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Hi all, new to the site. I recently had an old rototiller given to me by a friend. It was a family heirloom type of thing for them, but everyone has gotten tired of storing it, so it fell into my lap. It has not been used in several years, but it did run every time it was tried up until last year. When I got it, the first thing I did was check for spark - negative. I've put a new electronic coil on it to eliminate the old points and condesor system, and replaced the spark plug. I have good spark at the plug, but even with spraying starting fluid into the carb there is absolutely nothing - not even a pop like it is trying to start.

The model number on the engine is 130292-0141-06 (I've only been able to find model number 130292-0141-99 in parts diagrams online but they do seem to work).

The carb is tank-mounted, and when I sprayed starting fluid into it last night, the fluid ran right out of the bottom of the carb onto the top of the tank. When I tried to start it (after spraying starting fluid) with the air cleaner off it shot spray out of the top of the carb. Is this normal? I am very new to small engine repair, and figured this was a good project to learn on since I'm only out the $$$ I choose to spend on parts and tools if I can't get it running. When I tried to start it last night, I noticed that every once in a while (maybe every 3 or 4 pulls) there would be no resistance on the cord at all. I'd pull it all the way out, let it rewind, and then I'd get tension again. I am going to pick up a compression tester kit on my way home from work tonight to check compression, and I'm going to try spraying the starting fluid directly into the cylinder instead of into the carb to see if that makes a difference. Does anyone else here have any other suggestions/recommendations? I have to have the garden tilled so my wife can plant this weekend, so I'm quickly approaching the point that if I can't get it running I"m going to have to use my cultivator attachment on my weed wacker power head.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I am thinking that there is a valve sticking open, or not sealing well. those older engines were bad at floating the valves, and will need to be removed, possibly replace or grind valves, and lap back in if the seats are not also ground. You will need to reset the proper valve clearance also.

Thanks for the tip. As I said, I'm new to tinkering with small engines so please forgive my questions if they seem very basic to you. I'm assuming I'll be able to tell if the valves are sticking just by removing the top cover from the engine, or will I need to tear it apart more than that? If they are sticking, I assume I'll have to remove the gas tank and carburetor from the engine to access them for replacement/adjustment, right?

that is correct, The valve keepers and springs are located behind the breather cover, behind the fuel tank. You adjust the valves on the old flat heads, by grinding the valve stems to obtain the correct setting. Normally they will also wear a groove in the valve face, that will either have to be cut out or just replace the valves, but will have to be adjusted for length, and also lap into the seats.

If both valves are closed when you remove the head, take your thumb and press down,while turning to see if they turn easily. If they turn easily then they have worn, stretched, and will have to be redone.

What did the compression test show..?

I did a very quick compression test on it this morning and wasn't able to get a reading. It is possible I didn't have the tester screwed in tightly enough, but I suppose it is also possible that the engine just doesn't have any compression. I hope to have time to try it again tonight when I'm able to take my time a bit more and make sure I actually have everything put together/connected properly.

Ok, I did another compression test on it this evening with the same results. To make sure the gage was OK and I wasn't missing some basic step or doing something stupid wrong, I also did a test on my push mower. The mower registered just over 60 psi without making sure the throttle was fully opened or anything. So I would think that I should be getting some kind of reading on the tiller if it had compression. I tried pouring a little bit of oil into the cylinder, but that didn't make a difference. I assume checking the valves is my next step?

Yes take the head off and check the valves, nothing new in seeing one of the valves remaining open.

ILENGINE said:

that is correct, The valve keepers and springs are located behind the breather cover, behind the fuel tank. You adjust the valves on the old flat heads, by grinding the valve stems to obtain the correct setting. Normally they will also wear a groove in the valve face, that will either have to be cut out or just replace the valves, but will have to be adjusted for length, and also lap into the seats.

If both valves are closed when you remove the head, take your thumb and press down,while turning to see if they turn easily. If they turn easily then they have worn, stretched, and will have to be redone.

