My friend has a 2 yr. old Troybilt rider that blew the engine the other day.
His daughter was mowing with it and suddenly started clanging and banging
and locked up. I pulled the engine and removed the oil pan to find the
Connecting Rod and Cap in pieces with about 1/3 of the Rod dangling
under the Piston. Rod Cap Bolt(s) came loose resulting in catastrophic
engine failure and the cast iron counterweight suffered damage as well.
It wasn't low on oil and was maintained properly. I doubt if B&S will stand
behind the repairs though. The used engine cost $200 that came out of a
running mower a few weeks ago at the local mower/repair shop. I'm going
to install it this afternoon. Years ago engines used to have a locking tab
that went across both Connecting Rod Bolts and would be bent up to stop
such damage as this. What does a flat piece of metal cost? $.25 ? I've
seen a lot of engines loose a Rod over that very thing or not having lock-
tite properly applied and bolts torqued to specs.
His daughter was mowing with it and suddenly started clanging and banging
and locked up. I pulled the engine and removed the oil pan to find the
Connecting Rod and Cap in pieces with about 1/3 of the Rod dangling
under the Piston. Rod Cap Bolt(s) came loose resulting in catastrophic
engine failure and the cast iron counterweight suffered damage as well.
It wasn't low on oil and was maintained properly. I doubt if B&S will stand
behind the repairs though. The used engine cost $200 that came out of a
running mower a few weeks ago at the local mower/repair shop. I'm going
to install it this afternoon. Years ago engines used to have a locking tab
that went across both Connecting Rod Bolts and would be bent up to stop
such damage as this. What does a flat piece of metal cost? $.25 ? I've
seen a lot of engines loose a Rod over that very thing or not having lock-
tite properly applied and bolts torqued to specs.