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Wow what a situation I am in. My neighbor helped me out a few months ago by lending me his car when mine broke for a few days.

He has a Huskee 50" with a B&S Intek V-Twin 25hp

To pay him back I told him I would get his motor ready for the season.

I brought it to my house bought new air filter, oil filter, and oil.

I adjusted the valves and it was starting great. I then drained the oil which I believe is the same oil he bought it with (he does not maintenance anything) changed the filter.

I added 1 quart of oil and checked the dipstick, it was on the bottom.

I started it and moved it to my concrete pad (where it was level) I then washed the machine.

I went to restart it and it was making a noise. I was listening to see where it was coming from and it sounded like the motor. I rev'd it up to see if it would go away and "KA PLANK!!!!" it stopped running.

OMG!!! I checked the oil again and it was way too low. I topped it up (took abt another quart) and tried to start it. No fire.

Pulled a valve cover and the rockers are moving.

Pulled the plus and looked into the cylinders, both pistons are sitting at around TDC and are not moving.

I cannot believe it but I guess I broke both rods.

I have not told him yet and I do not have the money to replace the motor.

I need to either find a used motor that I can afford or rebuild this one.

I have never rebuilt a motor before but I do have a workshop and all the tools I need.

What should I do? I just got back from his house where I mowed his yard with my yard tractor cause it was getting very tall.

I was just trying to repay a favor and cannot believe I broke his motor!

All i'm going to say is insurance....take it from there :thumbsup:

defensitive said:

All i'm going to say is insurance....take it from there :thumbsup:

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Didn't mention that my neighbor (owner of the mower) is the retired Chief of Police for the area I live in.

Thanks for the suggestion, however...lol

Get out your checkbook. Do not do your neighbors any more favors. Favors are as dangerous as a loaded gun pointed right at you

I was really hoping for advice for rebuilding this motor.

I have never rebuilt a motor before and have never tore a B&S motor apart before either.

B&S sells .020 under sized rods so I think getting a set of those and having the crank turned down would be the best way.

Does anyone know what seals I should replace? I read that the PTO seal was necessary.

Is there a gasket kit for the motor?

Has anyone here rebuilt one of these motors before?

Tell him his old oil was mud - new oil couldn't hold the motor together anymore & go get the rebuild kit ... You'll still look like a good guy when your done .

crispins said:

I was really hoping for advice for rebuilding this motor.

I have never rebuilt a motor before and have never tore a B&S motor apart before either.

B&S sells .020 under sized rods so I think getting a set of those and having the crank turned down would be the best way.

Does anyone know what seals I should replace? I read that the PTO seal was necessary.

Is there a gasket kit for the motor?

Has anyone here rebuilt one of these motors before?

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No one knows the damage till the engine is apart????? You have no idea what you need till you get to that point. Now if it was my problem I would be looking for used parts or if it needed very much like a block or major parts I would look for a used engine. Your neighbor started with used parts so in my opinion why would you need new parts? Also if the seals ain't leaking use them over. Also if the old gaskets still look OK put a little sealant or grease on them and use them over this includes the head gasket. I sure wouldn't spend any more then I would have to if I am doing a free repair job.

reynoldston said:

No one knows the damage till the engine is apart????? You have no idea what you need till you get to that point. Now if it was my problem I would be looking for used parts or if it needed very much like a block or major parts I would look for a used engine. Your neighbor started with used parts so in my opinion why would you need new parts? Also if the seals ain't leaking use them over. Also if the old gaskets still look OK put a little sealant or grease on them and use them over this includes the head gasket. I sure wouldn't spend any more then I would have to if I am doing a free repair job.

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I know what you mean about the used gaskets and seals. However he did not have any oil leaks and I would hate to fix the motor and have it leak.

The full gasket kit (part # 694012) is only $36.85 so I will purchase that just to insure everything goes back together with no leaks.

I have not been able to find undersized rods which has me worried as if the crank is scarred I cannot afford to replace it as it is $235

I have looked on ebay for used parts and cannot find any.

Seems that the 25HP motor is not super common.

No need to replace the Crankshaft, let me know if it has aluminum transfer from the conn. rods and I will tell you a secret to make it good as new; standard size replacement rods will be all you'll need.

What a predicament you have on your hands :frown:

ASEAudie said:

No need to replace the Crankshaft, let me know if it has aluminum transfer from the conn. rods and I will tell you a secret to make it good as new; standard size replacement rods will be all you'll need.

What a predicament you have on your hands :frown:

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Cool - so you have rebuilt these motors before I am guessing.

