I am 76 years old James and even though I have been doing mechanic work since the 60's I still like to learn. You are an excellent teacher. Your voice is so calm and positive. I work in my shop everyday and hope I can for a few more years. Keep those video's coming.
I'm not a mechanic and I don't own an engine or a generator. But I can't stop watching your videos, James. They are so addictive. Thanks again for sharing.
Your conscientiousness is amazing. This episode reminded me of a great time with my father, rest is soul. He was a machinist, mechanic, and about four other trades at a high level. Your approach to things reminds me very much of his, except he was able to do things with the simplest tools imaginable. A point of pride for a depression era kid. We worked on an old lawnmower that someone had thrown away. This was over 50 years ago. Briggs and Stratton. Had been run hard. Many things to be fixed as you did here. CS journal was egg-shaped ~7 thou (he guessed; his only micrometer was at work; but even 12 year old me could see the wiggle). He did not want to spend money on it, so hand-worked the rod with a file until it "felt right." Put it back together. That thing cut an acre of grass every week of every spring and summer for four years before I ran it into a big rock and bent the crankshaft. Man was I in trouble 🙂.
You have a special talent for making "how to" videos. Great camera work, great description without being annoying or skipping over details or being in a hurry. Appreciate showing of detailed techniques.
Very good. I recall the comments to the effect that the piston skirt could cope with the damaged section. This was a master-class yet again, thank-you!
James, I've worked on a number of engines, but I'll tell ya, you have it going on. I'm in the middle of ac724cc Briggs V Twin. Procedures are basically the same! Really good video my friend. Keep sharing, there are those who want to save dollars by DIY. Thanks again! I enjoyed the vid.
Doing the valve job, reminds me of working on a Briggs 875, the valve guide had moved. I did a thorough job cleaning. Took it to a machine shop to have the guide fixed, and a valve job. I had a gentleman tell me that IF a machine shop does a valve job, it would ruin the head. I laughed at that. The engine never ran as good. Sometimes people have unusual ideas, that may or may not be correct. The machinest said there was no way lapping the valves on that head would have worked. (Most do) just not that piticular head. You do great work, easy to understand what and why. I always enjoy your videos. I have a 3500 Predator generator/ inverter. I checked the ohms on the outlets so I would have an idea of where it should be in case I ever need to check it. It was 0.019. I learned from you that's where it should be. I changed the oil at 10 hours and I try to use it once a month. It's just a year old. I'm pretty happy with it .
Just note the inverter generator outlets connect to the inverter module and not the stator directly. Still good to have that measurement because it’s usually the inverter that eventually fails.
Good job James!! I am glad that you gave that engine another chance at life. About 90 percent of engines that blew a rod that I rebuilt for people had some sort of minor damage to the cylinder skirting, and the engines held up like nothing happened to it. I have never had a comeback or failure due to minor chunks taken out. I have had cracks in the skirting, and using a air Dremel, ground the crack out of skirt to remove the small crack. As far as pistons go, I have used pistons with scratches in the skirting far in excess of what I saw in the video. I used the wire wheel on the bench grinder to smooth them out, and have never had a comeback. Believe me, these small engines have a lot of tolerance for abuse. While I understand the guilt feeling to use possible substandard parts/components, what should be taken away is it's not the space shuttle, it's not flying to the moon. You would be amazed at what these engines can endure. So long as the piston rings are good, little piston slop in the cylinder, the valves are sealing, the carb is cleaned up, you got good spark, the valve gap is in spec and no slop, the engine is getting its lubrication, you will then have a good running engine. Unlike a multi-cylinder engine where every detail counts, single cylinder engines are tolerable to things not quite being 100%; you will know if something is off due to lack of power or failing to run good or at all. Some times you have to YOLO (You Only Live Once) it, I have saved many people a lot of money rebuilding their engines; where some shops would not touch it.
Good to know. Because I just brought home two more storm responders both run out of oil and both needing an engine. So it looks like I will be putting it back in service.
@@jcondon1 Wow, that is crazy!! I have never heard of a line of generators that have had this kind of failure. One note is that it is correct with the piston rings being 180 degrees apart during assembly on some engines, but also take into consideration that the rings will move as the engine runs and takes on hours. It's possible that is why Briggs did not include that spec in the manual, they probably figured it is pointless to do that, as they know the rings will move. Unless the piston has tiny pins to retain the rings in position, they will move. They move during the end travel when the rings are "unloaded" from the travel of the piston, they can slightly turn during opposite travel (my guess is due to the scratches of the hone) This is a good thing, as the wear will never be in the same exact spot over and over again. It becomes a problem if the rings are stuck on the piston, and can not move (due to overheating, and thick oil burn in the ring grooves) I would guess that with the engine being new, it was burning excess oil as the rings seat into the cylinder (or bad hone job from factory, I've seen that) Generators have it hard when new, as they typically run hours at a time, and nobody wants to shut it down to check oil level. I recommend people when buying a new one, to run them for a 24hr break in procedure, where the genset is not needed, so you can check the oil at 4-6hr periods. The other way is to check the oil when new at 4hr periods, until it has racked up 24hrs. It would be interesting to see if it is even remotely possible to add some kind of oil level sensor to these engines. I would take what you just did and repeat that process for the next ones. You did good as far as lightly honing the cylinder (use WD40 as oil when honing), checked clearances with the crankshaft, and other considerations when putting it back together.
