When Checking Your Oil Goes Wrong On A Craftsman Mower
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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Thanks for watching. Guess how long your engine will last on your Craftsman mower if you don't check the oil level.
This video is meant as entertainment, always practice safety.
On a personal level, I would love to watch you rebuild this engine. If it were me however, I would go to Harbor Freight, get a $99 predator engine, drop that onto the frame, sell the mower for $350, and sell the parts as well. Seeing all the plastic parts in that engine though brings a tear to my eye. Oh Briggs..why!?!?
If it fits, thats a great idea.
I know right, too much plastic for my taste, and yes I'm definitely considering it .
Harbor Freight sells engines?
@@qwertykeyboard5901 Yes. Quite decent ones (especially price considered)
Rebuilds are really fun. I have been watching this channel for a while now and seeing someone rebuild a motor is just so satisfying.
it's definitely on the agenda right now.
WOW, it never ceases to amaze me how careless homeowners can be! Just check the damn oil people, cmon! lol.
I don't know if i'd personally do that much to it to replace it, but, you definitely have the skills to do it. And honestly, you MIGHT be able to find a good working engine that has the crank, poston, connecting rod, etc, and "rob peter to pay paul" and get it working again.
I'll look forward to the repair video! Love you, IHG, awesome video!
thank you Jacob Feather I appreciate it.
I'd love to see a rebuild. It's a good looking mower and in my opinion, you have the parts to rebuild it. Can't wait to see what you decide
thank you Gary Allen, Video is on its way.
My first car was a 1951 Dodge that was built like a tank. It smoked like it was a diesel so I had to check the oil many times to keep oil in the beast. This taught me to check oil on all of my equipment. To repair or sell parts is a conundrum. To bad you don't have another engine to just bolt in pace or another one for parts. Parts is parts. Thanks for the videos.
no problem and nice, you're doing it right for sure.
As soon as I saw you had a good block, I figured you'd go from there (the answer is in your storage area). Well, that and your confident and excited narrative tone. You've really been cranking out content. It'll pay off.
yes I have and yes it's been paying off quite well. But to be honest it's mainly based on the weather
My father and grandfather worked in a mower factory, and they always checked the oil before anything else. It’s been drilled into my head since I was a kid!
nice, that's the way it should be .
I’d love to see you rebuild it, your videos are awesome!
Coming soon!
I generally change engine oil once per year. At the same time, inspect and maintain any other parts which appear suspect. The owner of this machine was obviously not a mechanically minded individual, hence the blown engine. It's interesting how mechanically abused machines have a story that can be unfolded by disassembly and inspect, what an interesting video. Keep up the great work.
thank you googlyahoo can yes they seem to be very lacking when it comes to mechanical knowledge
@@HomeGaragechannel , your videos go a long way to help those “not so mechanically inclined” discover that maintaining their power equipment is not terribly difficult.
I got into a similar situation with my 40 inch cut Murray. I wanted to rebuild the engine, the cylinder needed to be bored, and a new piston was over $200. (12.5 horsepower Briggs) plus a set of rings, gaskets and machine work made the cost prohibited. So my solution was a used Kohler Pro V twin 25 horsepower. It had a few difficulties that I was told couldn't be done.
The Briggs crankshaft is 1 inch, the kohler is 1 1/8 no pulleys available that would work, unless i used a PTO. I didnt like that idea. I took apart an old PTO used the lower piece had it welded to the upper kohler pulley shaft then cut the lower pulley off the Murray pulley set welded it to the lower PTO piece and it works great. I had a machine shop weld it for me, they did an excellent job. It works great and with double the horsepower cuts tall, or thick grass with no problem. Cost was just under $200 .
wow, nice adaptation
@@HomeGaragechannel
Thank you. I thought finding a piece of thick walled pipe with 1 1/8 inside diameter would be easy. I was wrong. I took apart the PTO thinking there was s piece of tubing I might be able to use, the thing was it fit perfectly, the center to center distance was the same as the original Murry pulleys. About 5 inches. How lucky is that?
