How long?

[CaptCanadia]

How long can you expect an engine to last? Going off hours what is the average life span of most small engines? What would the life span of a clone be and what would a life span of a Briggs be? The same? This is a well taken care of engine with a governor.

 

[B man]

all depends on how you take care off them. a briggs will last forever if taken care of. and a clone will do the same. all depends on the care put into them.

 

[dave1701]

I think that a well taken care of engine could be a lifetime. My dad has 2 John Deere's that are as old as he is. Both have been used all their lives regularly mowing lawns, pulling trailers (boat and utility) and plowing snow. Of course, the crap John Deere's that they sell now could not possibly hold a candle to ours. Things were made better back then.

 

[CaptCanadia]

I think that a well taken care of engine could be a lifetime. My dad has 2 John Deere's that are as old as he is. Both have been used all their lives regularly mowing lawns, pulling trailers (boat and utility) and plowing snow. Of course, the crap John Deere's that they sell now could not possibly hold a candle to ours. Things were made better back then.

Ya my Grandpa has an old tractor from at least the early 90's. I think it's an I/C or whatever they are called. It runs great and he stripped it to do wheelies and tow stuff. I was red but I don't know what the make was.

Keep the John Deers going that's awesome.

 

[CaptCanadia]

I don't mean to use to this thread, but I have a weed whacker problem. When it idles it will stall out after about 5 seconds. Is that normal or is the idle set low? The carb only has one screw and it looks like it's attached to the throttle. Is that the idle screw?

 

[dave1701]

That might be the mixture screw. Clean carb first.

 

[devino246]

Ya my Grandpa has an old tractor from at least the early 90's. I think it's an I/C or whatever they are called. It runs great and he stripped it to do wheelies and tow stuff. I was red but I don't know what the make was.

Keep the John Deers going that's awesome.

You think the early 90's is old?? By then tractors were fairly modern.

 

[dave1701]

I don't mean to use to this thread, but I have a weed whacker problem. When it idles it will stall out after about 5 seconds. Is that normal or is the idle set low? The carb only has one screw and it looks like it's attached to the throttle. Is that the idle screw?

Clean carb first. That could be the mixture screw.

Ya my Grandpa has an old tractor from at least the early 90's. I think it's an I/C or whatever they are called. It runs great and he stripped it to do wheelies and tow stuff. I was red but I don't know what the make was.

Keep the John Deers going that's awesome.

Our John Deere's are from the early 70s.

Yea, the new John Deere lawn tractors are total crap. Everything on them is cheesy. You can't pull about with that crap. You can't get a hydrostatic tranny for a lawn tractor anymore. They switched over to cheap briggs engines. The nice ones have Kawasaki. The old ones had good ol' Kohler. There is as little steel as possible on them.

 

[CaptCanadia]

You think the early 90's is old?? By then tractors were fairly modern.

I asked him while I was on the phone with him and he said it was 26 years old. So that would be 85?

 

[CaptCanadia]

That might be the mixture screw. Clean carb first.

The carb should be fine this thing is under a year old. I Think that screw stops how far the throttle goes? It has a spring around it and on my go kart the engine had the same thing and I took that out so the throttle could go farther.

Anyways, what else can I do?

 

[the-cyborg]

I still have the first sears gocart with the original 4hp Tecumseh engine, that my parents bought me in 79-80 I'm now 46 years old and the engine has lasted threw me, my two sons, and now my daughter.
True enough it needs rebuilt now because it got to where is smokes a little so I pulled it off and put a 3.5hp briggs in its place, but I do still gave the engine, it still runs and even has the original spark plug in it.
I have recently bought a rebuild kit for it, and and need to get the block and head down to a machine shop.
But for an engine that is 32-33 years old, I'd say she's due for an overhaul.
Take care of your stuff as though it will be the only one you'll ever have, and just maybe it will be.

 

[CaptCanadia]

I still have the first sears gocart with the original 4hp Tecumseh engine, that my parents bought me in 79-80 I'm now 46 years old and the engine has lasted threw me, my two sons, and now my daughter.
True enough it needs rebuilt now because it got to where is smokes a little so I pulled it off and put a 3.5hp briggs in its place, but I do still gave the engine, it still runs and even has the original spark plug in it.
I have recently bought a rebuild kit for it, and and need to get the block and head down to a machine shop.
But for an engine that is 32-33 years old, I'd say she's due for an overhaul.
Take care of your stuff as though it will be the only one you'll ever have, and just maybe it will be.

Very cool, thanks.

 

[devino246]

Our John Deere's are from the early 70s.

Yea, the new John Deere lawn tractors are total crap. Everything on them is cheesy. You can't pull about with that crap. You can't get a hydrostatic tranny for a lawn tractor anymore. They switched over to cheap briggs engines. The nice ones have Kawasaki. The old ones had good ol' Kohler. There is as little steel as possible on them.

Still not that old. My great uncle has the 1945 John Deere Model A that was his Dads first tractor and a late 40's Farm-All garden tractor. Both running strong. Their neighbor, who collects old JDs, started his mid 40's JD model A by hand for me. Took 2 or 3 tries and hadn't been started in months.

 

[the-cyborg]

Still not that old. My great uncle has the 1945 John Deere Model A that was his Dads first tractor and a late 40's Farm-All garden tractor. Both running strong. Their neighbor, who collects old JDs, started his mid 40's JD model A by hand for me. Took 2 or 3 tries and hadn't been started in months.

Not quite the same as a small engine, it's not uncommon to see tractors from the 30's,40's still operating, Heck I got a friend that has an all original including the factory tires mint 1977 Trans Am SE black on black has 2200 miles on the odometer.
His father special ordered the car new, I can remember when he first got it, of course we were kids and thought it was the coolest thing we'd ever seen, And it still is.

 

[Russ2251]

How long can you expect an engine to last?

All engines have a life span rating, just like light bulbs.

 

[devino246]

All engines have a life span rating, just like light bulbs.

Except that you cant neglect/take care of a light bulb or rebuild it.

 

[CaptCanadia]

Well the-cyborg had his from 30 some years before he got to the rebuilding point. I think that's really impressive.

 

[karl]

The newer engines have life span ratings like A,B,C ect, do some searching on it. I know the tecumseh I had had a life span rating of C.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Put into something a wee bit more understandable, I believe the ratings equate to "hours", as applied to the pollution tolerances. As in, "We expect this engine to perform for xhundreds of hours, while still polluting less than the tolerable limit". Seems to correlate to intended use, in terms of homeowner (lightest duty), right up to industrial (constantly in use). As I understand it. Could be wrong.

 

[CaptCanadia]

The newer engines have life span ratings like A,B,C ect, do some searching on it. I know the tecumseh I had had a life span rating of C.

I'm searching this, but I can't find anything! Maybe I'm phrasing it wrong, but nothing is coming up.