Export thread

Hello all,
I have a Husqvarna c42175 zero turn mower with a 17.5 Briggs Intek AVS single cylinder engine on it. It's a 2005 and the engine runs fine but is beginning to smoke a bit and it has a lot of hours on it. I have 18hp Briggs I/C opposed 2 cylinder from a previous lawn tractor type mower. It ran smooth and quiet and started easily.
I only used the mower it was on a couple of times as the deck cracked and wasn't safe to continue to use. Scrapped it and kept the engine. My questions are,is this a good long term engine as far as reliability and holding up over time? Is it worth the time to fit it on the zero turn? Looks to be an easy conversion,one electtric clutch on the crank and throttle,wiring,etc should be no real problem. I'd have to make other provisions for the exhaust because the original muffler was under the 'chin' of the tractor.

SamB said:

Hello all,
I have a Husqvarna c42175 zero turn mower with a 17.5 Briggs Intek AVS single cylinder engine on it. It's a 2005 and the engine runs fine but is beginning to smoke a bit and it has a lot of hours on it. I have 18hp Briggs I/C opposed 2 cylinder from a previous lawn tractor type mower. It ran smooth and quiet and started easily.
I only used the mower it was on a couple of times as the deck cracked and wasn't safe to continue to use. Scrapped it and kept the engine. My questions are,is this a good long term engine as far as reliability and holding up over time? Is it worth the time to fit it on the zero turn? Looks to be an easy conversion,one electtric clutch on the crank and throttle,wiring,etc should be no real problem. I'd have to make other provisions for the exhaust because the original muffler was under the 'chin' of the tractor.

Click to expand...

I would....a twin cyl is gonna be smoother running, more power.....so it's all a plus, as long as you can get it all swapped over ok!

IC Twins are good engines... is it splash or pressure lubed( with filter)?

It's a splash lubed,alas not pressure lubed. No filter,of course,either. A comparable new pressure-lubed single similar to what is on the mower now is around $600+ or so. The Husqvarna has been and is still a good solid mower that does all I require from a ztr,so I'm going to keep it no matter what. Putting the 18 opposed on may take a bit of extra work ,all reversible,bolt pattern,etc,whereas the brand new $600 one most likely would be plug and play replacement.
The twin opposed does have a great sound to it, although I do wear full cover headgear when I mow.
edit:current engine is also splash-lube.

mower king said:

I would....a twin cyl is gonna be smoother running, more power.....so it's all a plus, as long as you can get it all swapped over ok!

Click to expand...

Thank you. The twin does run so very smooth here on the bench. I believe anything it would require to put it on the ztr would be totally reversible,should I wish to go to a more 'modern' engine in the future.

I've have a 422707 on my GT. '89 year. Keeps on chugging. A little fuel thirsty. You do have to re-build the fuel pump on carb every 3-4 years. But now - they have AM carbs for ~$30. I'd get another Opp Twin in a heartbeat.

dougand3 said:

I've have a 422707 on my GT. '89 year. Keeps on chugging. A little fuel thirsty. You do have to re-build the fuel pump on carb every 3-4 years. But now - they have AM carbs for ~$30. I'd get another Opp Twin in a heartbeat.

Click to expand...

Good to hear. I have had it running on the workbench and the integral carb fuel pump had no trouble picking up fuel from the small can of gas 8 inches or so below it. I ran fuel stabilizer through it and then ran it dry before oiling the cylinders and squirreling it away. It never gave me a moment's trouble when on the lawn tractor. My other rider is a Snapper 33" Extra Tough that I had to replace the Briggs I put on it when I acquired it several years. That 17.5 dropped a valve,actually,the stem broke right under the valve head and damaged the piston and the underside of the head. Out of warranty,of course. I replaced it with a 19 hp pressure lube Briggs. I was thinking of doing the same with the Husqvarna,but thought how cool having the twin on it with dual exhaust would be. What with the way money is these days,I do have the twin in hand and plenty of time to tinker with it.

SamB said:

Good to hear. I have had it running on the workbench and the integral carb fuel pump had no trouble picking up fuel from the small can of gas 8 inches or so below it. I ran fuel stabilizer through it and then ran it dry before oiling the cylinders and squirreling it away. It never gave me a moment's trouble when on the lawn tractor. My other rider is a Snapper 33" Extra Tough that I had to replace the Briggs I put on it when I acquired it several years. That 17.5 dropped a valve,actually,the stem broke right under the valve head and damaged the piston and the underside of the head. Out of warranty,of course. I replaced it with a 19 hp pressure lube Briggs. I was thinking of doing the same with the Husqvarna,but thought how cool having the twin on it with dual exhaust would be. What with the way money is these days,I do have the twin in hand and plenty of time to tinker with it.