Sir thank you for taking the time to respond. I enjoy watching your videos, and learning. I watch a few others, a few really know what their talking about (like you) and others I ignore.
Have a wonderful day sir.
no problem and thank you for the great comment I appreciate it.
I KNEW it!!! I've said numerous times, "HG sounds a LOT like an engineer". I'm an engineer, too.
I like watching rebuilds, but if it were me, I'd keep it for parts.
nice career
@@HomeGaragechannel thank you. But before embarking on my specialty, I DO wish I'd done a bit more research on where those job existed. I wanted to be able to work near my home town, but there are no jobs in my field in that area. Some engineering fields lock you into certain areas of the country.
Now there was some excellent common sense tips for someone like myself who hasn’t rebuilt a motor yet.
You have the parts and know how. Rebuild it is.
I have to say your knowledge and insight is invaluable.
Cheers
Wow, thanks!
Wow. Great video
thank you Revelation Homestead
That was neat. Never saw that happen to a small engine. Though almost… the wife seized the engine on the mower that came with my house by running it out of oil while I was away on business. Honestly don’t know how it ran out of oil, I pulled dipstick every time I used it. Pretty sure she sabotaged it because it didn’t have self propel haha.
it's amazing how stuff happens sometimes
I have always checked both mowers I check on them once a year just to see how they are doing and im happy to say they are both running really well so im happy with them
nice work!
now this stuff here is what i like to do most of. for me its the challenge of the rebuild and get it running again. like you said, its to easy to just sell the parts off and that would be that, where's the fun in that!!👍
I know right, I'm definitely considering my options on this one.
Its a shame cause it’s only 4 years old I always check the oil on my lawnmowers even if it says just add and go companies do that so you blow up your engine on your lawnmower and have to go buy a new one that’s how lawnmower and car companies make money off you I found a lawnmower in the trash that leaks oil cause they overfilled it with oil hopefully I can fix it
you got that right, thank you Scott Dunn
Look at all of the pretty glitter in the oil!
I know right!
I love watching your stuff very well put together content. Im working on small engines myself and have quite a few projects
nice to know you're enjoying your time working on them!
I would sell it out for parts. You sometimes can make just as much money on parts vs. repair and sell the mower. Thanks for the video.
you got that right!
I have a toro awd mower that the throttle plate came out of the carburetor. The engine ran full throttle and blew up. Rod looked like yours. Only paid $20. In the end got a free mower with a quantum engine. Good runner same size crankshaft. I put that on the mower with a toro top cover. Up for sale soon. Saved from scrap. My wife mowes our lawn uses a 70s lawnboy says it pushes easy.
very nice mike hrdlicka
I check the oil in my lawn mower every time before I run it. I keep it full to the full line on the dip stick. I use Pennzoil 10W30, fully synthetic oil in my lawn mowers.
excellent, you're doing it right in my book John Clarke!
@@HomeGaragechannel that is what First Sergeants d - right by the book!
A nice easy re-power plus tons of engine parts, win-win!
you got that right
Can't wait to see the video when you put in back together 😊
You're going to be surprised I hope!
if you have the time and motivation definitely go for the rebuild, i think it would be fun and id love to watch. if not then selling the parts is definitely the way to go, keep up the great content. you make me feel bad about my neglected equipment and make me take better care of it, so thanks
it happens, and the neglect has to be pretty bad, before it really starts to do some damage, so you've got time
It'll take longer and be more work to sell parts vs spending the cash to rebuild and sell as a complete working lawn mower. That mower is shiny. People love to buy shiny things. It will sell quick and up to 250$ if you know how to market. Cool video.
yep I agree, thank you Joshua Espinoza
Wow, this deck looks so clean, it seems like it would be an easy one to sell once it was fixed. I see that my local Lowes has this one for $ 469, plus, of course, sales tax on new purchases. At today's prices, it's harder to scrap a nice one like this, compared to when it was new in 2019 and maybe the new cost would have been around $ 299, let's say. If there is a lot of parts interchangeability across this generation of new B&S engines of different displacements (like if you had a smaller displacement scrapper engine and the con rod and camshaft were the same part numbers as this 163cc engine will need), then maybe the cost of replacement parts would be more reasonable. I look forward to seeing how this turns out.
thank you Tom Lewis, hopefully I can get it going.