I've been working on small engines all my life. Your knowledge and videos are exceptional. As mentioned they are addictive and are fascinating to watch. Keep up the great work.
I ecourage you to continu your videos James. They are very educative which permitted me to do my own repair on small engines. Thanks for your knowledge.
I work as diving tech and you have taught me so much! It will be great to give you back in return. Your voice is very soothing and calming and you work with meticulous care wonderful to watch!
Another award winning video from Dr. Generator. That engine is just as good as new!! Loved all the tips and tricks as you went along getting this bad boy back in shape. Awesome that is started on the first pull. Thank you for your weekly college lessons!!
Most excellent step-by-step engine rebuild that I have watched, and mostly everyday tools. Absolutely the best use of a Phillips screwdriver ever!!! You make the job look so easy, that even I could do it. Who am I kidding? Thank you James
I enjoyed watching this video. The best technical video on any mechanical thing I have ever seen. Very informative with many good practices/methods and practical tricks of the trade. You also knew, mentioned and adhered to all technical specs on the engine components, installation/assembly. This video is head and shoulder above all other videos I have seen. It also reminded me of my brother who taught me about the valve grinding and cleaning and rebuilding a Bosch fuel pump on a diesel engine. Your commentary is very clear. I would give this video a five star rating. THANKS !
Excellent work as usual. Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid and needs plenty of ventilation when reacting with aluminum. Secure it well if your kids are allowed to mess around in your shop as it is some VERY nasty stuff. Your lapping method of the journal is pure genius. Removing the sharp points of the broken section of the cylinder wall was good thinking as they could be stress risers and cause cracks to form. The top two rings are compression rings and "should not" have much of an affect on oil consumption. The bottom ring is the oil ring and scrapes oil off the cylinder wall to prevent it from being burned.
At 37:00 I would have tapped the end of the valve near the keepers with a plastic hammer. This would settle the position the keepers. If they were in the correct position (locked), that would show that they are locked in. This guy is very smart. He is someone who can teach you the correct way to repair things!
Hello James I am glad to see that you took the time to repair the engine. I have repaired many with similar damage and they all worked well. 2 of about 10 🎉did e entirely fail again but only after many hours of heavy work.(I expect they were run low on oil again.) Most were snowblower use engines.Your investment in quality measuring equipment & tools is impressive, Micrometers and Bore guages are not inexpensive. Great video keep them coming.
26:15 "PTO" for those who don't know, stands for Power Take Off, which means the connection point for whatever the motor is driving. Devices like farm tractors have a PTO connection point so you can hook up a driveshaft to it for powering things on a trailer, like a mower deck. In this case the PTO connection is to the generator power head.
That was terrific. The engine should last for years after that excellent work, thanks, very interesting. I have done that kind of work myself, but its always nice to see it done properly and skillfully :)
Yup! If that was my engine, I'd have CAREFULLY bored out the cylinder and done a 0.003" interference fit on a sleeve (using liquid nitrogen to shrink it down enough to slip in)... That way, I know the cylinder is now Perfectly round, proper diameter and full length... Still, his way works just fine too...I'm just WAY to CDO* to leave that missing chunk in the bottom of the cylinder bore... 😄😁😆😅😂🤣 *It's OCD but in the proper Alphabetical Order darn it!
I disagree. I think James will give purchaser a copy of this video, he will have disclosed it and won't give it another thought after that. It will be fine for the needs of the purchaser. Great video!
Great video, that engine runs and sounds great after rebuilding it despite that damage to the bottom of the cylinder, nice work James! Muriatic acid also works great to remove rust from metal gas tanks, I used it to remove the rust from inside the tank on my 1980 Honda XL500 dirt bike then sealed it with tank sealer.
As thorough of a job as you did, it'll last. I bought a 2018 YZ250X June 11th 2018 and the bottom end went out November 11th 2018. I did a complete rebuild February 2019 and it is still going to this day, I've done a couple piston kits since the overhaul as preventative maintenance, but nothing more.
This is great. Thanks for doing this. I'd like to see the unit put into use. Get it under a load for say 1/4 of it's expected lifetime, then pull it apart and inspect it to see how it does. We can all learn from this as to what can and can't be done.
Thank you for your very informative content! Love the way you showed every detail measuring the crank, cam, bore, valve lapping, and most importantly...... torqueing all the fasteners! Great Job and keep the videos coming!
Great resurrection video, really enjoyed that! I don’t think that little missing piece is going to matter one bit; it’s not in a critical mechanical area, doesn’t have any structural function and doesn’t have any influence on the piston travel. Runs beautifully!