Looking at the exploded parts diagram and the Shop manual it does not look too bad.

Do I need to borrow a Torque Wrench for the rod bolts?

And someone told me muratic acid was the trick to get any alum off the crank.

Thinking about it not likely that alum rods could have done much damage to the steel crank.

Thank you for your help very much.

crispins said:

Cool - so you have rebuilt these motors before I am guessing.

Looking at the exploded parts diagram and the Shop manual it does not look too bad.

Do I need to borrow a Torque Wrench for the rod bolts?

And someone told me muratic acid was the trick to get any alum off the crank.

Thinking about it not likely that alum rods could have done much damage to the steel crank.

Thank you for your help very much.

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Muratic acid indeed, followed by some emory cloth to polish up that crank journal.
Torque wrench indeed, follow the specs. in the service manual
Check in here with your progress, and let us know how it turned out.

ASEAudie said:

Torque wrench.

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The only thing I can add on top of using a the torque wrench is blue thread lock-tight.

You may want to rethink doing this yourself. Just a thought but sounds like its time to bite the bullet. Sorry for misfortune.

talley2191 said:

You may want to rethink doing this yourself. Just a thought but sounds like its time to bite the bullet. Sorry for misfortune.

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Its not a bad job. The only thing I would do different is have the crankshaft cleaned by a machine shop. I don't like doing the job more then once. Been there and done that and had to do the job over in a short time down the road. If you are going to do the job do it right. I would much rather use old seals and gasket then try to clean the crankshaft myself. That wouldn't be the place to try to save money.

talley2191 said:

You may want to rethink doing this yourself. Just a thought but sounds like its time to bite the bullet. Sorry for misfortune.

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Why is that? It looks pretty straightforward. I have a full set of tools but will borrow a ring compressor and torque wrench from my buddy.

Unless there is something that I am not seeing it is not going to be that hard of a job.

I will pull the motor apart tomorrow and report back

reynoldston said:

The only thing I can add on top of using a the torque wrench is blue thread lock-tight.

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I use Blue Locktight on almost every bolt I install. :smile:

I think I have decent mechanical skills.

Not too long ago the Auto Transmission in my GF's car blew.

I changed it over to a 5 Speed manual transmission in just a couple of days.



Here it is all back together - works perfect

Then you should have no problem fixing it. Good luck

Update ..

I finally got the case split open yesterday after dicking with the stuck drive pulley for days. I had to pull out the cutting torch to get it off.
Anyway inside the motor was a murder scene, it is nothing but scrap metal.
Cylinder has a chunk broken from the bottom, cam bent and broke the mount off both cases.
I talked to the neighbor a few days ago who said basically '**** happens' and if I was going to do the labor for free he would pay for all the parts.

My new idea is this, I have a 18 HP motor from a tractor I scrapped out that happens to have the same shaft on it (1" x 3 3/32")

I am going to put that motor on today, rig up the fuel pump from the other motor to hopefully work on this motor and get it running.

I will then call my neighbor over and show him the bad motor and show him this one mounted up and see what he says.

I found a 22 HP motor (he had a 25hp motor) for $598 shipped

So my question for anyone who might know the answer is will the 18 hp work?

It is a 50" deck and he mows around 3/4 an acre of flat land, he does not use it to pull a trailer or do anything but just mow the yard.

I know the 18 hp has a much better rep than the 25 hp V-Twin that he had.

So what do you think?

it is actually a 14.5 HP motor, is that too small?

crispins said:

it is actually a 14.5 HP motor, is that too small?

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I think it is to small. I would ask him what he thinks BEFORE you put it in. Doing things like this is a good way to make bad friends. Even if you have to make a loan do the right thing. When someone borrows my stuff and breaks it I say take it to the shop and have it fixed. You did not even know if you needed a torque wrench Learn on your own stuff. If this sounds harsh sorry Just don't make things worse.

Ken

bollingball said:

I think it is to small. I would ask him what he thinks BEFORE you put it in. Doing things like this is a good way to make bad friends. Even if you have to make a loan do the right thing. When someone borrows my stuff and breaks it I say take it to the shop and have it fixed. You did not even know if you needed a torque wrench Learn on your own stuff. If this sounds harsh sorry Just don't make things worse.

Ken

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Well thank you Ken but I would rather set it on fire then get a loan to buy a replacement $1,000 engine.
My neighbor has told me that he has never changed the oil in the 6+ years, 400+ hours he has owned the mower.
he was over today to see the old motor and I showed him the 14.5 HP I had and we agreed that we would give it a shot, nothing really to lose at this point.

