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Engines...

#1

jmurray01

jmurray01

Please vote for which of the two well known engine brands you prefer, and reply telling me why if you wish.

I'm just interested, as I own a B&S, and my friend owns a Tecumseh. We both think our engines are reliable, but both of us are biased, so I need an unbiased opinion!


#2

Jetblast

Jetblast

Briggs & Stratton and your friend likes soggy Weetabix. That's completely unbiased.


#3

twall

twall

I think anyone voting in a poll will be biased toward the one they vote for, eh? :wink:

"Soggy Weetabix"? That is funny.....:laughing:


#4

K

KennyV

It would likely end up B&S...
Tecumseh has had a very poor reputation for quite a long time... :smile:KennyV


#5

jmurray01

jmurray01

KennyV said:
It would likely end up B&S...
Tecumseh has had a very poor reputation for quite a long time... :smile:KennyV
Click to expand...
Hence them going defunct in 2006!


#6

twall

twall

jmurray01 said:
Hence them going defunct in 2006!
Click to expand...

Maybe in Europe, but they are very much around here! Just about every snowblower in production comes with the Tecumseh "Snow King".

You should have specified old or new Teks. The old cast-iron ones rivalled Kohler in quality. They started to go downhill in the 80's.......the early aluminum-blocked Teks were pretty good engines.


#7

RobertBrown

RobertBrown

Jetblast said:
Briggs & Stratton and your friend likes soggy Weetabix. That's completely unbiased.
Click to expand...

soggy Weetabix........mmmmmmm.
Now I'm hungry:licking:


#8

jmurray01

jmurray01

twall said:
Maybe in Europe, but they are very much around here! Just about every snowblower in production comes with the Tecumseh "Snow King".

You should have specified old or new Teks. The old cast-iron ones rivalled Kohler in quality. They started to go downhill in the 80's.......the early aluminum-blocked Teks were pretty good engines.
Click to expand...
They are still in production, but they've stopped selling lawn mower engines... I think... :confused2:


#9

jmurray01

jmurray01

RobertBrown said:
soggy Weetabix........mmmmmmm.
Now I'm hungry:licking:
Click to expand...
I love soggy Weetabix... All I have in is Sugar Puffs and Frosties :frown:


#10

jd335

jd335

KennyV said:
It would likely end up B&S...
Tecumseh has had a very poor reputation for quite a long time... :smile:KennyV
Click to expand...
i agree 100 percent tecs has never been a engine of choise in these parts lots of problems.


#11

B

Black Bart

My guess is that many on here are too young to remember the good Tecumseh engines.
I bought a new 12hp in 1967 it was cast iron block Timken roller bearing and chrome rings and sodium filled valves it took a terrible beating and kept going and going. :thumbsup:


#12

J

jeff

Once Tec was a very good engine, I always think of the old cast iron ones when Imention this. I voted for Briggs because they, unlike Tec kept up with quality control and have never tried to produce an engine with questiionable reliability.


#13

jmurray01

jmurray01

Wow! 11 unanimous votes for Briggs & Stratton!

My friend's Tecumseh is from 1993 though, so was that when Tec was still making good engines ?

As his engine has over 7,000 hours on it, without a single rebuild.

Just gas and oil, that's all!


#14

J

jakesmurray

Briggs ans Stratton rules, they bought Murray and now make parts for Murray mowers under Briggs name. I love that company!


#15

B

benski

Of the two, I guess Briggs for me as well. I do remember some rather bulletproof Tec's from my youth, surviving on go-karts and the like for 2 seasons, which was remarkable.:laughing::biggrin:


#16

S

sss

i own both those engines and more like kawsaki gpp engine teck etc briggs and kawsaki i always find the best:smile:


#17

reynoldston

reynoldston

jmurray01 said:
Wow! 11 unanimous votes for Briggs & Stratton!

My friend's Tecumseh is from 1993 though, so was that when Tec was still making good engines ?

As his engine has over 7,000 hours on it, without a single rebuild.

Just gas and oil, that's all!
Click to expand...