It’s fun to clean up a crank and save a lot of money plus build a good engine Most of the time if rod didn’t come apart it can be saved, might be at limit but will run for years
I have a engine stripped down now I'm glad I seen this before putting it back together thanks for explaining what your doing and why your doing on the install
👍Been doing this stuff for over 30 years and you do a perfect textbook repair . The only thing I would have done different would have been to check if the cam was bent and the cam bosses in the case . I’ve built quite a few junkyard motors in the past and I feel that you take a lot of extra steps that just cost you time . In the end you still have a junkyard motor .
Actually, it doesn't matter where the parts came from. A junkyard motor, with all parts within factory spec, properly torqued and reassembled, is as healthy as a new one.
The plastic piece at 59:15 should be addressed by Briggs engineering. There should be a means to adjust the amount of hot air it's able to contain via a sliding or adjustable opening-one position for hot weather and one for cold to allow the heat to either escape or stay circulating. Just a thought. Great content as always. God bless.
Good build and I'd trust it to keep me powered up when the line was dead, no problem. The only change I'd make in it would be to run it more and then change the oil with Delo 15/40 diesel formula for cooler running and better lubing BUT that's just me. I ran straight 30 wt. for years until I saw personally how good Delo worked. Thanks, James! A-PLUS and God Bless
Run the engine for a time then use your borescope to inspect the wear. There is no need to disassemble unless you are going to mic the clearances after use. The borescope will show you the damaged cylinder area in the sump and will allow you to see the cylinder wear inside the area of piston travel through the spark plug hole.
Maybe he wants to check for wear on the bottom of the piston, so he would need to remove the sump to check the piston. I'm sure it won't be a problem, just my opinion.
I greatly enjoyed the rebuild of this engine I was curious when the engine originally failed if it was gonna be possible to rebuild it at the time you did not so I’m very glad to see that you rebuild this engine
Great video. I’m learning about Small engines and doing repairs on lawn equipment. Vids like this really help my understanding of all the mechanical relationships within the engine. Great stuff thanks!
Excellent work Jim. I don't think you will have any further issues. I tend to use a heavier oil if a customers engine in using oil. Some Kawasaki engines are using 15/40 which is about the heaviest oil I have seen on engines. I use 10/40 in my own equipment. Thanks
Exceptional quality in terms of the video and audio and meticulous mechanical work which we've come to expect and always value, Jim. Hope it lasts and gets an additional long and useful life. I couldn't help but hear the voice of Todd from Project Farm say "We're gonna test that!" at the end when you were talking about more testing, presumably under load, and then further inspection for damage. Wish you were closer. I've got 2 more I'd donate to the channel that I don't have the time to mess with or the space to keep. Garage sale here tomorrow so maybe they will sell there. If not, maybe I'll reach out to Joey to see if he ever gets back up by you to visit.
For the carbon on the head if it fits in your ultrasonic, try it, it will do wonders and save you the elbow work. I had a completely carbon covered briggs L head and and after a few cycles it looked almost like new. over
Hi James, really enjoying your videos, have watched a fair few just because it's not a bad time just hanging out and seeing what's up with the next project, engine, generator, whatever the case might be, .... I found your channel while looking into what I needed to do for a Briggs 20hp OHV single piston on an Ariens that was gifted free to us, but ran rough and smoked. After watching more than a few of your videos, I got tucked into it and with your help diagnosed it needed a new head gasket, So, after shopping from your Amazon store (figured if it was good for you it's more than good enough for me), got a few tools and supplies and opened it up. Sure enough the head gasket was blowing past in the common area, so, already having the tools and parts I replaced it, but also lapped the valves and generally cleaned everything up. I then set the valve lash, carefully, and also carefully put everything back together, torquing all with my new torque wrench. Started it up and it was a lot better, but was not perfect, running better but still backfiring, and then, a bang! Nuts, it still ran but I turned it off. To troubleshoot, tried starting but it was locked, uh-oh! Need to watch a couple more videos, this time, of course, the compression relief, and camshaft needs replacement. So, got a couple more tools, more parts, pulled the engine off, opened the oil sump, and after cleaning all the chunks of compression relief parts, replaced the camshaft and gasket and buttoned it all up again, setting the valve lash again, .004 thousandths. And, by the way, carefully, carefully inspected everything in the head, lower end, carb, etc.... Started it up and, ... actually better., smoother.... but still backfiring through the intake! What the... !? Checked valve adjustment, again. Inspected rods, again. And then rechecked it all again, upper and lower. Removed and thoroughly cleaned the carb, checked the fuel solenoid, worked perfectly. Finally, as a last resort opened the oil sump again to check that the timing marks that I so carefully set when replacing the camshaft did not somehow get out of alignment, but, no, perfectly in place. So, looking to this community for thoughts on what to do to resolve the continuing backfiring through the intake (and that's been from day one, fyi), after replacing the head gasket, the camshaft, and re-setting/re-checking the valve lash several times, and a fair few other things as well. Thoughts? Thanks, KWL
Glad to hear you dug in and started to look at the possibilities. A backfire through the intake can be tricky and caused by multiple things. Below are a few things that come to mind: 1) the engines use a waste spark system. Sparks once at top dead center if the compression stroke (power stroke) and again at top dead center if the exhaust stroke. At tdc of the exhaust stroke both valves are open and if the fuel did not ignite on the power stroke then it could on the exhaust stroke send a backfire through the intake. Possible causes, bad or improperly gapped spark plug it bad coil. 2) spark timing is off. Would check the flywheel key 3) make sure you set the valves at tdc of the compression stroke. Many do not realize the piston is at the top twice. Only one is the correct stoke. If in doubt just rotate the engine until a valve is fully open and set the other valve. 4) ignition coil upside down. That will produce a weak spark and change the spark timing a little. Also check the gap between the coil and magnet using a business card. 5) have also seen clone carburetor cause this issue of running lean Not and easy straight forward answer and could be something else but would focus on spark and spark timing.
