So I have a craftsman LT1000 riding mower with a Briggs and Stratton 24HP commercial VTwin engine (not the stock engine) that I picked up for dirt cheap from a friend in non-running condition. I did all the usual (plugs, oil, carb clean x2) and got it to run ok - would still cough and bog at high throttle, black smoke at startup, took a while to start, but ran well enough to mow the lawn or drive up and down the driveway. The other day I was running it to bring my recycling out to the street in a trailer when I heard a cough/pop and all the sudden it had waaay more power. Engine revved higher, mower was way faster, and honestly felt like it was running way better. In a way, it felt like it had fixed itself. It now starts way easier, runs with more power, and no longer smokes really at all. My initial guess was that either some plugged passage in the carb finally unplugged, or a blockage in the air intake or muffler gave way and allowed the correct airflow or something like that. It truly went from running so so to running what seems like fairly well.
But... it now revs very high (or at least it seems very high to me). I'm wondering if maybe the governor broke internally. I tried adjusting the governor, and it didn't help (seems like it was adjusted correctly already, didn't change the situation). It still idles, albeit higher than before, but as soon as I give it partial throttle it revs up pretty fast. I'd say 25% throttle is "very fast" and 50-100% throttle is "very very fast" bordering on scary fast. I don't have a reference point of an engine that's working correctly, this is my first riding mower, but it seems quite high to me. When I put the engine under load (drive it around, or especially engage the mower deck) it drops back to what I'd call more normal revs.
So questions are threefold:
1) Am I correct that the governor broke? Is there an easy way to confirm this?
2) How would the governor breaking have made the mower run better?
3) Is running a mower with a broken governor unsafe, if done responsibly? This is the major question. I'm savvy enough to not over-rev the hell out of it, I can keep it at idle and rev it up as I engage the load and vice versa, and only rev to partial throttle. If I'm correct that it's overreving, I feel like I can totally reasonably control the revs using the throttle and load. I got this whole mower for $50, I don't have the time to take it apart and replace the governor myself and I don't want to spend hundreds and hundreds on having someone else do it. I don't even really care if there's a small chance of ruining the engine (I'd probably risk it). But if it's going to explode into a fireball, or shatter the flywheel, or something like that which could injure me, I obviously don't want that.
Thanks in advance for any knowledge or advice.
But... it now revs very high (or at least it seems very high to me). I'm wondering if maybe the governor broke internally. I tried adjusting the governor, and it didn't help (seems like it was adjusted correctly already, didn't change the situation). It still idles, albeit higher than before, but as soon as I give it partial throttle it revs up pretty fast. I'd say 25% throttle is "very fast" and 50-100% throttle is "very very fast" bordering on scary fast. I don't have a reference point of an engine that's working correctly, this is my first riding mower, but it seems quite high to me. When I put the engine under load (drive it around, or especially engage the mower deck) it drops back to what I'd call more normal revs.
So questions are threefold:
1) Am I correct that the governor broke? Is there an easy way to confirm this?
2) How would the governor breaking have made the mower run better?
3) Is running a mower with a broken governor unsafe, if done responsibly? This is the major question. I'm savvy enough to not over-rev the hell out of it, I can keep it at idle and rev it up as I engage the load and vice versa, and only rev to partial throttle. If I'm correct that it's overreving, I feel like I can totally reasonably control the revs using the throttle and load. I got this whole mower for $50, I don't have the time to take it apart and replace the governor myself and I don't want to spend hundreds and hundreds on having someone else do it. I don't even really care if there's a small chance of ruining the engine (I'd probably risk it). But if it's going to explode into a fireball, or shatter the flywheel, or something like that which could injure me, I obviously don't want that.
Thanks in advance for any knowledge or advice.