Does anyone have experience with going down in HP on a yard tractor and what effect it had?

crispins said:

Well thank you Ken but I would rather set it on fire then get a loan to buy a replacement $1,000 engine.
My neighbor has told me that he has never changed the oil in the 6+ years, 400+ hours he has owned the mower.
he was over today to see the old motor and I showed him the 14.5 HP I had and we agreed that we would give it a shot, nothing really to lose at this point.

Does anyone have experience with going down in HP on a yard tractor and what effect it had?

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If you can make it fit no one will know the difference in HP. Everything my neighbor does with his 20 HO craftsman my 12 HP wheel horse will do. Back in the 30's a full size tractor only had 10 HP. Back when my father sold garden tractors in the 40's the top HP was 5 HP for the bigger tractors and only 2 or 3 for the smaller ones. Then in the 60's tops was around 8 to 10 HP. Now this day and age we are looking some run up to 30 HP. I don't know how Horse power is rated but for some reason they keep raising it. My thought is you can't really look at horse power. If you say nothing to your neighbor he won't know the difference because he sure won't look at the engine till it blows up next time when he gos another 500 hr on the same oil. Its a good thing you are his good neighbor because I would tell him to shove the mower where the sun shine doesn't shine. You are going away above where most people would go on this.

reynoldston said:

If you can make it fit no one will know the difference in HP. Everything my neighbor does with his 20 HO craftsman my 12 HP wheel horse will do. Back in the 30's a full size tractor only had 10 HP. Back when my father sold garden tractors in the 40's the top HP was 5 HP for the bigger tractors and only 2 or 3 for the smaller ones. Then in the 60's tops was around 8 to 10 HP. Now this day and age we are looking some run up to 30 HP. I don't know how Horse power is rated but for some reason they keep raising it. My thought is you can't really look at horse power. If you say nothing to your neighbor he won't know the difference because he sure won't look at the engine till it blows up next time when he gos another 500 hr on the same oil. Its a good thing you are his good neighbor because I would tell him to shove the mower where the sun shine doesn't shine. You are going away above where most people would go on this.

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thank you for your answer.
It was my thought that the big HP mowers are just to help sell them.
Now if this was a commercial mower or saw heavy duty use, that would be different.
He just mows his less than 1 acre lot with it.
I am lucky that the shaft on the 14.5 motor is the same as the one on his mower 1" diameter by 3 3/32" long. Now this motor hasn't been ran in a few years but I am hoping that cleaning out the jets will get it going.

Thank you again for your information

crispins said:

thank you for your answer.
It was my thought that the big HP mowers are just to help sell them.
Now if this was a commercial mower or saw heavy duty use, that would be different.
He just mows his less than 1 acre lot with it.
I am lucky that the shaft on the 14.5 motor is the same as the one on his mower 1" diameter by 3 3/32" long. Now this motor hasn't been ran in a few years but I am hoping that cleaning out the jets will get it going.

Thank you again for your information

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You could use a 5hp motor it is all in the gearing. Ask a question enough times and you will find someone to answer it the way you want. It doesn't look like your neighbor takes care of his stuff that is for sure. You are doing the right thing talking to him about it. Only a slime ball would try to sneek it in IMHO. You will sleep better when all is said and done. I don't think you are going way above what most people would do you are doing what you know is right. I think that little motor will do just fine after seeing how he took care of the other one. I went a little to far saying to take out a loan but if it were a nice new motor just out of warrenty then I would. I don't put to much stock in people that break other peoples things and tell them to stick it. Would you like that done to you?

Ken

bollingball said:

You could use a 5hp motor it is all in the gearing. Ask a question enough times and you will find someone to answer it the way you want. It doesn't look like your neighbor takes care of his stuff that is for sure. You are doing the right thing talking to him about it. Only a slime ball would try to sneek it in IMHO. You will sleep better when all is said and done. I don't think you are going way above what most people would do you are doing what you know is right. I think that little motor will do just fine after seeing how he took care of the other one. I went a little to far saying to take out a loan but if it were a nice new motor just out of warrenty then I would. I don't put to much stock in people that break other peoples things and tell them to stick it. Would you like that done to you?

Ken

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If you are talking about me on this. Frist of all I would of not ran it out of oil. I have been in the repair business all my life and one thing I will never be responsible for someone else's equipment that has been miss treated or worn, out end of this story. Another story I get is it wasn't doing this before I brought it to you or you charged me too much. The day I have to start repairing things for free they can just keep it themselves and do there own repair work. As a rule there is no problem's but through the years it has, but then business is business and friends are friends. You can be the good person and give your work away. I don't know how you made a liveing but when it came pay time I would bet you had your hand out also. But as for me I still have to pay for my daily needs and this is how I make my money and most people understand this.