@@jcondon1 Excellent, thanks! Yes, I did use a business card to set the magneto gap (see, not only watched the videos but paid attention)! Also checked the timing by seeing where the magnet position was just post-TDC, that looked good but, of course, I believe that's just a sanity-check. And, yes, took my time understanding which position of the piston-to-valves represented compression versus exhaust versus intake and combustion, Also, the carburetor looks pristine, but sprayed it well with cleaner nonetheless, especially the ports which the stream passed through quite well, also tested the needle valve, but I am thinking of replacing the carb if I can't work out anything else. Have not checked flywheel key, that's next, as soon as I can work out how to get that nut off. Ignition coil upside down, hmmm, that's interesting, Have not considered spark yet, am going to watch a couple of your videos on that as you definitely have the best info on checking electrical/electronics, and will then take a closer look at that, Question: Which of your videos would you recommend on checking ignition/spark/spark timing problems? Last but not least, thanks very much for answering but also for the great rundown on what to look for next, KWL
Nicely done. When all apart it would be wise to replace the main crankshaft seals. You are in there anyway. The shroud also helps channel the air flow generated by the fins on the flywheel through the cylinder cooling fins.
A follow up bore scope would be interesting, even after just this short run. If there is going to be piston/cylinder wall issues, they will or should already be showing I would think to the point where they can be seen with the scope
Trying to find a time to grab the Generac. The Tecumseh is on the back burner for now. Too many projects in the works. Thinking July I can circle back on the Tecumseh.
Great job on the rebuild; if you're not sure of the longevity of the engine in a critical application it can be adapted for use as a go cart engine for the children.
Asalam-Alaikum I am from Pakistan and Watching Your every single video much interesting and Informative, I learn lot of Knowledge Masha Allah. Best Wishes....
I am 76 years old James and even though I have been doing mechanic work since the 60's I still like to learn. You are an excellent teacher. Your voice is so calm and positive. I work in my shop everyday and hope I can for a few more years. Keep those video's coming.
I hope all is well with you. I'm getting older myself and understand what you mean.
I'm not a mechanic and I don't own an engine or a generator. But I can't stop watching your videos, James. They are so addictive. Thanks again for sharing.
agreed!
You guys better try someone else, he is not doing this job correctly or conventionally.
@@vw4x4 No, he's doing it the way that's always worked for him.
I am watching to fix but was thinking the same thing
Me too 😊👍🍀
Your conscientiousness is amazing. This episode reminded me of a great time with my father, rest is soul. He was a machinist, mechanic, and about four other trades at a high level. Your approach to things reminds me very much of his, except he was able to do things with the simplest tools imaginable. A point of pride for a depression era kid. We worked on an old lawnmower that someone had thrown away. This was over 50 years ago. Briggs and Stratton. Had been run hard. Many things to be fixed as you did here. CS journal was egg-shaped ~7 thou (he guessed; his only micrometer was at work; but even 12 year old me could see the wiggle). He did not want to spend money on it, so hand-worked the rod with a file until it "felt right." Put it back together. That thing cut an acre of grass every week of every spring and summer for four years before I ran it into a big rock and bent the crankshaft. Man was I in trouble 🙂.
My grandfather was like that, my father tells me stories about what my grandfather would fix.
I learn so much from your videos. Thank you for all the effort you put into producing them.
Yes!
You have a special talent for making "how to" videos. Great camera work, great description without being annoying or skipping over details or being in a hurry. Appreciate showing of detailed techniques.
Very good. I recall the comments to the effect that the piston skirt could cope with the damaged section. This was a master-class yet again, thank-you!
You're always clear, concise and honest in your presentations ! -- Thanks !
James, I've worked on a number of engines, but I'll tell ya, you have it going on. I'm in the middle of ac724cc Briggs V Twin. Procedures are basically the same! Really good video my friend. Keep sharing, there are those who want to save dollars by DIY. Thanks again! I enjoyed the vid.
Doing the valve job, reminds me of working on a Briggs 875, the valve guide had moved. I did a thorough job cleaning. Took it to a machine shop to have the guide fixed, and a valve job. I had a gentleman tell me that IF a machine shop does a valve job, it would ruin the head. I laughed at that. The engine never ran as good.
Sometimes people have unusual ideas, that may or may not be correct. The machinest said there was no way lapping the valves on that head would have worked. (Most do) just not that piticular head.
