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Hi All,

This is actually an engine on a pressure washer. I was hoping that someone having experience in repairing B&S L Head Engines could provide on insight on my issue, before I decide to just scrap this engine for parts.

I have a Husky Pressure Washer with a B&G L Head Engine. The Engine Model is the 10L902-0010. Pretty much a standard B&L L Head Engine. The cylinder is low on compression, around 80psi. It runs very, very rough......not to the point that it stalls, but very poorly. Changed plugs and still did not resolve.

Background Info - Purchased for $25 at a local online swap sale. Ran ok for about 5 min, discovered it needed a new pump. Purchased for around $70. Purchased new carb (kit w/ diaphragm and all), new air filter, sparkplug, and fresh engine oil. Started running funny, realized sparkplug hole was stripped. I definitely did not do this, so purchased another head on Ebay for $10. Inspected cylinder and seemed ok. No knicks or pitting. Piston looked ok with normal carbon buildup. Intake manifold looks ok. Did not disassemble, but no signs of cracking.

The head gasket looked ok, but not sure how to tell if its 100% ok? Wondering if this is the main issue? I see they are very inexpensive, around $5 on Ebay. I'm definitely willing to take the risk for that amount.

I don't have any sort of leakdown testers, so I won't be able to tell where the air is coming in at? I'm thinking its got to be sucking air somewhere.

I don't mind taking the head off again if someone needs to see a picture of the head gasket.

Any suggestions on where else the problem is? Or am I right and thinking the head gasket is not ok?

Re-using head gaskets is generally not a good idea.

While ebay may be a good source of cheap parts, I don't consider it to be a good source of good parts. Too many counterfeits around.

I believe that engine uses o-rings to seal the intake tract.

Could be an easy start engine? That would have a compression release that works up to a certain rpm to reduce the pull needed to start, give you a low reading on the test. I'd suspect the diaphragm carb has a warped base and the new diaphragm can't seal up on that.

Tom,

This is not the "Easy Start" or "Ready Start" B&S Engine. I don't believe any of the L Heads have that, its only on the OHV Engines. Regarding the carb, as mentioned, I put a NEW carb and NEW diaphragm on this. I can't see the carb being an issue.

Should I just try and put a new head gasket on? Only $4 on Ebay for new.........

I highly doubt it's the head gasket but it is cheap enough to put a new one on to rule it out. When you did the carb, did you clean the screen on the bottom of the plastic pickup tube? Also, I'd consider removing the pump and checking how the engine runs without a load. I know you put a new pump on but this way you'll get a better idea how the motor is running. IMHO, 80psi on these 4 cycle L heads should run just fine. I have 5 pressure washers in my shop right now, that all had bad pumps and the motors ran badly due to pump issues. The pumps have bad check valves, or the unloaders have blown an "O" ring or are frozen up due to corrosion etc.etc. Point is, isolate just the motor first.

Keep us posted!

Telesis,

Thanks for responding! Not sure if you missed it, but there was no cleaning of the carb necessary. I put a brand NEW carb on this motor, which also contained a brand new gasket and diaphragm. Lets rule out the carb . We can rule out the pump as well, the pump is brand new and that was also removed prior to testing the motor again. W/out the pump, the motor ran like garbage. It stayed running, but ran awful. Wouldn't stall out though.

I'm going to go pull off the intake manifold right now and search for fractures/cracks. Didn't appear to have any, but of course couldn't see the bottom side.

I think 80 pounds is about right, looking at the cam from this engine, it had a compression release.. Might ought to check valve clearances.

Hi All,

Here are some more pics from today. I removed the intake manifold and inspected, it was fine. No cracks or fractures. It may be this head gasket, its not in the greatest shape and some oil was coming out of the bottom of the cylinder head. Piston, Cylinder, and valves look ok. Both valves seat properly after turning the flywheel to inspect.

What are your thoughts on this head gasket?

Unplug the kill wire and then try it.

Fish,

After watching more You Tube videos, I'm pretty sure that head gasket is shot.........especially considering oil was leaking out the bottom of the head. Do you really think it could be the kill switch? The switch is on the front cover, which has 2 leads that the wires connect to. I know closing that switch of course kills the engine.............but if that switch isn't even connected at all, how could it be that wire is causing it?

Part of the head gasket is missing.

Right. I noticed after posting, and watching more YouTube videos relating to head gasket repair, that this was pretty much shot. I've got one on order from Amazon that will be here on Friday. I'm hoping this resolves the issue.