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I haven't gotten a chance to look at this any further, but I saw a video of a guy on YouTube where he was able to spin a free valve with a screw driver through the spark plug hole without taking the head off. Are you suggesting I should not be able to do this, or is it because he wasn't putting pressure on it that he was able to spin it?

As I mentioned before, this is a freebie tiller, and I've already tilled my garden for the year so I'm not really looking to do more work than necessary (taking head off, replacing head gasket when I put it back together, etc) but I would like to get it running (or at least popping over) if possible so I know where I stand for next spring. Is it worth trying to spin the valves from the spark plug hole to see if they're free?

Well, I finally got back to this tiller last night. I pulled the head off and sure enough the exhaust valve was stuck open. Sprayed it with some WD40 and spun the engine to cycle it for a little while and got it freed up so that it is now cycling on its own when I spin the engine. The head gasket actually looks really good too so I think I'm going to be able to re-use it (at least for now). When I put the head back on, I know there is a certain torque to set the bolts to, and I think there's a specific order to torque them in. Does anyone know what the order and torque are?

Thanks again for all of the help so far!

In the manual it is 140ft,lbs Cylinder Head, but be very careful when doing them...!

EngineMan said:

In the manual it is 140ft,lbs Cylinder Head, but be very careful when doing them...!

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Awesome, that's exactly what I needed. Thanks much!

BrokenTiller said:

Well, I finally got back to this tiller last night. I pulled the head off and sure enough the exhaust valve was stuck open. Sprayed it with some WD40 and spun the engine to cycle it for a little while and got it freed up so that it is now cycling on its own when I spin the engine. The head gasket actually looks really good too so I think I'm going to be able to re-use it (at least for now). When I put the head back on, I know there is a certain torque to set the bolts to, and I think there's a specific order to torque them in. Does anyone know what the order and torque are?

Thanks again for all of the help so far!

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always torque from the center to the out side or in a star shape and torque is about 200 in. lbs

impalass said:

always torque from the center to the out side or in a star shape and torque is about 200 in. lbs

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I would not take them up to 200lbs.in B&S manual says 140lbs.in, and like I said I would be careful at that..!

EngineMan said:

I would not take them up to 200lbs.in B&S manual says 140lbs.in, and like I said I would be careful at that..!

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Ok finally getting back to this project. Is it 140 ft-lbs or 140 in-lbs?

BrokenTiller said:

Ok finally getting back to this project. Is it 140 ft-lbs or 140 in-lbs?

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HELLO ,140 IN LBS . Gary

mistermowerman said:

HELLO ,140 IN LBS . Gary

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That's what I thought, but being new to small engine repair, and given the first time he told me he said ft-lbs, I just wanted to confirm. After I posted the question here, I did a little bit more digging and confirmed that it was 140 in-lbs, or about 12 ft-lbs.

Just to kind of wrap this thread up (at least for now), after I torqued the bolts down I sprayed some starting fluid in the cylinder, and pulled it and it popped right over. So I siphoned the old gas out of the tank, put a little new gas in (treated with seafoam), gave it another squirt of starting fluid and it fired right up! After I let it run for a few minutes, I walked it back to the shed where it will rest until this fall when I'm ready to till my dead vegetable plants in to break down over the winter. I did notice that after a few minutes of 'use' (i.e. throttling up and down, going in and out of gear, etc to see how everything worked) it seemed to stop responding to throttle adjustments so I'm thinking that I might either need a new throttle cable, or else something might've come loose/off. I also noticed that it didn't seem to run nearly as well after I put the air cleaner on, so I'm thinking that that may be clogged as well, which might have been causing it to not respond to the throttle adjustments (if it isn't getting enough air, it makes sense to me that it wouldn't be able to rev up, I could be wrong). so I'll still have a couple of minor things to tinker with in the fall, but at least I got it running and saved this 'tiller's life!

Thanks a ton for all of the help guys!