Hi all, first post in the Small Engine forum, but a couple may have seen me bragging elsewhere on BITOG about my 1981 Snapper mower with a 3 1/2Hp Briggs & Stratton that still ran great... Well On Fri June 3, just before 6:00PM EDST, she bit the big one, RIP...
It has used oil for years, so I always filled the oil and gas at the same time, Fri was no exception... Funny thing is it waited till I was finishing the last strip to go clank, clank, clank, blam and stall, sounded like I'd ran over something... A under deck inspection revealed all's good here but it was locked up... I pulled the pan yesterday and found the rod cap broken, which also broke the cam and splash gear... As far as wear, other than the rings being worn all looked good, crank journal was still smooth with with no sign it had ever starved for oil...
Finally she'll get a new lease on life, I have a '03 Craftsman mower a neighbor gave me that is likely in the top 10 of most cumbersome mowers ever produced... Good part is, it has a OHV B&S 7Hp engine that runs great, a couple new mounting holes in the old Snappers deck and she'll be sportin' a Hot Rod engine...
It has used oil for years, so I always filled the oil and gas at the same time, Fri was no exception... Funny thing is it waited till I was finishing the last strip to go clank, clank, clank, blam and stall, sounded like I'd ran over something... A under deck inspection revealed all's good here but it was locked up... I pulled the pan yesterday and found the rod cap broken, which also broke the cam and splash gear... As far as wear, other than the rings being worn all looked good, crank journal was still smooth with with no sign it had ever starved for oil...
Finally she'll get a new lease on life, I have a '03 Craftsman mower a neighbor gave me that is likely in the top 10 of most cumbersome mowers ever produced... Good part is, it has a OHV B&S 7Hp engine that runs great, a couple new mounting holes in the old Snappers deck and she'll be sportin' a Hot Rod engine...