Small engine question. All weigh in.

notjustair · Apr 23, 2016

I'm looking for opinions here. I was mowing the ditch with the old Snapper rear engine rider and started to daydream. I replaced the engine on it with an 11.5 horse Briggs flat head years ago. When I put that engine on it I had purchased it used and it always needed a bit of oil every once in a while. I am sure it was more "used" than I was lead to believe. I couldn't begin to imagine how many hours are on that engine, but it is lots just from me.

It's starting to pick up on oil use a little. I've always understood (or was taught) that the death of a small engine is contaminated oil scoring the cylinder walls.

In a perfect world with spotless air and clean oil, how many hours would an old L head Briggs rack up before it was using measurable oil from just the cylinder friction wear? Anyone have one on something with an hour meter that has gone a good ways? I know the bigger ones on the standing mowers can run thousands of hours, but those are usually the well built Kawasaki engines with higher horsepower. I'm talking about the mower engines from years back - when 12 horses was a lot.

UncleTom · Apr 24, 2016

Those briggs engines have an aluminium cylinder. It wears rings fast and scores easy.

Geo-TH,In · Apr 24, 2016

Not much one can do with aluminum cylinders. Won't even make a good boat anchor.

Hard to say how long a flat head briggs will last.

If it were me, I would get rid of the roughest ridding snapper mower and buy something new.

oldtanker · Apr 24, 2016

Not really a whole lot. Back in the day most people only got a couple hundred hours out of the aluminum block Briggs engines. That's one of the reasons that the cast iron Kohler's were used in most garden tractors. The real garden tractors that is, not a riding mower made to look like a tractor. At a guess I'd say that getting 500 hours on one would be really pushing it for most people.

Rick

D beatty · Apr 24, 2016

I have a Garden tractor that has a 18 HP Briggs cast iron two cylinder opposed L head. This engine is about 29 years old and is just starting to use a trace of oil ( run on Rotella 15-40 all it life}. At about two years oil I put an hour meter on it and I think it has around 1,600 hours on meter. Engine has never been wrenched on and has been serviced every 20-25 hours. We had a pumpkin patch(22 years) and wife and daughter used it a lot for hauling gourds, mini pumpkins, and run to field to get a special pumpkin if somebody wanted one. Wife still likes it and won't let me get rid of it.

tractorguy2 · Apr 24, 2016

Some Briggs engines have cast iron sleeves. It will say on the top if it does.

I have a Snapper RER from 1980. I put a used BRIGGS 12.5 on it in 96.put a set of rings in it about 1999 or 2000. It is still going does not smoke.leaks way more than it uses.

Not maintaining the air filter correctly has killed just as many engines as dirty oil.

jeffcat · Apr 24, 2016

HEY I had two Snappers on my 1/2 acher lawn and they were great little machines. Now up on the farm the first machine I modified the daylights out of it. Built a rear metal frame that bolted onto the rear and installed a huge gas tank from a Cub Cadet. Raised the linkage for the mower deck. Then for five or six summers I mowed the fence rows for the electric fence with it. Drive up one side and open a gate and do the other side. Worked very well. Better then hand trimming! Cannary grass and orchard grass need to be mower every week or it gets ahead of you.

cole in mo. · Apr 24, 2016

If its the IC version, and oil is changed, as well as the air filter like recommended, and now and then blow the crud from the cyl fins so it will cool right, they will last as long as the high priced other models.

tractorguy2 · Apr 24, 2016

Dad and I were Snapper dealers for 20 years. We sold two brothers identical mowers. 28 inch RER 11hp. The brothers were John Deere guys. One thought he could run his mower 200hrs on an oil change because he used Deere oil and it was better than gold. We put a new engine on his mower every other year.The oil would look like road tar. Seven engines total if I remember right.

His younger brother also ran Deere oil. But changed it once a year. I only remember replacing his engine once.I think he used that mower for 21 years.He now has a ZTR.

The older brother now has a Cub Cadet with a Kolher engine. He won't let anyone work on it but the dealer( 65 miles away) that sold it to him touch it. His brother told me the Cub Cadet has had at least four engines. If he would change his oil more than 200 hrs. it would save a lot of $$$$.