This one looks a LOT like the electric start but is a lot newer. Ours is 150 cc's and seems like those engines rated 6.25 total torque have really 3.6 horses which is plenty to cut grass with. I remember the Snapper with the reverse on it with a 3 horse and maybe a 3 1/2 with the recoil that worked up and down instead of sideways. It was worn OUT but still cut like a rug. And the primer fix was really a primer fix. 2 gaskets might've done it but the #2 sure did it without a doubt. I reuse those type head gaskets all the time BUT that's just me. Never had one to blow yet. BLESSINGS!
thank you for letting me know about the head gaskets! thank you Lewie McNeely
@@HomeGaragechannel That's just me and it's that heavy gasket. The others are too flimsy.
I can agree with that.
@@HomeGaragechannel You ought to know better than anyone with trying out all the stuff you fix. The average mower isn't for a hay field and hardly anybody has enough sense to not mow a full width and set the height all the way up for tall stuff.
That mower used sells for around 250 300 here. Rebuild. With as nice as it looks it will sell fast!
you got that right Red Wolf
Ive rebuilt rider and push mowers in the shape that ones in and had them sold in two days and the buyer ended up having me do the services on it. So win win for everyone.
Hi James. I believe that you had another mower that needed some parts to get it running, but the cost was too high for the parts. I think you probably can use the parts from this mower to complete that engine. Good luck. Ken
thanks Ken!
I'd build it and run it myself. THEN it'd just be an investment! All the primer stuff on the electric start is good but still no prime. About the only thing I can do is bore out the passages. I ran it today and it does a fine job. And I'm going to pull the starter off and check it out. Don't think it's any slower than pulling it. Always something but I can always start it with a squirt of ether. BLESSINGS!
that's sounds like a great idea.
@@HomeGaragechannel You know I hate to get rid of anything I spend time on and I have an idea on the primer. We shall see!
Hmmm, wonder if the smaller versions of this have any common parts. I have one of this style that is the next size down, which doesn't seem to want to even fire. Timing is good, spark is good, fuel is good (ether), compression even tested at about 60psi (good number due to compression release). If I end up having to scrap it, I could share any parts if they're the same.
hey I appreciate the offer, but I've already make my plans on this one, If they change I'll let you know.
@@HomeGaragechannel All good. The entire block will end up in my scrap pile if I would have to take it apart. They just aren't cost effective for me to get OEM replacement parts, plus the time it takes to rebuild it on a push mower generally. I just wait until I get a mower with a good engine and a busted deck and swap them over lol
I never knew what engine oil was used for, I've asked once or twice but I think people just kind of assume that it's the most obvious thing and didn't say much. after having a lawn mower for a year or two one day I was using it and it just stopped running one day after making a loud clunking noise. I made sure everything was turned off and looked around the side of it and found pieces of the internal cylinder and piston on the floor, I don't remember exactly which pieces but the point is it broke the block. now that I have gone through this experience and done a little research on lubricants, greases, oils and whatnot I think it makes a whole lot of sense and I wish it were just easier to help people understand.. (I began to do this research after a friend of mine told me that this kind of thing can happen when an engine runs too hot, and they said a small engine like a lawn mower can run too hot if the oil is never checked or changed.. 😮)
wow tough lesson!
@@HomeGaragechannel Yes tough lesson but thankfully not an expensive lesson! growing up I was always taught that used items can be great items if they are serviced and maintained. obviously in this case I did not understand the full maintaining at first but this lawn mower was purchased used and now I am using my uncle's old lawn mower that he said his son has been running into the ground for a few years now. I am working on getting it going again as it currently has some carburetor issues. but I think I am on the right track to getting it in good running condition and hope to be using it for a while so long as I don't make any more big mistakes with small engines 👍🏽
Good video Buddy; I truly assumed you had some parts (engines) around to pull out to repair this. I have a plastic 55 gal. drum that I cut in 2, and have only engines and parts in each. If I begin to gather more than what the half-barrels can hold, I weed out the less desirable parts and dispose of them, thus keeping a fair amount of parts on hand in a neat container(s). BTW, Has anyone ever told you---_you_ have similar video content and *voice* as UA-camr *James Condon* ?
yes I've heard that, I can hear it now and then, but being me, I think we don't sound the same
Dig Out the JBweld !