Click to expand...

I have elected to swap the low hour (<24) Intek 17.5 that I have on my Snapper Extra Tough 33" onto the CZ42175 Zero Turn. It gets more use than the Snapper. The Intek will be a plug-and-play on the Husqvarna,as that's the same(broken) engine that's on it now. With that swap around in mind,the I/C 18hp will be going on the Snapper. I'm not sure of what problems/modification.etc,but hey,I have the 18hp here and know it runs quite well. I'll post the results if it's "newsworthy". :-D

Thanks for all the positive comments on the Briggs opposed 2 cylinder engine. I really wasn't wanting to spend major money on another Intek engine that seems to have inherent reliability issues. I know,I know,there are those that will sing their praises. That's ok with me,but I have had 2 that ,for no apparent reason,self-destructed,so I am perhaps a bit gun-shy.
After a few hours of planning,fitting,bolting down and wiring,the Snapper mows again! I'm working on actual muffler mounts,coming off the rear,but(shame,shame) bailing wire is working real good right now! :-D
The I/C 18hp opposed is so much smoother and quieter than the Intek single,it's amazing. Like I said,thanks for the encouragement to do this. After all, I had the engine to begin with,so no real loss but time. Since I'm retired,no issue there either.

Looks right at home!!

As I said in the previous post,2 different Intek AVS 17.5 singles have failed me,or should I say they broke themselves(and me,too,$$)!
a couple of years ago,the first one ,for no good reason,snapped the head off a valve right above the stem and the head punched right through the piston. I bought a new Intek 17.5 AVS and put it on the Snapper 33" Extra Tough.
The second Intek 17.5,on my Husqvarna Z42175 zero turn,starting making unnatural rattling noises(death rattle?) so I shut it down,checked the oil. That was OK,so as I was in the far side of the yard,I started it back up and the rattle was back with a vengeance. I quickly shut it down again and towed it to the garage and removed the engine. When I removed the sump part of the case I saw one of the arms that move the AVS weights had broken. Since I mow a much larger area with the zero turn,the almost new Intek got transplanted to the zero turn and the Snapper got parked,engine-less. Till now.
Both of these engines were well maintained,regular oil and air filter changes,using good oil and having never messing with the governor,ran at the factory rpm settings. Both times,the engines were running just as fine as could be....till they instantly weren't.

Is the IC Twin pressure lubed? (oil filter anywhere)
on the splash lubed twins if you idle them too slow, lubrication has a harder time reaching the top main bearing resulting in wear and the accompanying "chuckle" from the top main when idling.

Looks good. I doubt it notices much of a load even when you hit high grass.

Scrubcadet10 said:

Is the IC Twin pressure lubed? (oil filter anywhere)
on the splash lubed twins if you idle them too slow, lubrication has a harder time reaching the top main bearing resulting in wear and the accompanying "chuckle" from the top main when idling.

Click to expand...

Not pressure-lubed. :-( As far as idling, as a matter of course, I run at recommended rpm,both for oiling and for cooling. I've read from many posters that poking around at low rpm hurts both the engine and the hydros. Briggs themselves,say let the governor do it's job and run at or near full throttle.

dougand3 said:

Looks good. I doubt it notices much of a load even when you hit high grass.

Click to expand...

Nope,it does not notice that clump of fescue! Of,course,the 17.5 Intek didn't either,but the opposed twin does seem to run smoother than the Intek single. That makes sense though,it's a naturally balanced design,unlike the Intek single that has all the extra parts to try to combat the inherent imbalance of the single. The second Intek of mine failed totally due to parts of the AVS system breaking.
The original factory engine on the Snapper was a 11 hp flathead single. It was just a bit under powered for swinging a 33" single blade. The Extra Tough X series 33" mowers were over-built in a lot of areas that the regular Snappers weren't, Gears,axles,etc.so adding a bit more horsepower doesn't over stress anything.

My old 18hp flat twin Briggs just sounds good at idle though, sort of lopes like an old Harley. Like to put some straights on that mower but the neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate it.

tom3 said:

My old 18hp flat twin Briggs just sounds good at idle though, sort of lopes like an old Harley. Like to put some straights on that mower but the neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate it.

Click to expand...

