Joe Frickin' Friday Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 My lawn mower popped its head gasket today. I will repair it, but since I don't plan to do a ton of heavy maintenance on this thing, I'd rather not invest $20 in a repair manual. Anybody here got one? If so, could you tell me the torque spec for the head bolts on a Briggs & Stratton 4.0 Quattro engine? Thanks... Link to comment
ltljohn Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Is your engine on this chart? Link to comment
Huzband Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 My lawn mower popped its head gasket today. Gee, I wonder why. Jes' sayin'. Oh, and even though you're an engineer, don't over-think it. It's just a lawn mower. Torque values don't really apply. This from my high school tech teacher, Mr. Rogers. Really, that was his name. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Is your engine on this chart? Yes it is, the 10A000 L-head. Thanks very much, that's perfect. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 My lawn mower popped its head gasket today. Gee, I wonder why. Jes' sayin'. FWIW I cut that grass in two stages, so the lawn mower didn't suffer too badly. Actually I think the problem may have come from the last time I cut the grass, when the poplars were releasing tons of fuzz into the air. It clogged all of the cooling fins and the screen/fan on top of the flywheel, so the mower probably ran quite a bit hotter than spec. I used ocmpressed air to blow things clear a couple of times, but the first time I noticed it was only after it was pretty heavily obstructed. Link to comment
Huzband Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 And what of the air filter? Not that you wouldn't have thought of that before. But if you have to rebuild, I strongly suggest the 685 kit. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 And what of the air filter? Not that you wouldn't have thought of that before. It seems to move a lot more air for cooling purposes than it moves through the filter. But yeah, I cleaned that too. I'm not as fastidious about maintenance on the mower as I am on the bike (I don't change the oil every year, although I do use synth), but it seems to be doing OK in its tenth season. Link to comment
Huzband Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 You use syn in the mower? Really? I didn't use syn in the the KLR fer Pete's sake. I don't mean to hammer on you, Mitch, but I have a more important question. Do you use ethanol free gas in your lawn equipment? Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 You use syn in the mower? Really? I didn't use syn in the the KLR fer Pete's sake. I don't mean to hammer on you, Mitch, but I have a more important question. Do you use ethanol free gas in your lawn equipment? Probably not. It's whatever they're serving up at the nearest gas station these days. I also don't drain the tank at the end of each season. Nor do I use fuel stabilizer. So far, so good. Link to comment
ltljohn Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 My last mower ran for 7 years on the oil it came with in the box. I never drained the fuel over the winter. The only reason I replaced it was I had the neighbor kid mow my lawn and he found a new rock and bent the crank shaft. Link to comment
Lone_RT_rider Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 My last mower ran for 7 years on the oil it came with in the box. I never drained the fuel over the winter. The only reason I replaced it was I had the neighbor kid mow my lawn and he found a new rock and bent the crank shaft. And the Chinese ownder why they can't make a "good" lawnmower. *rolls his eyes* Link to comment
Lone_RT_rider Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 And yes, I know that Briggs has a Chinese plant. It was tongue in cheek. Link to comment
JayW Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I am still using the first mower I ever bought about 25 years ago. I was a poor medical student at the time and paid only $15 for it 'cuz it was already 11 years old. It is a Dynamark (department store brand?) with the 3.5hp Briggs & Stratton "Easy Spin Starting" engine, and indeed it is. It is loud, powerful and has not one safety feature. I should probably put a Screamin' Eagle straight pipe on it to suppress that noise. I change the oil and clean the air filter each year in the spring, and I replaced the wheels once. I expect one of my kids will get it someday. Jay Link to comment
tallman Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I just get a new one when it uses up all the oil in about 15 years. Actually topped mine off w/synthetic this week. I use it about 35 times/year. Each use is about 1 1/2 hours. I don't change oil often but I do rotate the tires every election year. Link to comment
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