LOL!!!
Oh I'm saving all them parts you know another is just around the corner !
you make a good point
Would love to see an engine rebuild
thank you Vaping_Slayer, I'm considering my options
Awesome content 🙏👍🙏👍
Thank you RayFpv, and I appreciate your time.
i have that exact same mower, its a beast. where do you sell your engine parts? rebuilding mower engines are more economical if your going to keep them imo.
thank you j r, I would sell them Ebay
If there is fuel in the carb, but the primer bulb isn’t working, and the gasket doesn’t look great should I try replacing the gasket?
yes that's a good idea.
I bet you have another engine laying around that was on a mower with a bad deck. You work on a lot of those Briggs engines, so I would keep the parts for another time.
LOL!! you got me, I've got several but what's the fun in just swapping it!
Swap on a predator engine. Iv done a few of them swaps on old equipment there fairly decent for what they are.
does your harbor freight still have a vertical engine there? The reason I say that is because I think all of them, don't carry any mower engines anymore
@@HomeGaragechannel
I don't think they keep them in stock but I think you can order one. Not certain though.
ah I see, I might have to ask
Ours has them back price went from $99.99 to $229.99. I have 5 of the 173cc Honda clone style engines ran them for many years still working. I have one on a toro timemaster.
@@matthewderickson1121
The Harbor Freight Predator is a pretty good engine as well. I've worked on a couple that needed the carburetor cleaned, and adjusted the valves, one needed a new coil, but overall very dependable engines.
Rebuild it 💯
thank you
Hey home garage i got a question my presure washer wont turn on even do the carb has been replaced and when pulling it is heavy id say thats normal but dont know and the spark plug is new and the coil is good cause ive tested it for spark and it jas spark any thoughts on what it is?
The brand of the motor is kholer its a husky presure washer and the motor is a kholer 173cc engine.
sure, have you done a compression test?
also have you tried to start it after putting some fuel into the carb?
I did all that but turns out one of the pushrods is broken i forgot to check that.
You got it for free? That thing looks brand new
I know right, but it didn't look this good, when I first got it.
Hmmm...I guess people never heard of an oil dipstick before. I feel sorry for their vehicles, lol. 🐺🔧
I know right
I check my oil every time I mow
nice, just as you should thank you Dylan Collins
I rebuilt one of these engines already Short block on that engine is about 188. +-
The crankshaft is about $100
Connecting rods about 50
Then your labor time you have to consider all reassembly plus gaskets.
Alternate be is to take the crankshaft out bring it to a machinist having resize the crank to a brand-new connecting rod.
Either way you have to pay The Machinist to do that. How much would that cost against buying a total short block engines throwing it back together
not sure, but you've given me a lot to consider thank you Christopher Tyler
Honestly speaking, I´d buy a used conrod, maybe cam, and some new gaskets, that´s all. With a good clean and some fingertip work this will be a good running mower at minimal cost.
you must be reading my mind!
@@HomeGaragechannel Good to know!
I'm not sure how Briggs does their cylinders? I don't see a liner but maybe there is one. Some of the Manufacturers use a coating over the aluminum bore called Nikasil. It is attacked by the sulfur in our gasoline but in a Mower, it isn't an issue. But a Nikasil coated cylinder cannot be honed or bored which means it's a "disposable block". If this is the case, you need to find a donor Engine. A Guy just brought me an Dewalt (MTD) 27cc Weedeater to repair. He used some 2-cycle oil at 100:1 and killed the 9 month old Weedeater. I measured the compression at 30 PSI. Poured some 30 weight oil in the cylinder and it came up to 90 PSI. Engine shot. Not sure why Owner's want to run their 2-cycle engines so lean? I run 40:1 in all of my 2-cycle Yard equipment and have never needed to rebuild an engine. Fingers-crossed. Thanks for the great video!
oh that's a shame, because I hate to tell you what've I've already done, oh well, we'll see what happens, thank you Scott A!
