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I have a 2012 Troy-Bilt Mustang zero turn mower with the infamous Kohler Courage engine on it. My engine is the SV730, 25 HP with a 1" shaft. After just over 30 hours the fuel pump developed a leak and flooded the oil with gas. It bent one intake push rod which I repaired but now the engine knocks and I figure it is pretty much shot. I want to take this opportunity to get rid of this lemon instead of attempting further repairs.

I've done some research but cannot find if there is a Briggs engine that will swap with a minimum of trouble. I don't mind drilling new mounting holes and even modifying the wiring but I'd like to keep the existing muffler if possible. I'm thinking of a 23 or 24 HP Professional series if they'll fit but would appreciate any recommendations.

Thanks for your help!

Repair your Kohler your not gaining anything by going to Briggs.

Thanks for your suggestion but at this point I'm pretty much determined to be rid of this engine. Guess it's kind of like having a car that strands you on the side of the road. You thought you could depend on it but it's let you down, and now it's got to go.

I've contacted Briggs but they're very slow to reply and I'd like to get a new engine ordered soon.
I also should have mentioned the mower has an electric PTO for the blades. I read somewhere the output of the alternator needs to be greater to operate that but would appreciate your opinions.

Easiest swap is the Courage for a Command.
Stupid swap is the Courage for an Intek.
Both had inherently bad design flaws and IMHO the Inteks are worse because they are harder to service.
Seems quite random in both cases which is no comfort if you have one of the 0.01% of lemons.

Both Kohler & Briggs fit more powerful alternators to the electric PTO models.
Briggs will all swap out because the flywheels of the same diameter are all interchangeable . Just remember the flywheel & stator are a set.
Kohler use a thicker ( cast ) crank in the Courages so you can not swap a Courage & Command flywheel but the stators are .

Most of the medium power engines have 1" shafts and have the same pto shaft lenght .
If you pick an alternate OEM engine then it will wire up OK however you will usually need to change the actual plugs and be wary of diodes which are oft part of the plug.
Engine wise they will all have an ignition cut out wire, fuel solenoid wire & power feed wire (s) and these will b fairly well independant of the actual way the mower is wired.
Sites like Small Engine Warehouse, Repower, Small engine warehouse are your best friend.
They will either sell you a drop in replacement or dvie what will fit with a minimum of fuss.
You will need new throttle cables but most mower shops can cut a lenght of bult cable to fit.

I've run across some pretty attractive prices on the Briggs Commercial engines that I'd like an opinion on.
The model I'm looking at is the 44T877-0001-G1 for about $100 more than the Professional series. From their specs it looks like it may be a worthwhile upgrade.

Still hoping someone can tell me if the muffler will swap from the Courage to the Briggs.

I'm 99% sure that the muffler will not swap from the Kohler to the Briggs. With today's engines it is not as easy to repower between engine companies. Problems you will run into include, but are not limited to the following.
1. Crankshaft size and length
2. Size of charging system and wiring
3. Muffler size and configuration
4. Bolt mounting pattern
5. Location of carb and engine controls
6. Room in engine compartment
Some of these can be overcome easily, while others will take alot of reengineering and modifications to either the engine or equipment. Anything can be done, it all depends of how much time and money you want to throw at it. If the rest of the unit is in good shape, I would go with the Command for Courage swap.

Thanks Rivets. That wasn't what I was hoping to hear but sometimes the truth hurts...

Even though I probably bought a lemon I've promised myself I won't buy another Courage engine. For me, made in China means hit or miss quality and this is too expensive to gamble on again. The Command series may be great but unfortunately they're just too expensive for me. Besides, it wouldn't make sense to have an engine that would far outlast a homeowners grade mower.

If I bite the bullet and buy a Briggs engine anyway can someone please give me their opinion of the commercial vs the professional versions? Is there a difference in the durability or mostly a marketing gimmick?

anoldman said:

Thanks for your suggestion but at this point I'm pretty much determined to be rid of this engine. Guess it's kind of like having a car that strands you on the side of the road. You thought you could depend on it but it's let you down, and now it's got to go.

I've contacted Briggs but they're very slow to reply and I'd like to get a new engine ordered soon.
I also should have mentioned the mower has an electric PTO for the blades. I read somewhere the output of the alternator needs to be greater to operate that but would appreciate your opinions.

Click to expand...