FWIW I get a lot of mower gaskets from Lanni @ CoppergasketsUS.
They solved to continuing saga of inteks blowing a gasket a season
Even better fitting a copper gasket allows me to bypass machining the mating surfaces.
Looks like Briggs cuts them with a flycutter.
Some are quite good but a lot have machining swirls better than 0.010" deep and these seem to be the ones that blow a gasket every season.

One thing I've done a lot with head gaskets is to give the gasket a good coat of aluminum paint on both sides, bolt together while the paint is still tacky. Helps with old engines with not so good surfaces etc. There are products for this but the paint seems to work fine.

Thanks Tom. Honestly, I'm not throwing any more money at this engine. Don't have any aluminum paint. Also, I don't have feeler gauges, valve spring tools, lapping compound, lapping tool, leak testers, etc.........so I'm not about to throw more money at this engine nor does it make sense. If replacing the gasket doesn't work, so be it. I paid $25 for the pressure washer and I'll sell it for parts if its still not running right. Just thought I would get as far as I could with the tools that I have.

It is just a good idea to remove the wire at the coil, then test run. A bare/thin spot anywhere in the wire can cause arc-ing to ground to nearby metal, and cause rough running. The head gasket should be replaced, as it has lost some material from the first removal, and may not last long.
The head gasket on these l-heads is not as critical as on OHV models, so it is not likely your problem at this time.

I once worked on a small pressure washer that ran like crap, and a new coil was the only cure.
But I always take the time to make sure what the problem is before buying any parts, and suggesting others to do so.
So, while you have it apart, replace the head gasket.

Did you put a straight edge on the new to you head to make sure it is flat? New head gasket is a good idea. I would also check the air intake tube and make sure it is tight. There are 2 screws that connected it to the intake and they can loosen. I have also seen these crack. They are now all plastic. Usually if that happens it will not run. But a tiny crack may cause the issue. Also I have seen them wear down from rubbing against the metal bracket the carb screws to. The oring needs to seat well there. If it is worn down it may be an issue.
When you inspect the plug is it black and sooty? Rich condition? Or is it whitish suggesting a lean condition?

Fish/NBPT,

Thanks for the advice on the arcing from the coil. When the new head gasket comes in tomorrow, I'll replace that, then remove the kill switch wire and see what happens. I don't see any nicks in the cable which could cause arcing to nearby metal, but of course not out of the question.

Yes I did inspect the plastic air intake. I actually removed the whole piece and inspected top/bottom for any cracks or fractures. It's in mint condition so that's definitely not the issue. I still think its that head gasket and when I removed it the 1st time it was pretty bad, so I tried reusing and of course it was worse.

After putting in a brand new plug, within minutes it was already black and sooty as you mentioned, so its definitely burning oil.

My other question is..........this had brand new engine oil that I put in a week ago..........now the oil is sooty and smells like gas. Is this because gas is someone leaking down past the piston because of the bad compression?

Hi Guys,

Well, I installed the new head gasket this morning and its still not running right . I'm really at a loss here. Looks like its still leaking some oil, and the plug gets pretty nasty after a minute or so of running rough. Not sure if its running rich or burning oil. No idea what else to look for?

Do these mufflers have gaskets, so if the gasket was bad it could be sucking air? Can't be the carburetor.......since that's brand new. No clue what else to look for here . Not willing to invest in compression tester or other tools. Will just likely scrap this engine.

These little engines on washers really get a workout, high rpm and loaded about 90% of the time. Did the cylinder bore look smooth and shiny? Could be a valve guide is worn and sucking oil from the crankcase, letting combustion gas back into it. I'd probably buy a new washer much like yours and save the new pump for future use, those don't last long either sometimes. Look for a commercial series engine with an iron sleeved cylinder.

I CAN be the carburetor unless you tried in on a different engine and it worked. Putting on a new carburetor rules out nothing unless it fixed the problem.

Thanks Tom! That's exactly to the point where I'm at now. I actually bought a nice Craftsman 2800 psi unit w/ the Easy Start Briggs and Stratton. Love it! Was just hoping to fix this one up and sell it. Good point about the valve guides.....but if that's the issue that's a little beyond me. No feeler gauges, leak down testers, etc. to diagnose further.

cpurvis said:

I CAN be the carburetor unless you tried in on a different engine and it worked. Putting on a new carburetor rules out nothing unless it fixed the problem.

Click to expand...

Carburetor was previously tested on another pressure washer I have that ran completely fine. Carburetor has been ruled out.