You do great work, easy to understand what and why. I always enjoy your videos.
I have a 3500 Predator generator/ inverter. I checked the ohms on the outlets so I would have an idea of where it should be in case I ever need to check it. It was 0.019. I learned from you that's where it should be. I changed the oil at 10 hours and I try to use it once a month. It's just a year old. I'm pretty happy with it .
Just note the inverter generator outlets connect to the inverter module and not the stator directly. Still good to have that measurement because it’s usually the inverter that eventually fails.
@@jcondon1
Thank you sir.
Good job James!! I am glad that you gave that engine another chance at life. About 90 percent of engines that blew a rod that I rebuilt for people had some sort of minor damage to the cylinder skirting, and the engines held up like nothing happened to it. I have never had a comeback or failure due to minor chunks taken out. I have had cracks in the skirting, and using a air Dremel, ground the crack out of skirt to remove the small crack. As far as pistons go, I have used pistons with scratches in the skirting far in excess of what I saw in the video. I used the wire wheel on the bench grinder to smooth them out, and have never had a comeback. Believe me, these small engines have a lot of tolerance for abuse. While I understand the guilt feeling to use possible substandard parts/components, what should be taken away is it's not the space shuttle, it's not flying to the moon. You would be amazed at what these engines can endure. So long as the piston rings are good, little piston slop in the cylinder, the valves are sealing, the carb is cleaned up, you got good spark, the valve gap is in spec and no slop, the engine is getting its lubrication, you will then have a good running engine. Unlike a multi-cylinder engine where every detail counts, single cylinder engines are tolerable to things not quite being 100%; you will know if something is off due to lack of power or failing to run good or at all. Some times you have to YOLO (You Only Live Once) it, I have saved many people a lot of money rebuilding their engines; where some shops would not touch it.
Good to know. Because I just brought home two more storm responders both run out of oil and both needing an engine. So it looks like I will be putting it back in service.
@@jcondon1 Wow, that is crazy!! I have never heard of a line of generators that have had this kind of failure. One note is that it is correct with the piston rings being 180 degrees apart during assembly on some engines, but also take into consideration that the rings will move as the engine runs and takes on hours. It's possible that is why Briggs did not include that spec in the manual, they probably figured it is pointless to do that, as they know the rings will move. Unless the piston has tiny pins to retain the rings in position, they will move. They move during the end travel when the rings are "unloaded" from the travel of the piston, they can slightly turn during opposite travel (my guess is due to the scratches of the hone) This is a good thing, as the wear will never be in the same exact spot over and over again. It becomes a problem if the rings are stuck on the piston, and can not move (due to overheating, and thick oil burn in the ring grooves) I would guess that with the engine being new, it was burning excess oil as the rings seat into the cylinder (or bad hone job from factory, I've seen that) Generators have it hard when new, as they typically run hours at a time, and nobody wants to shut it down to check oil level. I recommend people when buying a new one, to run them for a 24hr break in procedure, where the genset is not needed, so you can check the oil at 4-6hr periods. The other way is to check the oil when new at 4hr periods, until it has racked up 24hrs. It would be interesting to see if it is even remotely possible to add some kind of oil level sensor to these engines. I would take what you just did and repeat that process for the next ones. You did good as far as lightly honing the cylinder (use WD40 as oil when honing), checked clearances with the crankshaft, and other considerations when putting it back together.
It's the best rebuild ever. The cord and sandpaper for crankshaft priceless. ❤
Great trick of using fine sandpaper and rope to polish the rod journal.
I've been working on small engines all my life. Your knowledge and videos are exceptional. As mentioned they are addictive and are fascinating to watch. Keep up the great work.
Ever seen the bolt that holds counterweights to rod and crank broken in 12.5 hp. Slight damage to case and counterweights.
I ecourage you to continu your videos James. They are very educative which permitted me to do my own repair on small engines. Thanks for your knowledge.
I work as diving tech and you have taught me so much! It will be great to give you back in return. Your voice is very soothing and calming and you work with meticulous care wonderful to watch!
One of the best video's of rebuilding a small engine. Fantastic job and camera work. Thanks for the videos.
Totally agree on the camera work. Outstanding!
A Thursday morning treat!! Thanks much.
Another award winning video from Dr. Generator. That engine is just as good as new!! Loved all the tips and tricks as you went along getting this bad boy back in shape. Awesome that is started on the first pull. Thank you for your weekly college lessons!!
Most excellent step-by-step engine rebuild that I have watched, and mostly everyday tools. Absolutely the best use of a Phillips screwdriver ever!!! You make the job look so easy, that even I could do it. Who am I kidding? Thank you James
It's always a good watch. You detail every move very clearly. As a seasoned mechanic myself, I'm still learning. Thanks
I enjoyed watching this video. The best technical video on any mechanical thing I have ever seen. Very informative with many good practices/methods and practical tricks of the trade. You also knew, mentioned and adhered to all technical specs on the engine components, installation/assembly. This video is head and shoulder above all other videos I have seen. It also reminded me of my brother who taught me about the valve grinding and cleaning and rebuilding a Bosch fuel pump on a diesel engine. Your commentary is very clear. I would give this video a five star rating. THANKS !