7,000 hr.s on a lawn mower engine without a OH. boy you sure can't beat that. That is one tough Tecumseh. I got nowhere near that many hours on my log spliter's Tecumseh before it needed a ring and valve job. As far as that goes it is getting about ready for its secont OH. I have always used SAE 30 in this engine.


#18

Briana

Briana

This thread has been moved to the new Polls Forum. :biggrin:


#19

B

Black Bart

reynoldston said:
7,000 hr.s on a lawn mower engine without a OH. boy you sure can't beat that. That is one tough Tecumseh. I got nowhere near that many hours on my log spliter's Tecumseh before it needed a ring and valve job. As far as that goes it is getting about ready for its secont OH. I have always used SAE 30 in this engine.
Click to expand...

Triple the life of that engine by using a 5-40 like T-6 instead of the 30W :thumbdown:
You are wearing it out running it without cylinder lubrication at start up.

Put something that is not like molasses in it and it will last.:smile:


#20

D

Danbike

Re: Engines...Why no selection for LAWNBOY

LAWNBOY. Blue smoke means YUPPIES stay away.


#21

jmurray01

jmurray01

Oh crap! I just voted on my own poll!

I forgot that I created it :laughing:

I voted Tecumseh by the way, as since posting the poll, my Briggs & Stratton managed to get a bent flywheel, and my friends Tecumseh is still going strong. That decided it for me.


#22

H

Henhouse1

Neither,

Kawasaki Industrial in my JD GT275 :wink:


#23

O

Oddball

I voted B&S, but its really not a fair comparison for me to make since I've owned or used many B&S engines, but only one Tecumseh. To be fair, the Tecumseh was a reliable, powerful and trouble free engine for 10 years and I'm sure its still going strong if the new owner has treated it right.


#24

J

jamesslcx

H everyone both engine seem very reliable, I have push mowers with Honda ,Kohler and Briggs and I have tt say my favorite is the Briggs, it will do everything the others will do just as well and I paid a lot less for it.


#25

Sledge740

Sledge740

To me the Tecumseh motors are OK, but the carbs on them are a pain in the exhaust. I have 4 or 5 tecs laying around because the carbs don't work even after being rebuilt and gone through a couple of times looking for mistakes that I may have made. I can rebuild a B&S carb with leftover parts in no time.


#26

J

jakesmurray

Sledge740 said:
To me the Tecumseh motors are OK, but the carbs on them are a pain in the exhaust. I have 4 or 5 tecs laying around because the carbs don't work even after being rebuilt and gone through a couple of times looking for mistakes that I may have made. I can rebuild a B&S carb with leftover parts in no time.
Click to expand...

Yep, I am tuning up my neighbors snow blower that has a little 3.8 HP Tecumseh on it, and the carb is trashed and still doesn't work after I completely cleaned it 3 times! It will run when I pour gas straight into it. I am thinking I will have to get a brnad new carb, I guess. :licking:


#27

Dangeroustoys56

Dangeroustoys56

Im sold on older briggs flathead motors, seeing my oldest one is nearly 41 years old next week- my whole collection is of worn out abused tractors in non running shape when acquired - lil cleaning, fresh oil and they run like new- even ones that had water up to the carb run. Theyre the best running most powerful motors ive had.

I have a few OHV motors, im not impressed with them- lack of power is one reason. They could be made into powerhouses tho with some aftermarket pieces and a bunch of cash.

I have a teccy motor- 12HP OHV ( had a few more , but those are long gone) - my teccy is a pretty strong motor, but had to get a rebuilt carb first ( throttle shaft bushings were gone- for $25 and my old carb it was a cheep fix) and then noticed oil puking from the breather ( most likely valve seals are gone) - when the muffler fell apart it had NO power at all. I just dont like em. Sometime ill drag it out and slap it on something.


#28

K

KennyV

Dangeroustoys56 said:
...my whole collection is of worn out abused tractors in non running shape when acquired - lil cleaning, fresh oil and they run like new-
....
Click to expand...