Guys,

So we have some life. My mistake. It was a new carburetor, but somehow when I installed it, the diaphragm was not right. I pulled it off and sure enough, it had a hole in it. No worries as I had a spare diaphragm. Installed, engine ran great right away! (No pump on). Now, here's where the trouble lies. When I installed the pump (this is a brand new Annovi Reverberi pump, the same style that are on my other 3 pressure washers), it start to run for about 1-2 seconds, and shuts off immediately. Its like with the load of the pump on, it can't handle it. Shuts off right away. I turned the water supply off, disconnect the hoses, and fired up again. Runs perfect with no water supply. Only let it run for a couple seconds so the pump coudn't get damaged.

Now...........why with a new pump does the engine want to stall out immediately if it runs fine w/out the pump on? What am I missing here?

Here's how I start my power washer.

Connect water hose, turn on water.

Squeeze trigger to purge air out of system.

Shut off water.

Start engine.

Leisurely walk over (no more than 30 seconds) and slowly turn on the water. This gives the engine a chance to warm up a little before full load hits it. My pump book says no more than 3 minutes without spraying.

In your case, the carburetor may AGAIN be causing you problems if the main jet is not passing enough fuel to allow a cold engine to pull through a sudden load.

Cpurvis,

That is a good point about the carburetor. Even though it’s brand new, I could take it off and clean the pickup tube anyway. At least rule that out.

About the pump, I can’t see it staying started with any resistance, whether there is water in the pump or not. Your steps make total sense though, and I’ll at least try that tonight.

Is it still a possibility the Piston/Rings or Valves have something to do with it? Engine sounds good with no pump on.

My son starts his up with the spray head removed and the wand trigger tied open. Will pump some water but no pressure to deal with, then let off the trigger and see if the pump goes up to pressure and unloads. Could be a stuck unloader?

Annovi Reverberi makes several pumps that all look the same but specs are different(1900-2800psi in vertical plunger pumps). I see the Husky was rated 2200psi. If you put a pump on that's spec'd at a higher pressure, it can be a bit too much of a load. The good news is you can back the unloader pressure setting off, which lowers the effective pressure, but also lowers the load on the engine and that big 'kerthunk' you experience when you let go of the trigger on your wand. You don't need any special tools to do this. Just an adjustable wrench. I attached a pic for those who may not be familiar. (the wrench is on the 'cap' I refer to below)

Since the pump is brand new, that unloader cap is tightened all the way. You can easily experiment to see if lowering the pressure keeps from killing the engine but still produces sufficient pressure. By turning the cap counterclockwise a quarter turn at a time, you can see if this makes a difference. [You can accomplish the same thing by adjusting the set screw on the end of the cap that's locked down with the 10mm nut. (takes a 3mm allen key) This is set at the factory and painted red. No need to mess with that to test if this helps]

It sounds like you may own multiple power washers. You may want to consider investing in a pressure gauge(0-5000psi fluid filled with quick disconnect fittings). They are only around $20 and can tell you a lot about what's going on.

Give it a try!

Telesis,

Thanks a bunch! Yes, I'm very familiar with these AR pumps. All 4 of my pressure washers have the exact same AR pump. Now, whats interesting to note..........is that my other Troy Built (model 020245) is also a 2200psi unit and has the exact same AR pump on it. Never had this issue of not starting because the pump was rated too high for the motor. So, I don't think this particular AR pump is too high of a load for the Husky (Briggs and Stratton) motor.

Good point on the unloader being tightened all the way. Let me try and back that off for several starting attempts and see what happens. My only other course of action from this point is swap carbs and the same AR pump off my Generac and see what happens. It basically has the exact same B&S engine as the Husky unit.

Give me a few hours and I'll keep you posted!

*UPDATE - Problem solved! I tore the carburetor off again (which I had done before and noticed a torn diaphragm....strange as I've replaced many of these. Must have installed incorrectly or damage from overtorquing the screws???)....I noticed some small pieces of what I thought were rust in the carb bowl. I know these tanks are notorious for rust, so some must have gotten pulled from the bottom of the tank. This makes perfect sense.........since everytime I would try and start with the pump attached, requiring more fuel of course, it could not start.


I started messing with the unloader valve as I think AVB mentioned..........loosened for less pressure. It started running better and better after screwing with it. That's when I realized it wasn't the unloader valve (which I didn't think it was, this pump is brand new) I tore the carb off and saw the rust pieces or whatever they were. The engine was trying to get more fuel but couldn't and would stall almost immediately.


So, thanks again! I think Cheese mentioned too.......it seems most of the time on these smaller engines its a carburetor issue!