Recent content by yardiron

More than a week later, and the one has somehow fixed itself. It starts, runs, and mows fine since I lost my temper on it and literally beat it on the ground a couple times. I have three spark testers, one is an inline bulb style, the other is similar to the one in the video above but without...

First off, I've also compared specs measured on the good motor to the one with the issue and both are nearly identical. If there was any internal engine issues it wouldn't run just fine sitting on the trailer, I let it run through two tanks of fuel now like that. It rained all week and the...

Valve/tappet clearance will not affect timing or air/fuel passage enough to matter so long as the clearance is not zero. At the very worst, it could cause excessive valve tap. The Briggs and Stratton shop manual says the clearance should be .005 to .007 for the intake and .007 to .009" for the...

Valve clearance changes between hot and cold are normal. On most engines, if set cold, they're set a bit loose because the gap will tighten up as things expand with heat. I'd only be worried if the clearance was zero, which would mean a valve wasn't able to close. That's not the case. Besides...

I haven't put a compression gauge on it but really didn't see the need since it doesn't feel like its lacking any compression. I did check the valve clearance and guides, both hot and cold and there's nothing I see wrong or different from the other mower. The clearances vary a lot with heat...

I tried a few things on Sat. I tried running it with the cap loose, (had to put a bit of tape on the cap so it didn't vibrate off). No change, it died at the same point. I bought a new coil, set the gap at .010" and gave that a try, no change, it died at the same point. I've already swapped the...

I already swapped the intake tube with the good mower, it made no change. The other mower still runs fine and this one still dies after 20 minutes. It definitely seems like its running out of fuel, hitting the primer button three times gets it started again every time but the run time is less...

I've got a pair of Quantum 5hp mowers, both on 20" mulching decks. The one will start and run fine for about 20 minutes, then it starts acting like its running out of fuel, then it dies. If I pump the primer three times, it starts right back up and goes for another few minutes, it'll repeat that...

I had a 3.5hp Snapper last week that would knock on start up and when the engine was slowing down, but not at full throttle or a steady RPM. This is what I found inside. It had a brand new blade when I found it and it started on the first pull and cut grass just fine. It was a mid 80's model...