Kickbacks and poor starting on 1980s B&S 114982 0180-01 on a Garden Way Sickle Bar mower.

[gmcinnes]

Gentlemen:

I inherited a 'Garden Way' sicklebar mower made in about 1980 along with a family property. I'm sure it's been ridden hard and put away wet in it's life.

After pulling the head and re-installing, when I had to pull it again, I found that there was a surprising amount of oil on the head bolts. When I looked further I found that there was some oil pooled on the bottom of the cylinder wall (this is a horizontal shaft engine). When I wiped that oil and turned it over 4 or 5 strokes with a wrench the oil returned. Wiped it again, blocked the machine so the cylinder wall was angled up at about 10 degrees, and then turned it over 4 or 5 strokes, and there was some oil on the cylinder wall, but not enough to pool.

I've never seen this much oil come through the rings before. I've never seen enough oil get through that it seems to coat the whole of (most of) the head bolts. Am I looking at something other than a ring job? Is this somewhat normal on a 40 year old horizontal shaft? This machine would be super useful to me, but it also would only be used about 20 hours a year on personal stuff.

More background:

I inherited this acerage, and it was abandoned for a while, and when I can get this mower to run it's very useful. The thing that kicked off this investigation is that when trying to start it I get finger breaking kickbacks. On the rare occasion it starts, it runs "fine". I quoted "fine" because it's governor controlled, and even with the speed lever set to 'ludicrous' speed, where the throttle control reaches a stop preventing the throttle adjust screw from opening further, it runs at only about 3000rpm. And it also only runs for about 30 min on a full tank of gas. I'd appreciate any comments on whether those are reasonable for this engine / application.

Thank you for taking the time to look at this guys. Would love to actually fix it.

 

[Rivets]

First thing I would check is a sheared or partially sheared flywheel key. This is the primary cause of kickbacks.

 

[gmcinnes]

First thing I would check is a sheared or partially sheared flywheel key. This is the primary cause of kickbacks.

Oh, forgot to mention that. I checked it. Looked totally fine. Replaced it anyway out of an abundance of caution.

 

[Rivets]

I’m not trying to be an A%&$, but are you sure you torqued the flywheel nut property? Wouldn’t be the first time someone replaced it and forgot.

 

[gmcinnes]

Oh, all questions that assume I'm an idiot are welcomed. They're far from out of place.

It doesn't have a flywheel nut as such. It has a clutch assembly that threads on and presses the flywheel on the shaft. But it's not really amenable to torquing. There isn't even a great way to get a wrench on it to tighten it. But I can get it on tight enough that it won't fly off, and that's enough to press the flywheel down on the conical shaft, and the key keeps it positioned correctly laterally. So I don't *think* there's a problem there.

Pics of clutch / flywheel / key below.

 

[Rivets]

More questions. When you installed the starter clutch, did you make sure the beveled washer was installed with the cup down? Did you check the coil air gap, should be .010”? Does you engine have points ? If it does, did you set the point gap to .020“? I fully understand that those starter clutches can be a beast to torque, especially if you don’t have a clutch tool, but if the washer was installed incorrectly or not torqued properly, the key will shear on the first pull. Here is a service manual which might come in handy. If you come back please include all engine numbers. http://www.tuks.nl/WFCProject/img/E...210-Briggs-Stratton-Service-Manual-L-Head.pdf

 

[gmcinnes]

Now... When you say bevelled washer... I don't think I have such a thing. Between the bottom face of the clutch and the top of the flywheel there is a flat washer. Am I misunderstanding? (See below for image).

I set the coil gap to .010" (I even used feeler gauges!)
No points on this engine.

Engine numbers are:

Model 114982
Type 0180-01
Code 85120504
B&S 4HP I/C Industrial

You can see the key from the top down shots in the pictures in my last post. Does the key look ok? I wondered at one point if the key is too narrow for the keyway, which looks a few thou too wide. But it seems to taper towards the bottom, so the key fits snugly.

The engine *does* run. Eventually. And badly. And only after trying to release my fingers from their prison on my hand.

What are your thoughts on the oil in the cylinder? Is that something that could be causing problems, or is it unrelated?

 

[gmcinnes]

More questions. When you installed the starter clutch, did you make sure the beveled washer was installed with the cup down? Did you check the coil air gap, should be .010”? Does you engine have points ? If it does, did you set the point gap to .020“? I fully understand that those starter clutches can be a beast to torque, especially if you don’t have a clutch tool, but if the washer was installed incorrectly or not torqued properly, the key will shear on the first pull. Here is a service manual which might come in handy. If you come back please include all engine numbers. http://www.tuks.nl/WFCProject/img/E...210-Briggs-Stratton-Service-Manual-L-Head.pdf

Oh! And thanks for the manual. I have an old B&S manual I've been going from that is probably from the early 80s. Yours is better.

 

[Rivets]

Engine was built in 1985. There should have been a washer, part number 691736, between the starter clutch and flywheel. You can really tell if a flywheel key is good or bad unless you remove it and make sure it is not starting to shear.

 

[gmcinnes]

Engine was built in 1985. There should have been a washer, part number 691736, between the starter clutch and flywheel. You can really tell if a flywheel key is good or bad unless you remove it and make sure it is not starting to shear.

There's a washer there. It looks like this one: https://shop.briggsandstratton.com/products/briggs-and-stratton-691736-washer from the part number you quoted. You can see it (out of focus) on one of the clutch pictures above.

Using my fingernail I can feel it's slightly convex on one side and slightly concave on the other, but it's not visible to the (my) eye. In any case, I had the concave side down, facing the flywheel. Is that right?

I'll remove the flywheel again to inspect the key.