Great job on the rebuild James. With your meticulous work I have no doubt that engine will last many, many hours. 👍👍
Excellent work as usual. Muriatic acid is hydrochloric acid and needs plenty of ventilation when reacting with aluminum. Secure it well if your kids are allowed to mess around in your shop as it is some VERY nasty stuff. Your lapping method of the journal is pure genius. Removing the sharp points of the broken section of the cylinder wall was good thinking as they could be stress risers and cause cracks to form. The top two rings are compression rings and "should not" have much of an affect on oil consumption. The bottom ring is the oil ring and scrapes oil off the cylinder wall to prevent it from being burned.
Good fix. Runs great. Test will be under load. I don't think the piston will suffer.
At 37:00 I would have tapped the end of the valve near the keepers with a plastic hammer.
This would settle the position the keepers. If they were in the correct position (locked), that would show that they are locked in.
This guy is very smart. He is someone who can teach you the correct way to repair things!
This video was pretty darn cool. Loved the rope trick. Thanks for the hard worm you out into making this video.
I was waiting for this video
It’s a keeper for sure and will run great 👍
Hello James I am glad to see that you took the time to repair the engine. I have repaired many with similar damage and they all worked well. 2 of about 10 🎉did e entirely fail again but only after many hours of heavy work.(I expect they were run low on oil again.) Most were snowblower use engines.Your investment in quality measuring equipment & tools is impressive, Micrometers and Bore guages are not inexpensive. Great video keep them coming.
Nice rebuild video Jim, these are a nice change of pace outside of the normal genset stuff. Looks like you saved another one from the scrap pile.
Nice going James. I enjoyed watching it and your explanation of the ring clocking and the plastic cover function.
Good job James, yeah I think it makes a good bench test engine to test with until your happy it's not going to self destruct.
Excellent and detailed video, thanks for taking the time to show us your rebuild, very educational and precise
26:15 "PTO" for those who don't know, stands for Power Take Off, which means the connection point for whatever the motor is driving. Devices like farm tractors have a PTO connection point so you can hook up a driveshaft to it for powering things on a trailer, like a mower deck. In this case the PTO connection is to the generator power head.
That was terrific. The engine should last for years after that excellent work, thanks, very interesting. I have done that kind of work myself, but its always nice to see it done properly and skillfully :)
You know that chunk missing will never stop bugging you, good video though
Yup! If that was my engine, I'd have CAREFULLY bored out the cylinder and done a 0.003" interference fit on a sleeve (using liquid nitrogen to shrink it down enough to slip in)...
That way, I know the cylinder is now Perfectly round, proper diameter and full length...
Still, his way works just fine too...I'm just WAY to CDO* to leave that missing chunk in the bottom of the cylinder bore...
😄😁😆😅😂🤣
*It's OCD but in the proper Alphabetical Order darn it!
I disagree. I think James will give purchaser a copy of this video, he will have disclosed it and won't give it another thought after that. It will be fine for the needs of the purchaser. Great video!
I was hoping he would show the piston travel before he put the side cover on. Oh well....
I have massive OCD and if any of my engines have something broken on them like in this case then it’ll bother me
Great video James as always, amazing view of honing from inside the crank case, never seen that before it has to be a first.
Great video Mr. James!!! I enjoy watching your videos and I learn a lot from your experience... thanks for your time!!! 😊😊😊😊😊
Great video! And now I even know the E5 size for the carb studs! 70 inch pounds torque!
Most people will tell you it is too expensive to repair one. You just proved to me that it is feasible. Thanks.
Definitely too expensive to pay a shop, but usually looks a lot better if you do the work.
Thankyou James
Great video, that engine runs and sounds great after rebuilding it despite that damage to the bottom of the cylinder, nice work James! Muriatic acid also works great to remove rust from metal gas tanks, I used it to remove the rust from inside the tank on my 1980 Honda XL500 dirt bike then sealed it with tank sealer.
You could put a swiss watch back together with your skills. Another great job.
I think that engine will run as well and as long as any new one. Great job. I learned allot!
As thorough of a job as you did, it'll last. I bought a 2018 YZ250X June 11th 2018 and the bottom end went out November 11th 2018. I did a complete rebuild February 2019 and it is still going to this day, I've done a couple piston kits since the overhaul as preventative maintenance, but nothing more.
This is great. Thanks for doing this. I'd like to see the unit put into use. Get it under a load for say 1/4 of it's expected lifetime, then pull it apart and inspect it to see how it does. We can all learn from this as to what can and can't be done.
Thank you for your very informative content! Love the way you showed every detail measuring the crank, cam, bore, valve lapping, and most importantly...... torqueing all the fasteners! Great Job and keep the videos coming!
Thank you for a very interesting video. I like your detailed views of the progress and attention to cleanliness. Great!
Superb work again James, and thanks for yet another high quality presentation.
Nice rebuild James. Sweet sounding engine and a big hello from your UK viewers 🇬🇧
Thank you very muc that's what I'm searching to my problem.
