Too much compression. adjusted the valves and it got worse

[Bertrrr]

I've been doing Mechanical work for 50 plus years and still reshearch things on Utube as well as on this site and am still learning some things - with the experience I have I can quickly weed out the BOZOs from the guys that actually know what they're talking about.
I can see where someone with less experience could get led down the wrong path.
This site has a lot of experience and input available and is nice to learn new trouble shooting ideas etc.
You can never get too focused on one path on a problem because you'll miss what's really going on I've learned not to rule out anything as I've been surprised often .

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

I've been doing Mechanical work for 50 plus years and still reshearch things on Utube as well as on this site and am still learning some things - with the experience I have I can quickly weed out the BOZOs from the guys that actually know what they're talking about.
I can see where someone with less experience could get led down the wrong path.
This site has a lot of experience and input available and is nice to learn new trouble shooting ideas etc.
You can never get too focused on one path on a problem because you'll miss what's really going on I've learned not to rule out anything as I've been surprised often .

The whole secret to learning on YouTube is patience, finding the right teachers, and lots of months and years of practice. The old timers and mentors are simply not there in person to help like they were years ago.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Good point
Perhaps we should compile a list of You Tubers who are worth the effort of looking at.
However this might get a bit tricky
Steves Small Engine Saloon for instance has good reliable information apart from one thing
Never touch an engine if you have been or are drinking booze
I have been fetteling motorcycles ( and to a lesser exten cars ) that should have been sent to the scrap metal yard sinceI was around 14 so I know my way round engines
However actual mowers, apart from the locak Victa's was a different thing all together .
When bought the repair run 12 years ago ( my doen't time fly ) it was a very very steep learing curve.
The very first job that came throgh the door was a Husky with rusted on wheels so the ripped the axel out of the tranny case trying to remove it .

Thus I spent thousands of hours getting up to speed on You Tube
Most of what I saw was trash , often totally wrong, badly done and I just could not believe how many problems seemed to be because of the seat switch , which is of course very rarely the acual problem
Thus after a while I found some who seemed to know heir stuff and sat through their entire channel

Probably the most helpful was the Joe Pace set of 2 stroke Diagnostics and since following his recommendations I have replaced almost as many faulty fuel caps & tank vents as I have replaced diaphragms & gaskets that I would have never found .
Just a shame that he never did actual fix it videos

 

[2ball]

Ok, it may be fixed!
I adjusted the valves per the instructions here, it turned past the compression stroke by hand easier then before and it started up first try.
I will see if it stands the test of time.

Thank you for all of the help.
I almost feel like a real mechanic!

 

[Rivets]

Glad to hear it. Thank you for letting us know, most guys don’t have the time to do that.

 

[slomo]

Fixed now but on a 20+ year old engine, might be worth it as the manual states, pull the head and decarbon the cylinder.

And don't forget the cooling fins and block.

 

[Bertrrr]

Don't fix anything that Aint Broke , good rule of thumb

 

[Bertrrr]

In My opinion there is no such thing as Too Much Compression , never saw it in over 50 years on working on all sorts of machine

 

[Forest#2]

And sometimes you might have to go back after it's run awhile and reset just the intake lash.
I've had to set some of them 31 series briggs at .002 to get a compression release due to worn/broken cam.

To get a quick test if setting the intake lash to minimum gets a compression release on that model engine I just add feller gauges taking the lash to minimum and test.
If you go to .001 lash with the feeler gauge in place and it still won't crank over you then know you are just burning daylight and whipping on a dead horse and have problems e3lsewhere that valve lash is not going to correct.

If you are going to work on that model OHV as mentioned previously a BRIGGS single cylinder SERVICE manual is a good thing.

 

[CWatters]

On my B&S engine the valve adjustment was quite critical to getting the decompression cam to work. It wasn't working at .008-0.010 but was fine at 0.004.

Took me several goes to get them spot on because the locking seemed to effect the setting quite a bit. Have to recheck after locking.

If really sure they are spot on then most likely broken decompressor. I've not had to replace one but have heard its not too difficult.