DON'T do this at home!!!!

[Graham K]

After several months of trying to find a rotovator I found one on ebay. At a price I could afford, powerfull enough to do the job (see OMG that's an allotment), in good condition etc, etc. I think it's a hybrid!

So I get it home and sort out the misssing bit, spark plug cap. The petrol in the tank still smells like petrol so I decide to try it and see, at £1.35+/litre we don't want to waste any. Check the clutch, throttle, on/off switch (it has electronic ignition), choke, and give it a little tug.

Everything feels fine, fuel on, choke half way, ignition on, big heave and it starts! Joy, joy, happy, happy and it has a fair bit of power (it's supposed to be 7/8hp).

Away we go, OMG' will get dug over after all.

Enter a very loud BANG, some flying metal that just misses the brand new window, smoke that wasn't there two seconds ago and some serious swearing on my part.

What did I forget? See if you can work it out from the pictures.

Anybody got a spare B & S 7hp engine I can borrow. Sob, sob, sad again!!

[rustylady]

Dunno, what did you forget? I am a poor feeble woman and I am s*** scared of anything more powerful than a strimmer.

[Nicos]

Errrmmmm.....Oil????

[Graham K]

No such thing as a feeble woman, we all have different skills, mine at the mo' is forgeting to check/put oil in my "new" rotovator so the uppy downy bit in the engine (con rod) decides it wants to go side to side and explode saying "hi" to the world.

Possibly an expensive mistake, I'm trying to decide what to do next, fix or chuck away and buy a new engine. The rest of the rotovator is "good kit", strong and heavy, it's just not going anywhere for a while. Ho, hum any "feeble" women out there that can TIG weld?

[rustylady]

I should have known that! Spent a lot of my childhood helping my Dad service his motorbike(s). Mainly involved me getting mucky instead of him.

[rustylady]

Errrmmmm.....Oil????

Well done Nicos

[Graham K]

A mucky, feeble lady that can fix bikes and grow veggies!!!!!?

[cptncrackoff]

ouch..

I would have thought the costings of repair would outweigh what you paid, I would be more than happy to provide a parts list for the engine, although you would need to provide the 'model, type and code' stamped into the recoil housing normally (or near-by).

eg
model - 10D902
type - 0141-e1
code - 9600045 The code being a date code... the first two numbers ie - 96 for 1996 etc etc.

If you do want to go down the costings of fixing it route drop me a pm.
Your quite a way from me and we rarely get scrapped rotavator engines (briggs and stratton rotavator engines rarely seem to die!!

good luck!

[Aberdeenplotter]

Your quite a way from me and we rarely get scrapped rotavator engines (briggs and stratton rotavator engines rarely seem to die!!

good luck!

Hmmph tell that to my one which died in the s pringtime. Ermhh I forgot to check the oil n all

[cptncrackoff]

Hmmph tell that to my one which died in the s pringtime. Ermhh I forgot to check the oil n all

Ok. The ones with oil in...rarely die!!

[Nicos]

So....do I win the prize then????

[Snadger]

So....do I win the prize then????

Yep...........a pint of oil is winging its way to you at this very moment Nicos!!!!!!

If the conrod has decided to take a trip through the side of the casing I'm afraid more than a tig welder will be required.

Far better to try and source another engine. They can be picked up quite cheaply at farm sales or even fleebay or local ad trader magazine.

PS Mention of eBay puts me in mind of the Irish (hope I don't get into bother here) rioter who smashed his laptop screen trying to loot eBay!

[Graham K]

Not ALL my fault!!

Ok it's still broken in a big way (see latest pic's) but after much googgling(?) I found a web site in the USA the has loads of info on OLD Briggs and Stratton engines. Mike and Jen's Old Engines.

It has pdf's of the original manuals and stuff like that, turns out that mine has a mechanical governor and it had been disconnected from the carb and bolted down tight so nothing worked. I thought it was just a fast revving engine.

Anyway knackered governor or no oil it still went bang, but I think it's fixable! I need to remove the magneto plate so I can get to the crank and hopefully find some numbers to identify the model. I'll still need a new con rod but the rest (apart from the large hole) looks ok, a very strong engine thankfully.

Will keep you informed (and try to outbid everyone for a "new" engine on ebay).

[Glutton4...]

Ooooops Graham! Have you tried Br*ggsB*ts? I've used them for B&S parts before, and service was excellent. Good luck!

[Graham K]

The original engine is still in bits, set for a repair job "another" day. I now have a smaller (3.5hp) B&S engine fitted and I'm nearly ready for a test run, yes I will remember the oil this time.

However, before I get all excited again one more bit of info' from all those that know more than I do please. I still need to find a "new" pulley to fix onto the engine (crank). I've done the Ebay bit and google and keep coming up with silly prices, £20.00+ just for the pulley?http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MERRY-TILL...item5d300d1a25 I can get one a bit cheaper if I order from the USA 100s V Belt Cast Iron Pulley 3.050" od 3/4" Bore AK30 | eBay 2 INCH 2" ENGINE PULLEY 3/4" BORE 1/2" WIDTH BELT | eBay but that is just a bit over the top for me.

Does anyone know where I can get a V-Pulley, second hand or new, cast iron or alloy without paying silly money? I need one with a 2-3 inch outside diameter, 3/4 inch (19mm) bore and a 3/16 inch key.

Any info' much appreciated, thanks. Graham.