@@HomeGaragechannel Maybe it will be OK? Keep up with your videos. Love them
I appreciate it!
How much is your time worth? What plan pays you the most in terms of time invested repairing or part selling?
Ah,, you figured out my logic!
I seem to remember you had a running mower with a destroyed deck. Engine transplant?
the last I had like this was a smoking engine, and a good deck, I don't recall which one you might be referring too. Do you recall which mower or engine It was you saw?
Great idea to keep the rest of the mower and put on another engine and make some money 💸💰 on this mower
great idea!
Rebuild would be fun to watch you do so imma say Rebuild
thank you Wolf Blade
You should put a big block motor on the deck like a 223cc Briggs.
Nice, that's a great idea
I'd just replace the piston and connecting rod with good used ones
that sounds like a good idea, New piston, rod, and gasket is about $80 not including shipping, bit pricey
@@HomeGaragechannel what about a good used set
I second the other comment about getting a harbor freight engine.
harbor freight vertical engines are no longer carried
@@HomeGaragechannel Weird. My local harbor freight still has the 5.5 HP vertical. Maybe they are getting rid of old stock. Enjoy your videos!
really!! I've been looking for the last year and I haven't found any for sale,
several states I've looked at. Are you in "territory" then?
@@HomeGaragechannel I'm not certain. I just know I have seen it locally recently and the website shows it too here. $229. Maybe they just got some old stock or something. I do know I went to pick up some icon stuff today that was on their site as in stock and when I got there they couldn't find some of it. So go figure!
Rebuild for sure and eitheir keep or sell after.
that's what I was hoping to do, thank you Jimmy Hamm
Im actually surprised you were able to get those 3 motor mount screws out! Ive taken two total of those modern briggs engines off old mowers, and each time 2 out of the 3 bolt heads snapped off leaving the threaded portion seized in the engine. And then i also took the exhaust off one and one of the screws fought me the whole way out and the threads on bolt were filled with aluminum. Seems like they're doing that on purpose because i never had that problem with the old ones. Great video btw
yes it's happened to me before on the quantums. I think I just got lucky this time.
You forgot a third option. hold off till you get a good motor on a bad deck, then make one good mower out of two. Have a good day.
that's a "long" option, that simply doesn't come sometimes
I would rebuild because you get brand new mower for 100 something instead of 500 and if you wanted to you could sell the mower after you fix it
Try finding an older Briggs quantum or Honda to put on this thing, they’ll last longer than these newer engines.
sounds like a plan to me, thanks!
To add I have a modern Briggs engine to pull down, surprise 😊
Nice one!
I would love to see you rebuild this engine, then sell it.
definitely going to weigh it out
i wouldnt rebuild the engine since the crankshaft is destroyed there might be a small crack or some sort of damage in the engine block.
you have a good point
Always check the oil , don't worry about checking the gas . runs out of gas will not hurt anything - but oil - whole different story people ,
you make a good point !
I would be looking for an intact engine of the same type.
that's a very good idea.
I have recently worked on 6.5K in mowers that are scrap because owners failed to check there oil.
I want you to rebuild just because. Thanks.
thank you Robert Majoros
Tell me, how long is going to take you to sell all the parts if in case you sell them off?
oh I don't need to sell all of the parts, just enough to cover what I want monetarily from this mower. So I have absolutely no idea, how long it's going to take. But I'd like to make about $100 on it.
A waiting game for another mower to go to waste.
it's going to happen
The first thing I would have checked is the flux capacitor.
I think I would find a free mower that the Briggs outlasted the deck and pull the engine if that one and mate it to this one and junk this engine and that deck ...to me that would be the most $ in my pocket...I personally, wouldn't spend any money on this mower - I don't see the value in a FWD steel deck unit with only a Briggs engine...will be following to see what happens .. cheers
you make a good point. Finding a donor for free, would take some time, hopefully not too long.