Now this makes No sense ... it sounds like they were only needing "an oil change" to run "like new"... as "lil cleaning" should not cause change from worn out to like new...???
What kind of 'fresh oil' are you changing to that takes a 'worn out tractor to like new'?
:smile:KennyV


#29

Dangeroustoys56

Dangeroustoys56

The PO's pretty much parked em because of other issues - broken steering, bad decks- stuff like that - motors run fine after cleaning the carb, changing the oil( dirty/filled with old gas), fresh gas, ect - rest of the tractor usually needs a ton of work tho- those are the worn out parts, not the motors .

Ive picked up a few tractors that sat for so long, they had weeds growing from the seat , but the motors were fine. Why most the tractors i have were free to $75 - they just didnt feel like fixing them any longer.

I probably shouldve worded my last post better.


#30

A

Ariena

Kohler and B&S.
I like Shredded Wheat and Vaseline (Ummmmm!)


#31

reynoldston

reynoldston

Black Bart said:
Triple the life of that engine by using a 5-40 like T-6 instead of the 30W :thumbdown:
You are wearing it out running it without cylinder lubrication at start up.

Put something that is not like molasses in it and it will last.:smile:
Click to expand...

I just don't see 7000 hr.s on a cheap lawn mower engine with any oil SAE 30 or 5-40 T-6 without a OH. I could be wrong because I have been before. Just why is 5-40 T6 oil better then SAE 30 Super-tech because when I pull the head off the cylinder wall aren't dry like you say? Is this something you have seen and done and really seen a difference? I really have no scientific way of knowing this.


#32

B

Black Bart

reynoldston said:
I just don't see 7000 hr.s on a cheap lawn mower engine with any oil SAE 30 or 5-40 T-6 without a OH. I could be wrong because I have been before. Just why is 5-40 T6 oil better then SAE 30 Super-tech because when I pull the head off the cylinder wall aren't dry like you say? Is this something you have seen and done and really seen a difference? I really have no scientific way of knowing this.
Click to expand...
You are not understanding what I'm saying yes when you tear it down the heavy oil will be clinging to the cylinder but when you start the engine it is waaaaaaaaay too thick for quick lubrication.

A motor is designed to run with a oil viscosity of 10 cst but if you start your engine at 32F a 5w is 580cst
I don't know what 30 would be but it would be off the chart.

Before multi grade oil most engines needed rebuilt before 70,000 miles multi grade changed that except for those who don't understand how oil works and use a straight weight oil.

If you spend some time researching motor oil you won't use a straight 30w for anything other than pouring it on a plow to keep it from rusting.


#33

reynoldston

reynoldston

I use AMS 100% synthetic in every thing I own and what ever the owner manual calls for. The only equipment I don't use it in is my push mower which is used very low hours and in a location I can't buy the AMS oil. As far as the log splitter goes it is a old Tecumseh which when used is used under very heavy duty use and long hours. I have tryed different oils in it and have found the best luck so far is the SAE 30. If I use a mulit weight oil in it I have to add oil on every tank full of gas. I would say the engine is getting very tired and in need of a complete over haul but being in my 70's I find oil is cheap and I am getting out of the wood cutting business. I have my own woods but find it a lot easier to have it delivered all cut and split at 60 dollars a cord then do my own any more. By the way winter is coming and time to put away the lawn mowers and get out the snow blower seeing this mornings paper is calling for a very snowy winter for NY state.


#34

J

jamesslcx

Hey guys, honestly , just my experience mind you, the only real difference I have seen in flatheads and ohc engines is the ohc engines are slightly quieter and get more yardage to a gallon of gas. As far as dependability or starting and longevity I don't think there is a bit of difference all things being equal. Even the much ballyhooed power difference is not that great in my opinion! Cost is the greatest measurable advantage you can give one over the other, B&S usually is more affordable.


