valve adjusting

[motoman]

Try a compression test cold if you have a gauge and report the two readings. Keep throttle position full open when cranking.

 

[Fish]

Actually, it is a fairly common problem, although an engine of this age likely has starter issues as well. Normally the top bushing of the starter gets wallowed out.

But the hard to crank issue is quite common on this model, you need to pull both heads off and remove all of the carbon in the combustion chamber, as the excess carbon raises your compression ratio exponentially, and a small layer of carbon cooked on is enough to do it, but also, it is a slow progression, so it has been hard on the starter for quite a while too.

 

[Fish]

And if you do find a bunch of carbon, a new air filter is likely needed as well.....

 

[natenkiki2004]

x2 on the carbon buildup. Mine had a pretty good deposit going. I took the heads off and adjusted the valve lash before replacing the starter as I was given the same advice. You're right there anyway and head gaskets are cheap enough.

Here's some pics from mine just to show what it looked like before & after:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...ing Mower/Pictures/left_cylinder/DSCF1693.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...ing Mower/Pictures/left_cylinder/DSCF1699.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...ng Mower/Pictures/right_cylinder/DSCF1720.JPG

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...Mower/Pictures/left_cylinder/Pic_0312_156.jpg

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the cleaned head but it got cleaned as well. Some of the carbon was really baked in there. Couple of wire brushes, some carb cleaner and muscle. Go nuts on the head, just be gentle on the valves & piston. That's why I didn't get every scrap of carbon off the piston.

 

[Fish]

Oh yeah, that was your problem... You might have a little oil burning going on, but I would keep running that sucker. If I had my way, I would go back to the old L-heads .

I put an old 18 h.p. L head on a newer craftsman tractor replacing a 27 h.p. 3 years ago for a customer. Cuts strong and is still running great!

 

[natenkiki2004]

Oh yeah, that was your problem... You might have a little oil burning going on, but I would keep running that sucker. If I had my way, I would go back to the old L-heads .

I put an old 18 h.p. L head on a newer craftsman tractor replacing a 27 h.p. 3 years ago for a customer. Cuts strong and is still running great!

Well in my case, the starter was still toast. Perhaps from higher compression for carbon or the battery that was dead when I got it (previous owner always jump-started it). It's still a good idea to clean them. Not terribly difficult or expensive. I don't really think I'm burning oil, at least a noticeable amount. If I fill it up a bit much and park it on a slight incline, it smokes when starting but it's a damn strong engine. It eats through dirt mounds and sent a soft-ball sized chunk of cinderblock flying a good 20-30 feet. I wouldn't trade this engine for anything. The oil was black as night and low when I got mine. These opposed flatheads are built like a tank. I don't really think Briggs has nailed down the OHV v-twin design yet. Lotta horror stories about them.