Great resurrection video, really enjoyed that! I don’t think that little missing piece is going to matter one bit; it’s not in a critical mechanical area, doesn’t have any structural function and doesn’t have any influence on the piston travel. Runs beautifully!
Brilliant as usual. Thank you for an informative and meticulous procedure. -Cheers 👍
Your defiantly top notch on all the work & details you do....Enjoy your vids
It’s fun to clean up a crank and save a lot of money plus build a good engine
Most of the time if rod didn’t come apart it can be saved, might be at limit but will run for years
Thanks for the Great Video James always pickup new things!!👍👍
Hi, my name is ramon I learned a lot from all your videos. You do good work excellent
Preparation is everything.
Great video! Potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide dissolve aluminum with no effect on iron.
Really appreciate your methodical measured approach. Also makes for relaxing viewing.
Another very informative video👍👍👍👍
Was wondering if this engine was going to make a comeback. Great video James
Am generator technician in kenya and am always inspired by the way you handles those machines ❤❤❤❤
I have a engine stripped down now I'm glad I seen this before putting it back together thanks for explaining what your doing and why your doing on the install
James, you have very steady hands, no tremors at all as do the fine jobs.
Awesome. This was extremely useful! Thank you for taking the time to do this.
👍Been doing this stuff for over 30 years and you do a perfect textbook repair . The only thing I would have done different would have been to check if the cam was bent and the cam bosses in the case . I’ve built quite a few junkyard motors in the past and I feel that you take a lot of extra steps that just cost you time . In the end you still have a junkyard motor .
Actually, it doesn't matter where the parts came from. A junkyard motor, with all parts within factory spec, properly torqued and reassembled, is as healthy as a new one.
They're all junkyard motors. Some have just been on the pile for longer than others have.
👌👌👍👍 Nice work James, as always. Thanks for the video.
The plastic piece at 59:15 should be addressed by Briggs engineering. There should be a means to adjust the amount of hot air it's able to contain via a sliding or adjustable opening-one position for hot weather and one for cold to allow the heat to either escape or stay circulating. Just a thought. Great content as always. God bless.
Good build and I'd trust it to keep me powered up when the line was dead, no problem. The only change I'd make in it would be to run it more and then change the oil with Delo 15/40 diesel formula for cooler running and better lubing BUT that's just me. I ran straight 30 wt. for years until I saw personally how good Delo worked.
Thanks, James! A-PLUS and God Bless
I enjoy watching you work and the narration give the details. Nicely none.
Thank you for the video
What you do is amazing 😉😉
very educational, thank you
Great video James, Thanks!
Another runner, well done yet again James. Great to see 112k subscribers - roll on 150k.... its increasing quite steadily now...
You're very competent & thorough. I don't see how you can make a living doing this.
Run the engine for a time then use your borescope to inspect the wear. There is no need to disassemble unless you are going to mic the clearances after use. The borescope will show you the damaged cylinder area in the sump and will allow you to see the cylinder wear inside the area of piston travel through the spark plug hole.
Maybe he wants to check for wear on the bottom of the piston, so he would need to remove the sump to check the piston. I'm sure it won't be a problem, just my opinion.
Good point
Well done. Thanks for sharing
Definitely only time will tell if the piston will become damaged from the damaged skirt sleeve good video @James Condon
It's looking pretty good, excellent video James
Great job james well done.
I greatly enjoyed the rebuild of this engine I was curious when the engine originally failed if it was gonna be possible to rebuild it at the time you did not so I’m very glad to see that you rebuild this engine
Great video. I’m learning about
Small engines and doing repairs on lawn equipment. Vids like this really help my understanding of all the mechanical relationships within the engine. Great stuff thanks!
Doc., great diagnostic and assembly video. I'd bet money that engine will last a long time with some tlc.
Excellent work Jim. I don't think you will have any further issues. I tend to use a heavier oil if a customers engine in using oil. Some Kawasaki engines are using 15/40 which is about the heaviest oil I have seen on engines. I use 10/40 in my own equipment. Thanks
Exceptional quality in terms of the video and audio and meticulous mechanical work which we've come to expect and always value, Jim. Hope it lasts and gets an additional long and useful life. I couldn't help but hear the voice of Todd from Project Farm say "We're gonna test that!" at the end when you were talking about more testing, presumably under load, and then further inspection for damage.
Wish you were closer. I've got 2 more I'd donate to the channel that I don't have the time to mess with or the space to keep. Garage sale here tomorrow so maybe they will sell there. If not, maybe I'll reach out to Joey to see if he ever gets back up by you to visit.
Great Informative Video. Thanks!!
I liked your method of polishing the rod journal, it keeps it in round.
For the carbon on the head if it fits in your ultrasonic, try it, it will do wonders and save you the elbow work. I had a completely carbon covered briggs L head and and after a few cycles it looked almost like new. over
WOW.... U r so detailed n u work clean
Hi James, really enjoying your videos, have watched a fair few just because it's not a bad time just hanging out and seeing what's up with the next project, engine, generator, whatever the case might be, ....