The only real time you will notice the missing 6 hp will be in thick long grass. The smaller engine will not recover from a heavy call for power as fast as bigger one.
I think for what he will be cutting with it it should do just fine

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Oh and it really does not matter how good or bad he took care of it it broke while you had it so your doing the right thing by fixing it and talking about it with him

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Well I am waiting on a pulley to arrive.

I am going to clean out the carb on the 14 HP motor in the next day or so and see if it fires up.

I would say by the end of next week I should have it all running and out of my hair.

I may need some help on the wiring, well just how to connect the alternator but I will worry about that after I have it running.

Carscw said:

Oh and it really does not matter how good or bad he took care of it it broke while you had it so your doing the right thing by fixing it and talking about it with him

Sent from my iPhone using LMF

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If I am reading the first post right. He changed the oil and filters. The only thing that I can see it was a pint low in oil. Which I would not have done. Why in the world did the engine go bad??? Someone not telling the whole story or was the engine on the way out from miss use? As I am reading it, it is not the repair persons fault. Was it ran without oil at another time? Now if he is doing this free for a close friend and this is under stood right from the start and getting parts payed for parts maybe yes. Myself I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. He was servicing the mower not mowing his lawn with it. Just where do you draw the line with service work? As I said before I am not responsible for the owners poor maintenance or worn out mower.

Can you help me with some wiring questions please.

1) There are 2 wires connected to the bowl of the carb, one is black and goes to ground and the other it white. What does the white wire do?

That is all the questions for now as I think I have the other 3 wires figured out.

This is on a B&S 14.5 hp motor

Thank you very much

I just found that it is the "anti-afterfire solenoid"

How should that be hooked up?

I guess the only thing that would make sense is +12 while key is NOT in off position, correct?

Do I need this hooked up to run the motor?

I just found out my answer here it is for anyone who wants to know...

This solenoid must be connected to 12 volts while the engine is running and no voltage when the key switch is turned off. It can come 2 ways: The old style used the solenoid case as the ground, which automatically grounded the solenoid when it was screwed into the carburetor and the black wire went to the key switch. Presently, there are 2 wires, the gray wire goes to the key switch and the black wire goes to ground.

If it were me, I would go the short block route. No need to teardown anything, just transfer the major components. If done right the cost will be about the same and all internal parts would be new. Also, a lot less headaches and faster. Your friend will appreciate that you did it the right way. If you try rebuilding you may find worn valves, rings, cylinder, etc. that should be replaced which caused the low oil problem in the first place. Engine could have other problem that you will find as you teardown adding to your cost.

Did you check craigslist or ebay for a parts mower?

I am installing a 14.5 HP motor that I had from a lawn tractor that someone wanted scrapped.

I fired up the motor today and it runs, my neighbor is fine with the swap.

His motor was around 8 years old and highly neglected, if he wanted to buy a short block I would have gladly installed it for him but he said he did not.

40% less horsepower will make mowing the yard take nearly twice as long. The early Intek engines (with the flat air filters) seem to have a history of short life; especially if not serviced REAL REGULAR. I had 4 in my shop in the last 5 years with similar fails. Good luck !!

Well got everything working finally today.

Had a lot of trouble getting the carb to work as it say for years with gas in it.

I took it out to the side of the road by my house where the grass was very tall and overgrown and it went through it at full speed. Yes it missed a few strands of grass here and there but the test was to see if the 14.5 HP could handle the 52" deck and it did great. You would never mow grass that tall that fast anyway.

I took it around my yard some, which was mowed not too long ago, and it did just fine.

The only thing I gotta do is get the hole in the muffler where the 2nd exhaust pipe used to go into welded shut. I will try to get that done tomorrow.

The electrical wiring was not too hard at all. I was worried about it but it was no big deal. All the colors on the motor matched those on the wireing harness (I did test them before I connected just to make sure)

So thank you for the help. Looks like this problem has been solved.

This has been a great thread. I'm glad to hear that it has a happy ending.

did you check to make sure it was charging the battery?

txzrider said:

did you check to make sure it was charging the battery?

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Yes I did as well as this tractor has a digital voltage display

I also checked to see if the lighting circuit was working correctly as well.

He mowed his yard with it 2 days ago and said it worked fine for him.