So what are you going to do with that car, put a different brand engine in it or fix it. Yes it can be done with enough money. I have been in this repair trade too long and have seen these engine swaps, not good for the most part. A good learning experience for you and you are going to do as you want so I will say the best of luck with this. When I was younger I would do the same thing myself but now I keep my work as stock as I can. If someone came into my shop for a job like that I would turn the job down. Nothing fits right. So here is a:thumbsup:

I appreciate the well wishes reynoldston. I don't mind a little creative engineering but do hate spending money! I'm no mechanic but I manage to get by and I work cheap too. I can trace down wiring and drill new mounting holes if needed and even modify that muffler if I have to. Yeah, I guess I'll go for a swap and wade through the problems as they surface. Call me too dumb to give up and you'd be about right.

One thing I'd still love opinions on is whether there is a benefit in the extra cost for the Commercial Briggs over the Professional one. Looks like the commercial has an oil cooler and that sounds good, but are there other benefits or drawbacks?

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions

anoldman said:

I've run across some pretty attractive prices on the Briggs Commercial engines that I'd like an opinion on.
The model I'm looking at is the 44T877-0001-G1 for about $100 more than the Professional series. From their specs it looks like it may be a worthwhile upgrade.

Still hoping someone can tell me if the muffler will swap from the Courage to the Briggs.

Click to expand...

Mufflers are generally part of the mower, not the engine unless they do not bolt to the mower proper.
Most headder pipes either just push into the muffler or are lightly welded to it so there should be little problem there, if you can get your hands on a hacksaw & welder.
Nearly any mid sized single cylinder engine would replace your Courage, most have the same bolt pattern, or close enough not to be a problem and the 1" dia x 3 & 5/32" crank
Push mowers usually have a 7/8" crank & commercials are 1 & 1/8" or 1 & 1/4"

Go to the sites I refferred you to and have a look.
They all have a "find your replacement" function. Dial your engine in.
Then you look up the replacements and check what size alternator & shaft they have.
Check the size of the crankshaft PTO key as some are 1/4" and some are 5/16" and some have different length key ways.

Motors for walk behinds will have remote controls ( stop on throttle lever ) but can easily be modified.
I fit "wrong engine all day long.
My most profitable line is repowering good mowers with blown engines & I simply buy what ever I can get cheap so am always puting the wrong power & brand engine in a mower chassis.
At this time of year the surplus motor dealers are chockers with unwanted brand new engines, a lot of them go as low as 1/3 to 1/4 of retail price.
I got 26 Powerbuilts for $ 255 each which was all the supplier had left so they cut me a better deal.
These were brand new pulls , makers changed the engine after they had been fitted to the mowers.

Am just about to fit a CV620 designed for a Cub Car to a Walker Mower.
A little fiddling needed but an $ 1800 price difference so worth a couple of extra hours.
Down here the "right" motor is $ 4500 + $ 600 for fitting.
The customer will get their repowered mower back for a touch under $ 3000.

This is the 2nd one of these I have done.

anoldman said:

I appreciate the well wishes reynoldston. I don't mind a little creative engineering but do hate spending money! I'm no mechanic but I manage to get by and I work cheap too. I can trace down wiring and drill new mounting holes if needed and even modify that muffler if I have to. Yeah, I guess I'll go for a swap and wade through the problems as they surface. Call me too dumb to give up and you'd be about right.

One thing I'd still love opinions on is whether there is a benefit in the extra cost for the Commercial Briggs over the Professional one. Looks like the commercial has an oil cooler and that sounds good, but are there other benefits or drawbacks?

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions

Click to expand...

The commercial and professional are just new fancy names for the Intek and Vanguard. Briggs is changing the series names again for 2016 so Here we go again trying to figure out what engine is what. The engine with the oil cooler may also come with a 3 year warranty as opposed to the standard 2 year warranty. So also check what the warranty period is for the different engines.

If your mower has the exhaust manifold that slides into the muffler as opposed to welded as part of the muffler. You can sometimes find the same model of mower that has a briggs versus a Kohler, and then order the exhaust manifolds for that engine, and convert the exhaust. For example Cub Cadet may have had similar Z turns mowers with different engines for what that year.

Thanks so much for the good info!

I was afraid most of those Briggs engines were pretty much the same inside with "window dressing" to make them look different. Where I live sometimes it's hard finding a dry day to mow, so advanced dust filtering probably wouldn't make much difference. I do like the idea of an oil cooler though but I'm not sure that's worth another $100 to have if I keep the engine clean and change my oil regularly.

After a week I finally heard back from Briggs and their short message was no, they don't have a drop in engine. Thought they might elaborate a little but no luck there. Guess it's a liability issue if they say too much. Should have known...

After some deep (for me) thinking I've decided to order a commercial 24 HP engine from eBay. It's the best price I could find from my searching and I'm certain I can make it work. I own or have access to everything I'll need to fit it up and believe can adapt the wiring with a minimum of trouble too.

Thanks and best wishes to everyone who helped!

anoldman