Those Pushrods should be kept in their original places. Either repower it or sell the parts. Fixed and clean you would be lucky to get $200U$ for it.
that would be a good price if I can get it.
Part it out, there's a mower with a messed up deck out there looking for a new home for it's engine
good choice!
fix it🎉
thank you Kanai Takac,
I love the way this guy acts like the wealthy not having common sense doesn’t keep others making money.
With all that carbon. Is it possible that the engine was burning the oil & there wasn't a leak?
yes it's possible but you'd notice the smoke from the exhaust
Try to rebuild, it's good content 😎
I think you're right
despite what the sticker may say..... YOU NEED TO CHANGE THE OIL!!!!!!
.
they ended up removing that sticker after a few years.....and all the recalls/free repairs caused Briggs to go bankrupt
they even saved 10 cents by not drilling an oil drain plug..... so you have to tip the mower over.....
.
i LOVE how easy they start, the price, and the performance...... but im changing my oil
you do you.... just more money/jobs for my mechanic ass if you dont change the oil
agreed
You can't part out a $500 mower for $200 because your broken parts will look a lot like their broken parts and the parts that don't break, well obviously there won't be a demand for.
For the record....this looks more like a governor failure than an oil out.
thanks
Don't you have a spare engine?
I have plenty of them, from Briggs, honda and Tec, but it's always nice, to have other options
Hone the engine, and fit new parts.
thank you Christophe Marshall!
Part it out.
makes sense
I’m thinking you’re ordering the parts to repair the engine 👍🦘🇦🇺
you have me figured out really well Tyrone Clarke!
Save your self time and order a short block.
wow, that's some money, might as well just buy a whole new engine for $250 plus tax and shipping
i.d try a rebuilding the engine first and if that does not work sell the parts etc.
nice choice, and it makes a lot of sense!
@@HomeGaragechannel
You might be able to reuse the original piston, but with some of the piston missing it could knock it out of balance and have a bad vibration .
I will fix it
thank you Carlos Sojo
I would rebuild it
thank you Homebuilt Horsepower
I would simply put a different motor on it
nothing wrong with that
Fix it.
thank you Larry Kelly
Do an engine swap
good choice
If it didn't cause to much damage i usually rebuild the engine
good point
Keep the parts or use a different engine off a rusted body....😊
Not a bad idea
Save the lawn mower deck and put a newer engine on it.
good advice
i wouldn't put a single dollar into that engine as someone who just rebuilt a car engine mass and tolerances are everything the crank is worn where the rod bearing sits and is out of balance with the lost mass from hitting the piston which may also have minute cracks being an alloy piston and bore also the bore looks like its lost 2/5 thousandths of an inch so unless its rebored honed and a larger piston fitted its going to burn oil and also knock i would pocket the parts for future projects
now we get to the thing i really want to rant about MOW AND STOW what a stupid idea i bet all the oil leaked out of the dipstick that design has always had leaks even with the engine upright 100% of the time now lets come up with a new marketing gimmick mow and stow not do any research and development or atleast redesign the dipstick and tube seal print a new glossy brochure with the mower in the corner of a garage taking up 40% less space or whatever they claim since briggs went bankrupt and were taken over by a private equity company everything seems to be over promised and under delivered
thank you word1901
Parts machine
thank you Jim
Sell for parts! Make more money that way
that's very tempting!
I think that you should go ahead and fix it. That is what your channel is all about isn't it???? 🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤔
Hmm.. it is but within reason.
@@HomeGaragechannel If the fix is in the $100 range, it is worth it to fix it. Think about it. 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤷🏿♂️
you make a good point.
Not worth the time and money to rebuild engine. That cylinder is scored, piston needs to be replaced, need a connecting rod, would have to remove aluminum transfer on crankshaft with muratic acid . Sell it for maybe $200 after parts and labor. Spinning your wheels.
you make a good point.
you also make a good point
Not worth the $ to fix 4 me, just keep for parts but for you if you can fix yourself for about $100 parts n considering the machine almost new m reselling for a good price,,, hmmm interesting.
2nd,,, a shame for the plastic cam's ⚙️
thank you Marin Desmarais!