D beatty · Apr 24, 2016

I look at it this way those small engines hold from one to maybe (depending on engine) a little over two quarts. That is a drop in the bucket compared to a new or rebuilt engine.

oldtanker · Apr 24, 2016

(quoted from post at 06:25:31 04/24/16) I have a Garden tractor that has a 18 HP Briggs cast iron two cylinder opposed L head. This engine is about 29 years old and is just starting to use a trace of oil ( run on Rotella 15-40 all it life}. At about two years oil I put an hour meter on it and I think it has around 1,600 hours on meter. Engine has never been wrenched on and has been serviced every 20-25 hours. We had a pumpkin patch(22 years) and wife and daughter used it a lot for hauling gourds, mini pumpkins, and run to field to get a special pumpkin if somebody wanted one. Wife still likes it and won't let me get rid of it.

That is not a garden tractor. That is a lawn tractor by definition. It's meant for mowing and pulling a trailer. It's not designed to use ground engaging implements like a plow. And as new as that is that one most likely has cast iron sleeves. Briggs built a lot on higher HP engines in the 70's and beyond like that. But again there was a reason that Cub, JD, Wheel Horse and others favored the Kohler K series engines. I'm not knocking Briggs. But the older L head engines without sleeves were just not designed to do much more than mow lawn and they there were not designed to run decades. They didn't want them to last that long. Most of em only lasted 5 years or so. Heck of a lot of those engines still around but most were well taken care of with frequent oil changes and other as needed maintenance. Average Joe homeowner didn't do that. Briggs has stayed in business because people buy new mowers to replace ones that quit running.

Rick

RusselAZ · Apr 24, 2016

If you get a case of "want to" over this engine's oil use, put a set of rings in it. You will be amazed at the difference of the tension of the new vs old. I have seen a lot of small engines ruined by not keeping oil on the foam air filters and not cleaning them. I have always used and advised to use Amsoil or Mobil 1 synthetic oil in air cooled engines. These oils keep working in extreme heat.

Oil bath air cleaners were wonderful. I have a rather young crew of mechanics at the shop. A guy came in with a 1951 ford car with an oil bath on it. Two of the youngsters were school trained. None knew what that was or how it worked. One even told me the engine was bad because it was blowing oil into the air cleaner. tsk tsk.

Hammer house · Apr 24, 2016

I like the snapper mower, I have been running A long time. I bought the 30in. back in 1981. I did have the motor rebuilt, but now it is useing oil again.
I got the other two snappers use. I did put an egine on one. I found A B/S 14.5 hp ,put it on the late model 33in. snapper. They all run good.

Hammer Man

keh · Apr 24, 2016

Oil is cheap, engines are expensive. I change my oil often.

KEH

ditchwitch · Apr 24, 2016

You you happen to have a hammer i can borrow. LOL nice collection

UncleTom · Apr 25, 2016

One could get hammered there.

Jimmydog · Apr 26, 2016

Notjustair

I have a 11.5 or 12.5 hp B&S (with iron sleeve) on an old generator that I bought probably 15 yrs ago. Mud daubers clogged up the cooling fins and I didn't notice until the it got so hot that the head gasket failed. The side where the cylinder got the hottest the cylinder wall has serious wear, metal blue from the heat and no doubt out of round. I just, and don't judge me too harshly, slapped a new head gasket it on it and took my chances. Well the last I heard from the last guy that borrowed it, I've been loaning it out to friends in need for the last several years, was that the brushes are out of it. Engine still runs fine once it warms up (2-3 minutes), until then it burns so much oil as to be on an EPA watch list. I hope to get it back some day and replace the brushes. The flat tops where nice but I like the OHVs better, quieter and smoother running but expect to have to adjust the valve lash once in a while. Not sure if this helps, but my two cents. JD

thdrduck · Apr 28, 2016

I believe if you change the oil in them once a year the steel sleeved ones will out last the mower (lawn tractor). Seems steering, decks, blade bearings and transaxels will crap out before the engine. The all aluminum block ones... not so much. Had one on an old Snapper that needed oil before gas then it finally didn't even have enough compression to run anymore. Still have it in the shed, should look for a engine for it because they are kind of like a baby brush hog.

Small engine question. All weigh in.

notjustair

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UncleTom

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Geo-TH,In

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oldtanker

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D beatty

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tractorguy2

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jeffcat

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cole in mo.

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tractorguy2

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D beatty

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oldtanker

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RusselAZ

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Hammer house

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keh

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ditchwitch

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UncleTom

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Jimmydog

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thdrduck

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