.  Anyone pulled a flywheel on one like this before? 

   Will these take a megafire ok?

   Any trick to getting the $#%* back into the clutch housing, use grease to hold them in?? 

jrtrebor,

   A couple of taps and the clutch unscrewed, a few more taps on the flywheel and it came off.   Cake.  The rod broke in three pieces so nothing large enough to flail around braking the case, cam or governor gear. 

   Not sure why the rod broke but it was not from low oil.  The crank journal is clean and shiny.   The bore looks fine so a rod and rings should do it. 

Thanks 

Nice!

Just wondering, could over-revving (for whatever reason) cause a failure like that?

RedOctobyr wrote:
Not likely.  Usually, valves will be involved in an over-revved engine.  Chances are it was either a defective or improperly installed rod or, possible a bad crank. 

Trouts:

Was the bearing cap still attached?   Does the crank look true? 

   The journal and some of the crank looks burnt but it's a photo effect.

One section of rod end with the bolt broke off and the dipper wedged between the rod and lobe.

>>Was the bearing cap still attached?

   One in place holding on ¾ of the rod bearing.  The other broken.

 

>>Does the crank look true? 

    It hasn’t made it to the bench yet.

 

   The engine put in 20 years doing two 1500 sq ft home gardens.  That’s two 20 x 75 foot plots and big but a long way from commercial use.  The crank is on roller bearings and I think the bore aluminum.

 

    The owner had not changed oil for three years before the rod went.  There was oil in the sump and I think the level was OK.  There was a buildup of sludge in the sump but not bad.  That is, bad compared to other engines I open up but I’m generally only opening engines with broken rods from low oil.  The crank journals on those are always smeared from rod melt.

 

    On this one the rod broke for some reason bit not from low oil, no rod smear on the journal.  The rod bearings are fine and the crank journal smooth and shiny.  The pictures show some brown which might seem like burn marks but those are photo effects. 

 

   The rod bearing was ¾ inplace on the journal and a ¼ chip section with a bolt broke off.   The dipper end went between the rod and journal so wedged the rod and journal to a dead stop. 

    Usually rod bolts come out with a lot of force to break the bolt hold but after that can be unscrewed by hand.  On this one bolt did not have to be broken to get it out.  It only required a fairly easy turn which is very odd.  I doubt that the crash loosened the bold off it torque spec and may have been the problem but it’s just a guess. 

 

    The piston was stuck in the bore and had to be driven out.  The cause of that might be due to the rod break or might have been the wedged and caused the break, not sure. 

 

   I wondered what might have caused the break. Going three years without an oil change with the use it got did not seem to be enough. ??

 

Looks like overspeed or maybe they jammed the tines and sheared the crank...

If the ring gap looks good I wouldn't even change them (rings), unless you see that it's burning oil..  

CHeck the trottle shaft, It may be gummed up / Stuck in the full throttle position.. (causing the Break).. Tillers on the average only run twice a yearfall and spring..

When you go to put the clutch back together, take some scotchbright (fine grit, blue or gray) and clean off the crank-tit that rides in the pawl assy.  Get off any brown baked or gummy residue on it make sure the unit is clean and smooth (lube with a light White grease) or the unit may start to hang up and destroy your rewind assy..

Good find-- nice unit...

Friiy