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I just picked this tiller up yesterday and have no been able to get a number off the engine or a brand off the body of it anywhere. I have established it has spark but I think there is something wrong with the gas flow (carb). Can't wait to get it running again.

Regards to all,

J

Looks very similar to a Howard 200

If not a Howard 200, could be a Bulldog or Bullfinch. Engine definitely is a Mcgyvered replacement.

The engine numbers are stamped into the blower housing/starter shroud.

I'm with the Rotavator 200, or maybe a 220. Tillers lead a hard life, hard to tell what motor that is, looks like a Briggs? Interesting old machine there.

I have an update to this machine as I started tinkering with it yesterday. The motor is actually something like a 61100 Briggs and stratton and that generally gives me an idea of where to go from there. I still have no REAL model number stamped anywhere. It is just crazy.
Well, I kept getting odd back pressure through the carb. I removed the carb and those old suction carbs are truly a pain but with few moving parts you can work with them. It was pretty rusted and clogged.
I removed all I could from it and cleaned all the passages. The carb still has rust down the throat of it. Maybe later I will run my .22 barrel cleaning brush down it to get it REALLY clean.
Well on to the real problem. I shot some carb cleaner down the carb hole while I had it off. Pulled the cord and found that I had spilled some of that fairly liberally around the engine. fire shot out the hole and ignited the spillage but it was not that hard to get out. lol lol
This made me remove the valve cover. Yep, here was the problem. The intake valve was stuck open. It was pretty good and stuck too. I removed the head and yes it was open and not coming down---until I tapped it with my ball peen and squirted liberal amounts of liquid wrench type product down it. So it was rotate the engine and get the valve to go down about ten or fifteen times until I got it good and loose again. I buttoned that all back up again after cleaning the head and valves with a brass brush and rinsing and drying it. The bore looks brand new---no scoring at all---amazing considering the age.
I moved on to pull the flywheel. The recoil needed some oil anyway so off it came and got my mix of trans oil and regular oil. Works good now. Pulled the clutch and oiled it too. The flywheel came off easily. The condenser and points were all corroded and yet they were still delivering a spark when I tested it earlier. I Use some contact cleaner and the brass brush again to clean it all up and make it serviceable again. I also dressed the points.
When I put the car back on the tank I knew this was not going to end well as the damned fuel pick up tube had a crack that ran nearly all the way down it..... I figured just filling the tank good would help---yeah right......
Anyway, I buttoned everything up and tried to start it. It ran with whatever I put in the carb but that was it. The carb is just not drawing from the tank with that cracked tube. However, I can say---IT RUNS!
So on to try to figure how I was going to fix it. Well JB Weld seemed like the answer but then I actually found the part number for the tube during further research (293700). Unbelievably, there are tons of them on eBay for about $11---NOS! So I have a new on coming but that leads me to the end question---how the heck do I get the old one off? That thing appears to be on there REALLY solidly..... I guess I could get out the vice grips and have a go at it but anyone had a way that seems less neanderthal and less likely to damage the whole carb?

Regards to all,

J

tom3 said:

I'm with the Rotavator 200, or maybe a 220. Tillers lead a hard life, hard to tell what motor that is, looks like a Briggs? Interesting old machine there.

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I tend to agree with that after doing some research. The tine pattern and body of it make me pretty certain it is.

This manual might help with the carb. https://doc-04-5o-docs.googleuserco...253/*/0B6NaqjIxWV1ycG8wd0s3Z2Q2X00?e=download

Rivets said:

If not a Howard 200, could be a Bulldog or Bullfinch. Engine definitely is a Mcgyvered replacement.

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The engine certainly isn't what you would expect on a Howard. Then again, I would prefer the Briggs to some of what I saw the originals had on them. LOL
I tend to like MacGyver so I can live with this as long as the tines work. I haven't gotten it running long enough to check but I'll make the damned thing work one way or the other. ;p

Oh and just in general:

Brand new in the box!

Pick-up tube is a simple press fit and should just twist/pull out under 'normal' conditions.

Russ2251 said:

Pick-up tube is a simple press fit and should just twist/pull out under 'normal' conditions.

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Geez, I hope you are right. I think I'll try getting some penetrating oil in there before I "unpress" it.

Rivets said:

This manual might help with the carb. https://doc-04-5o-docs.googleuserco...253/*/0B6NaqjIxWV1ycG8wd0s3Z2Q2X00?e=download

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Ok so last night I was reading the Briggs manual about the engine and carb. It mentioned that I should start the mixture screw at about 1 1/2 turns out. That was WAY further in than my carb was set. So I screwed in in quite a bit, closed the choke, pulled the cord and it turned over and ran. :smile: It ran REALLY slow but it ran. I started adjusting it out a bit so it would run faster and better but it runs. It got warm and then wouldn't restart---causing me to break the pull cord trying to get it to start. I am surprised that I got it to start and idle as the linkage to the governor vane is missing. I ordered it but that won't be here for a while. Until then I can tinker with it and see how I can make it run better. All of this with a cracked siphon tube. I thought that would make it useless but I was wrong. A poorly adjusted mixture screw was much worse and prevented it from running. All of this has been rather interesting. I took a look at my old Toro Sportlawn mower and it has the same carb set up so I know for sure what linkage and spring is missing and how to hook them back up when I get them. All a learning experience for me. Better than stagnation I guess.