the recoil system has been around forever... since its old its probably just worn out and dried up... you can always take the recoil cover off and flip it over and hit it with WD40 or equivalent, might help or buy a new one if you think its worth the money...
Puffs of smoke at shutdown of old Briggs?
- Thread starter JHZR2
- Start date
I think mine would too if the engine brake wasn't so quick. It puffs a lot on initial startup though and then clears up. I think it's just some wear and tear. It's actually a 25 year old quantum.
Funny thing is I have an older classic 3.5hp similar to the op's engine but newer, that doesn't puff at all under any condition and the original engine it replaced (1981 3hp with thousands of hours on it) didn't puff ever until it hit a hidden 3"bolt sticking out of concrete under tall weeds which bent the crankshaft.
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If I had to make a guess why it puff's smoke, it would be that when you go to shut it down, it just chokes off the air intake. But it looks like the type of air filter that's in a oil bath. So while it's trying to suck air to keep running, it's sucking some filter oil also. When it finally chokes itself out, it gives a last gasp of fuel and oil.,,
JHZR2
Staff member
Yeah that’s in the cards. Just need the time.
JHZR2
Staff member
It’s a really smart recoil system compared to the newer plastic ones.
I fixed the whole thing and it works great. No noise.
Cleaned and lubed with ATF. Spring got a spray lubricant.
I lubed it and it slides great. I just can’t get a faster speed than on choke, and can’t seem to set the cable so that it chokes, runs max speed, slows, and stops according to the locations on the control box.
That was starting out. After fixing the recoil I messed with it. This is the best I can get it:
The choke setting is kind of spring loaded. The throttle lever won’t stay there. When I let that be at the absolute max travel of the little throttle arm on the carb, as you can see in the video, it speeds up when choked (is this right? All my other OPE uses choke at cold start and then coughs and stops if you choke it), and then settles to a slightly lower RPM. What’s right?
I also pulled the spark plug. From what I can tell, it’s not the right model for this mower per the b&s manual.
JHZR2
Staff member
The oil in this mower is of unknown age. It’s black and liquid. That’s all I know. It’s on my to do list but I’m trying to sort this thing a bit first.
JHZR2
Staff member
So, next stupid issue…
I had to pull the shroud to work on the starter. Put it back on and the bolt hole by the dipstick does NOT line up to let the dipstick be fully bottomed. And probably the removal of grime and the years of shrinkage have resulted in this:
If I seat the dipstick, I can’t get the bolt threaded.
To thread the bolt it ends up about like this and leaking.
So im not sure what to do. I ran it about 30 minutes before removing the shroud, so I know the engine didn’t leak like this before…
I had to pull the shroud to work on the starter. Put it back on and the bolt hole by the dipstick does NOT line up to let the dipstick be fully bottomed. And probably the removal of grime and the years of shrinkage have resulted in this:
If I seat the dipstick, I can’t get the bolt threaded.
To thread the bolt it ends up about like this and leaking.
So im not sure what to do. I ran it about 30 minutes before removing the shroud, so I know the engine didn’t leak like this before…
JHZR2
Staff member
I could. But I shouldn’t have to. It’s been fine for the last 39 years… until I pulled it out. I’d guess the seal and whatever grime kept it proper until now. I’m going to get a new seal and hope that fixes it…
I always disconnect the dipstick tube from from the flywheel cover before pulling the flywheel cover off. It's only two screws.
Maybe that's the problem ..... try some SAE 30
JHZR2
Staff member
Hmmm. I didn’t think about that. Maybe there’s some available slip in those screw holes?
I carefully get all 3 screw holes lined up first before putting any of the screws in. Sometimes I use a center punch as an alignment bar to get the 3 holes lined up. Then I'll put all 3 screws in and leave them loose until I'm sure they're all lined up. If I'm sure everything is lined up, I'll start tightening the 2 bottom screws first, and then tighten the center screw at the top last. If the flywheel cover is on where it's supposed to be, the dipstick tube usually falls into place.
JHZR2
Staff member
That’s essentially what I did which is why I’m confused as to why it’s so off that it leaks.
Well it leaks because you said you couldn't get the dipstick tube in all the way, right?
JHZR2
Staff member
Yes but I’ve aligned all the holes and tightened them all in together. It’s like maybe the top has some warping that was held in place for decades by the bolt placement, but now I can’t get it back. As the pics show, the options are no gap and misalignment of the bolt hole, or gap and ability to install the bolt…
Are you sure you got the rope pulley down all the way over the starter clutch? Because sometimes you need to pull the rope ever so slightly to get the pulley to line up with the starter clutch.
JHZR2
Staff member
It’s down far enough to let me bolt the shroud on and pull start/run the engine. Does that mean much?
I will obviously be taking it all off again before doing anything else. Probably not until the weekend though…