#35

B

Black Bart

reynoldston said:
I use AMS 100% synthetic in every thing I own and what ever the owner manual calls for. The only equipment I don't use it in is my push mower which is used very low hours and in a location I can't buy the AMS oil. As far as the log splitter goes it is a old Tecumseh which when used is used under very heavy duty use and long hours. I have tryed different oils in it and have found the best luck so far is the SAE 30. If I use a mulit weight oil in it I have to add oil on every tank full of gas. I would say the engine is getting very tired and in need of a complete over haul but being in my 70's I find oil is cheap and I am getting out of the wood cutting business. I have my own woods but find it a lot easier to have it delivered all cut and split at 60 dollars a cord then do my own any more. By the way winter is coming and time to put away the lawn mowers and get out the snow blower seeing this mornings paper is calling for a very snowy winter for NY state.
Click to expand...

This morning the local news was saying that here we will probably have a cold winter with a lot of snow.:thumbdown:

I did some painting on my snow blower and on the cab of my 430 JD.
I changed the oil and filter installed a new wiper blade and new LP tank for the cab heater so I think I got it ready to go.


#36

Dangeroustoys56

Dangeroustoys56

Jamesslcx: Once i did a comparison between my 13HP flatty briggs 99 muray 6 speed and my 2003 murray 16.5HP OHV briggs also with a 6 speed - 99 out ran circles around the 2003, power and fuel use - the OHV was noticeably louder as well. Possible could use a valve adjustment.

Theres just less to go wrong with a flathead - no rockers or pushrods, easier to change headgaskets .


I have a 85 MTD with a briggs 12HP - actually states right on the air cleaner to use SAE 30, 10w30 and 10w40 ,during specific times of the year and change it like once a month.


#37

J

jamesslcx

Hey guys, I'm probably going to get some heat for this but in all honesty I see no need for overhead cams or overhead valves in any mower, flatheads do just fine in small engine applications. As for less emissions in ohc motors, well my flatheads seem to run just as clean again it is all about how you service your engine JMO. I've been told my Honda push mower has a timing belt! I really for my use see no need.


#38

motorrefurb

motorrefurb

Briggs are almost always the same so you always know your way around


#39

S

Shuckapeafarms

jmurray01 said:
Please vote for which of the two well known engine brands you prefer, and reply telling me why if you wish.

I'm just interested, as I own a B&S, and my friend owns a Tecumseh. We both think our engines are reliable, but both of us are biased, so I need an unbiased opinion!
Click to expand...

As far as I'm concerned this is a no brainer...........B&S hands down! Engines have been around since they found dirt! Parts are easy to get-even Walmart carries quite a few tune-up kits etc. I've known a couple guys that swore by their Techumseh but I don't think you're going to get parts as easily as the B&S! I think it's probably a preferrence thing. I don't work on them other than my own so I can't tell you which one is built better or uses better parts. It's sort of like the 2 Bolt main Chevy small block VS the 4 bolt main. Most folks think a chevy is a chevy and they're all the same.........not so!


#40

davbell22602

davbell22602

I say Briggs. Tecumseh had poor quality engines and no longer in business.


#41

jmurray01

jmurray01

davbell22602 said:
I say Briggs. Tecumseh had poor quality engines and no longer in business.
Click to expand...
Near the end Tecumseh were making poor quality engines, but in their earlier years they made quite good engines.


#42

J

jamesslcx

I kinda thought Tec. engines were not as good as the rest until I bought an old Craftsman push mower from a yard sale, I cleaned the carb and chiseled out the two ounces of tar from the crankcase filled up everything and it ran like a top. That gave me a lot more respect for them!


#43

Dangeroustoys56

Dangeroustoys56

i used to have teccy motored push mower - came with the place i bot years ago - PO never maintained it - so a spent a couple hours changing the oil, tune up, ect - now the odd part.

It ran before the tune up, it didnt run after - i tried everything to get it to run - so i put all the old stuff back on ( even the old oil in it) and it fired right up. I never changed the oil or checked it again after that - it was starting to knock a lil bit near the end (i was hoping to see a rod come flying out) - i ended up leaving it with the house when i sold it .


#44

K

ketron47

Other: Onan Have a 20hp on my 96 MTD. Never a problem and still running strong!:thumbsup:


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