If you look at my sort of jury-rigged muffler setup on the Snapper,the "chin" muffler works fine wired up the way I have it now. Two lengths of angle off the rear frame box will do away with the baling wire and look, well,morel finished. Just haven'y had the time or have gotten the angle iron yet.
I did toy with the idea of a couple of straight push mower type mufflers,for having dual exhaust,though. I'd bet it would sound awesome. Maybe down the road. This Fall,maybe,with more tinker time.

First time i have ever seen someone hotrod a Snapper flexiflyer. Out in the barn i have a JD S82 rear engine that came with a 8hp that was worn out so i dropped 12hp briggs in it and i thought that was hopped up. You win.

Nice work plenty of power for that snapper

Hammermechanicman said:

First time i have ever seen someone hotrod a Snapper flexiflyer. Out in the barn i have a JD S82 rear engine that came with a 8hp that was worn out so i dropped 12hp briggs in it and i thought that was hopped up. You win.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kudos! However,I'm way back in second place on this hop-up. I have looked and looked for the Snapper video that I saw a year or two ago with no luck. This guy put an outboard engine powerhead on a Snapper! As best as I can remember,it was 115hp Mercury outboard.
It was water-cooled and had a small radiator mounted flat above the flywheel on top. Also 6(!)megaphone stacks sticking out the back.Man,I wish I could find the pics to share. It a good example of too much time on someone's hands,but was still awesome.

Always amazed me how much power those outboards make. Saw a smaller cruizer boat down in Florida with four 350hp outboards hanging on the back of it. Really wanted to take a ride in that monster.

tom3 said:

Always amazed me how much power those outboards make. Saw a smaller cruizer boat down in Florida with four 350hp outboards hanging on the back of it. Really wanted to take a ride in that monster.

Click to expand...

2 cycle usually,almost unlimited rpm.10,000 rpm isn't out of the question. Of course,Yamaha and Mercury are in a high 4 stroke horsepower competition now. 400+hp outboards are on the market right now. Of course,they come with a price tag that is HIGH also!!
Still,I would have liked to have been able to share the pics of the outboard on the Snapper.

My crappy old boat has a tired old 1978 Evinrude 90. Before loop charged so good bottom end but not much top end and a gas hog. Was at a marina couple years ago and they had a tri log 30 foot pontoon boat with twin 300hp engines. I thought it was a joke but it was for real. Engines were 6 foot tall from skeg to shroud. Dealer said if i wanted he could put 350's on it. First pontoon i have seen with power trim tabs. Didn't even ask the price.

My brother spends a lot of time in the Miami area. Says these and 5 across are very common. He's seen 500HP.

W O W

Yep that's one of them. Better have a stout back end on that boat.

If ya hafta ask ya can't afford it. Or the gas.

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

wrldtvlr said:

My brother spends a lot of time in the Miami area. Says these and 5 across are very common. He's seen 500HP.
View attachment 54105

Click to expand...

(Waaaay off from lawnmowers,but.....Back before I retired,a couple of the guys in the shop were bass fishermen. One was overheard to say,"I'm trading in my current outboard for a bigger one." The other guy asks,"Why?". First man says ,"I can't bust 100 MPH.". I thought to myself,"Man,those bass must be FAST!!"

Ba dum tss.

When those bass fishers run out of beer they need to get to shore quick!

dougand3 said:

I've have a 422707 on my GT. '89 year. Keeps on chugging. A little fuel thirsty. You do have to re-build the fuel pump on carb every 3-4 years. But now - they have AM carbs for ~$30. I'd get another Opp Twin in a heartbeat.

Click to expand...

I had a no start issue with the Twin 2 after it was up to running temperure after mowing for a half hour or so. It looked to me that the spark wasn't as hot as I thought it should be,as no spark that I could see. After it cooled overnight it fired right up,no problem. I mowed a bit and restarted it several times with no issues,started every time. I think this is a 1995 engine according to the ID tag. I am wondering if there is a upgrade hotter magneto for this engine. I know there is a ton of good knowledge here,so this is the best place to ask. TIA!

SamB said:

As I said in the previous post,2 different Intek AVS 17.5 singles have failed me,or should I broke themselves(and me,too)!
a couple of years ago,the first one ,for no good reason,snapped the head off a valve right above the stem and the head punched right through the piston. I bought a new Intek 17.5 AVS and put it on the Snapper 33" Extra Tough.
The second Intek 17.5,on my Husqvarna Z42175 zero turn,starting making unnatural rattling noises(death rattle?) so I shut it down,checked the oil. That was OK,so as I was in the far side of the yard,I started it back up and the rattle was back with a vengeance. I quickly shut it down again and towed it to the garage and removed the engine. When I removed the sump part of the case I saw one of the arms that move the AVS weights had broken. Since I mow a much larger area with the zero turn,the almost new Intek got transplanted to the zero turn and the Snapper got parked,engine-less. Till now.
Both of these engines were well maintained,regular oil and air filter changes,using good oil and having never messing with the governor,ran at the factory rpm settings. Both times,the engines were running just as fine as could be....till they instantly weren't.