I found your channel while looking into what I needed to do for a Briggs 20hp OHV single piston on an Ariens that was gifted free to us, but ran rough and smoked.
After watching more than a few of your videos, I got tucked into it and with your help diagnosed it needed a new head gasket,
So, after shopping from your Amazon store (figured if it was good for you it's more than good enough for me), got a few tools and supplies and opened it up. Sure enough the head gasket was blowing past in the common area, so, already having the tools and parts I replaced it, but also lapped the valves and generally cleaned everything up. I then set the valve lash, carefully, and also carefully put everything back together, torquing all with my new torque wrench.
Started it up and it was a lot better, but was not perfect, running better but still backfiring, and then, a bang! Nuts, it still ran but I turned it off.
To troubleshoot, tried starting but it was locked, uh-oh! Need to watch a couple more videos, this time, of course, the compression relief, and camshaft needs replacement.
So, got a couple more tools, more parts, pulled the engine off, opened the oil sump, and after cleaning all the chunks of compression relief parts, replaced the camshaft and gasket and buttoned it all up again, setting the valve lash again, .004 thousandths. And, by the way, carefully, carefully inspected everything in the head, lower end, carb, etc....
Started it up and, ... actually better., smoother.... but still backfiring through the intake! What the... !?
Checked valve adjustment, again. Inspected rods, again. And then rechecked it all again, upper and lower. Removed and thoroughly cleaned the carb, checked the fuel solenoid, worked perfectly. Finally, as a last resort opened the oil sump again to check that the timing marks that I so carefully set when replacing the camshaft did not somehow get out of alignment, but, no, perfectly in place.
So, looking to this community for thoughts on what to do to resolve the continuing backfiring through the intake (and that's been from day one, fyi), after replacing the head gasket, the camshaft, and re-setting/re-checking the valve lash several times, and a fair few other things as well.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
KWL
Glad to hear you dug in and started to look at the possibilities. A backfire through the intake can be tricky and caused by multiple things. Below are a few things that come to mind:
1) the engines use a waste spark system. Sparks once at top dead center if the compression stroke (power stroke) and again at top dead center if the exhaust stroke. At tdc of the exhaust stroke both valves are open and if the fuel did not ignite on the power stroke then it could on the exhaust stroke send a backfire through the intake. Possible causes, bad or improperly gapped spark plug it bad coil.
2) spark timing is off. Would check the flywheel key
3) make sure you set the valves at tdc of the compression stroke. Many do not realize the piston is at the top twice. Only one is the correct stoke. If in doubt just rotate the engine until a valve is fully open and set the other valve.
4) ignition coil upside down. That will produce a weak spark and change the spark timing a little. Also check the gap between the coil and magnet using a business card.
5) have also seen clone carburetor cause this issue of running lean
Not and easy straight forward answer and could be something else but would focus on spark and spark timing.
@@jcondon1 Excellent, thanks!
Yes, I did use a business card to set the magneto gap (see, not only watched the videos but paid attention)! Also checked the timing by seeing where the magnet position was just post-TDC, that looked good but, of course, I believe that's just a sanity-check.
And, yes, took my time understanding which position of the piston-to-valves represented compression versus exhaust versus intake and combustion,
Also, the carburetor looks pristine, but sprayed it well with cleaner nonetheless, especially the ports which the stream passed through quite well, also tested the needle valve, but I am thinking of replacing the carb if I can't work out anything else.
Have not checked flywheel key, that's next, as soon as I can work out how to get that nut off.
Ignition coil upside down, hmmm, that's interesting,
Have not considered spark yet, am going to watch a couple of your videos on that as you definitely have the best info on checking electrical/electronics, and will then take a closer look at that,
Question: Which of your videos would you recommend on checking ignition/spark/spark timing problems?
Last but not least, thanks very much for answering but also for the great rundown on what to look for next,
KWL
Nicely done. When all apart it would be wise to replace the main crankshaft seals. You are in there anyway. The shroud also helps channel the air flow generated by the fins on the flywheel through the cylinder cooling fins.
Your content is so appealing and easy
to watch. Thank you,😊
A follow up bore scope would be interesting, even after just this short run. If there is going to be piston/cylinder wall issues, they will or should already be showing I would think to the point where they can be seen with the scope
Another great save Jim. We need to plan a Day to get that Tecumseh going. Also, the Generac is still waiting for you here lol!
Trying to find a time to grab the Generac. The Tecumseh is on the back burner for now. Too many projects in the works. Thinking July I can circle back on the Tecumseh.
I actually was working on another gp7500 yesterday. Found the cam to be worn out. Very common problem.
Great job on the rebuild; if you're not sure of the longevity of the engine in a critical application it can be adapted for use as a go cart engine for the children.
It would be a fast go cart
Great rebuild.👍and you saved some💰.
Nice it started up first pull no issues
Very good video, I really enjoyed it thanks a bunch
Asalam-Alaikum
I am from Pakistan and Watching Your every single video much interesting and Informative, I learn lot of Knowledge Masha Allah.
Best Wishes....