18HP Briggs v-twin Vanguard engine guru needed

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Thank you all for your replies. I rechecked the valve clearance again according to the FSM. My FSM states 1/4 past TDC on compression stroke. My clearances where all on target set at .005. (FSM states .004-.006 intake and exhaust cold). I have found some discrepancies with my FSM as I believe there has been updates so are the valves still checked this way? SHOULD BE THE SAME.

Thanks for the tip on the fuel solenoid. In my fleet of B&S engines (10 or So) What is the best way to make sure the float valve is not stuck? IF THE CARB IS CURRENTLY OFF, PULL THE BOWL, FLIP THE CARB OVER AND WATCH THE NEEDLE AS THE FLOAT DROPS. OF COURSE IT SHOULD MOVE. I'LL CHECK FOR A LEAKING NEEDLE/SEAT BY PUTTING A BRAKE BLEEDER/VAC ON THE FUEL INLET (OF THE CARB) AND PULL A VACUUM. If IT WON'T A VACUUM, IT'S LEAKING FUEL AND NEEDS ADDRRESSING. IF THE MACHINE IS STILL ASSEMBLED, CHECKIG FOR A CLOSED STUCK NEEDLE, WOULD BE CHECKED BY SIMPLY REMOVING THE SOLENOID OR LOOSING UP THE BOWL. FUEL WOULD BE COMING OUT AND NOT STOP. IF NO FUEL COMES OUT, THE NEEDLES STUCK CLOSED OR THERE'S NO FUEL GETTING TO THE CARB


I have been turning the gas off if the machine is not used often. TURNING THE FUEL OFF AND RUNNING DRY WOULD CERTAINLY HELP SHOULD A NEEDLE STICK OPEN-IT'D PREVENT FLOODING OF THE CARB..

Should we stick to 50 hr oil changes to keep an eye on things better? On my new engine it recommends oil change at 100 now. How many hours or time would it take for a leaking carb float to add enough gas contamination to oil to damage an engine? DEPENDS ON HOW BAD IT'S LEAKING.

Does the fuel always flow into the same cylinder, the side with the starter. The reason why I am asking is I have another engine of the same vintage that the compression on the RH (starter side) is about 15 psi off of the right side. This machine only gets used about 100 hrs a year. I did not find oil in the air cleaner, overfilled, or discolored oil when I drained it. IF THE CARB IS IN GOOD WORKING ORDER, YOU'D BE ELIMINATING ANY OIL GETTING INTO THE CRANKCASE. FUEL IN THE OIL CAN USUALLY BE SMELLED AND THE LEVEL WILL RISE...

Also I have read to wash the prefilter, then lightly oil it and squeeze out the excess. The new book I have does not say anything about this. What is the preferred method? OIL THE PRE-FILTER, SQUEEZE MOST OF IT OUT.

I have purchased a new engine for this piece of equipment and will play with this old engine when I have time. I will definitely try that leak down tester method. Thanks for sharing.

Here are some original pictures that I took before and after. The first is the RH side with the starter that shows the oil around the head gasket area and piston. The head gasket did have a leaking spot here. Next pictures are of after I cleaned the whole engine. Not sure if you can tell from the second picture but the piston seemed like it was closer to the cylinder wall on the side with lower compression than the side that had normal compression. Although this engine ran could it be as simple as replacing the rings and a simple hone? Unfortunately I did not take any photos of the underside of the valves and heads. They had carbon deposits but did not seem extremely excessive.

SeanView attachment 42582View attachment 42583View attachment 42584

Definitly carboned up!

 

[tempforce]

you said that the engine had been sitting for five years. the rings may be o.k. they may just have gunk making them stick and not seal as they should... if you decide to pull the jugs. try soaking the pistons in solvent for a couple days, blow dry and soak them atf before installing them. no need to hone the cylinders yet. new head gasket. then take a compression test. if pressures still down. run the engine until warm then check again. if still down. you will need to replace the rings and lightly hone the cylinders. a full rebuild is not necessary yet... a pair of jug and head gaskets are fairly low cost...

 

[Sean2202]

@tempforce yes the engine had been sitting for a little over five years when I found it last March. It was inside a unheated , unventilated maintenance shop at a golf course that went out of business suddenly. There was no storage measures taken on any equipment there. I bought it with two other pieces for a song. The engine in this unit ran good once I got it running (new carb etc.). Compression was 170 (on the cyl that is 90 now) and 160 on the other one. Should I have put oil in the spark plug hole before turning it over after it had sat that long? It had It had 2674 hrs on it and did not seem to be giving me trouble until about 200 hrs later (all maintenance was performed according to my manual)

@Ilengine my other B&S engine (similar model type code) is off by 15 psi as stated (RH 130 , LH 145) This unit gets about 100 hrs per year.

Thank you all for the other replies. I do not know when I will get back at this engine (months, years, never) but if I do I will update.