Click to expand...

Were you using 10w40?

SamB said:

I had a no start issue with the Twin 2 after it was up to running temperure after mowing for a half hour or so. It looked to me that the spark wasn't as hot as I thought it should be,as no spark that I could see. After it cooled overnight it fired right up,no problem. I mowed a bit and restarted it several times with no issues,started every time. I think this is a 1995 engine according to the ID tag. I am wondering if there is a upgrade hotter magneto for this engine. I know there is a ton of good knowledge here,so this is the best place to ask. TIA!

Click to expand...

There's not a hotter coil other than an OEM briggs coil, a old coil or a coil that's got one foot in the grave and a the other on a banana peel can get weak when it heats up.
Briggs 394891 (superseded TO 590781) is the magnetron coil, meaning for the twins without points.

Fish said:

Were you using 10w40?

Click to expand...

No,Shell Rotella straight 30W
If you read the specs label,Rotella isn't recommended for gasoline(Spark) engines,but this is because the large amount of anti-wear additives ,mainly ZDDP,are not compatible with automobile engine catalytic converters. Modern car engines usually don't have flat tappet lifters and other rubbing surfaces that require large amounts of anti-wear additives that older engines did.
Added oil info
Shell tech advises that "Shell Rotella T4 Triple Protection has 1200 ppm of Zinc " more than the oils recommended for gas engine vehicles,due to their use of catalytic converters. ZDDP causes long term deterioration of the converters. However,the high amount of ZDDP offers a high degree of wear protection for older engine designs such as vintage high performance cars and OPE engines.

Scrubcadet10 said:

There's not a hotter coil other than an OEM briggs coil, a old coil or a coil that's got one foot in the grave and a the other on a banana peel can get weak when it heats up.
Briggs 394891 (superseded TO 590781) is the magnetron coil, meaning for the twins without points.

Click to expand...

That is good info for me. I see on Amazon,they have the 590781 coil listed for a 42A 707,which is what I have. $15.00. Not a bad price,but a bit of a job getting to on this engine. Briggs didn't skimp on shrouding or number of bolts holding them on on this engine!

SamB said:

That is good info for me. I see on Amazon,they have the 590781 coil listed for a 42A 707,which is what I have. $15.00. Not a bad price,but a bit of a job getting to on this engine. Briggs didn't skimp on shrouding or number of bolts holding them on on this engine!

Click to expand...

Follow-up on the weak spark/coil issue. I got the new coil from Amazon,put it on and the engine fired right up,sounding better than it ever has.
I went out and found the tallest grass I had around the yard and mowed for a half hour or so. I then restarted the engine several times while it was as hot as it was ever going to be and it started in less than 2 turns of the crank,every single time ,with no hesitation at all. Replacing the coil isn't a big job on these opposed twins,just takes a bit of time,easy time at that.

SamB said:

Thanks for all the positive comments on the Briggs opposed 2 cylinder engine. I really wasn't wanting to spend major money on another Intek engine that seems to have inherent reliability issues. I know,I know,there are those that will sing their praises. That's ok with me,but I have had 2 that ,for no apparent reason,self-destructed,so I am perhaps a bit gun-shy.
After a few hours of planning,fitting,bolting down and wiring,the Snapper mows again! I'm working on actual muffler mounts,coming off the rear,but(shame,shame) bailing wire is working real good right now! :-D
The I/C 18hp opposed is so much smoother and quieter than the Intek single,it's amazing. Like I said,thanks for the encouragement to do this. After all, I had the engine to begin with,so no real loss but time. Since I'm retired,no issue there either.

Click to expand...

Well,the old 18hp twin just wasn't cutting it this Spring,(sorry for the pun and I could see one side of the exhaust wasn't getting as hot as the other side Shorting out the 'good' side spark plug almost let the engine die. Doing the same on the 'bad' side had no effect on the rpms. Swapping sides with the plug wires changed nothing. I didn't have time to really get deep into just what the problem was,so off it came and a brand new 500cc single went back on in it's place. I'll get deeper into what the issue may be with it,but for now,it's back on the shelf and declared surplus!