Got a mower for free from a guy at church. It's a Ranch King, made by MTD. It has a 42'' deck with hydro drive. The motor on it is a '98 Briggs 16.5hp I/C, I believe it's an opposed twin. It's missing the hood entirely. One side of the motor went, so it doesn't run. It just happened 2 weeks ago. The motor is free-spinning and I don't hear anything jumping around inside the crankcase. The guy said that it didn't make any odd noises when it went, it just lost power and then died on him, so I'm hoping the cylinder and bottom end are still good. Main question is, I'm having trouble finding a rebuild kit other than straight from Briggs. Could somebody help me find the right one? Model is 461777, type is 0137E1. If you could point me towards a site that would have it, I would appreciate it. Multiple google searches still haven't turned up the results I would like. While I'm here, anybody know much about these? Cut quality, overall durability, etc. Any thoughts welcome. Thanks.
Ranch King by MTD
jordandakota
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Got a mower for free from a guy at church. It's a Ranch King, made by MTD. It has a 42'' deck with hydro drive. The motor on it is a '98 Briggs 16.5hp I/C, I believe it's an opposed twin. It's missing the hood entirely. One side of the motor went, so it doesn't run. It just happened 2 weeks ago. The motor is free-spinning and I don't hear anything jumping around inside the crankcase. The guy said that it didn't make any odd noises when it went, it just lost power and then died on him, so I'm hoping the cylinder and bottom end are still good. Main question is, I'm having trouble finding a rebuild kit other than straight from Briggs. Could somebody help me find the right one? Model is 461777, type is 0137E1. If you could point me towards a site that would have it, I would appreciate it. Multiple google searches still haven't turned up the results I would like. While I'm here, anybody know much about these? Cut quality, overall durability, etc. Any thoughts welcome. Thanks.
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TTT. I was on vacation this week and still haven't found anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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I've had real good service from M&D. www.m-and-d.com
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I've seen some folks on here recommend this company as well http://www.tulsaenginewarehouse.com/Catalog, best wishes in your quest :fing32:.
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TEW had what I needed. I've gotta get my craftsman sold before I'll have the cash for the rebuild. I would probably only need to do one side, but I'm going to do both along with all new gaskets. Price is $148.14 shipped. I've gotten good at carb work from working on snowmobiles and also my other mowers, so I'm gonna go through the carb and make sure everything's clean and functioning properly so it'll run as good as it can when I get it back together. It was running a couple weeks ago so it's probably pretty good, but can't be too careful. Now that I found the parts, anybody know any general info about these? To engage the blades you just lower the deck and they start one notch down and don't shut off until you raise the deck all the way up. This doesn't seem like a great system to me, but I could be wrong.
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I have the 94 version and the deck system works great ! Simple and easy to work on.
I'm at a loss for the rebuild only because of what you said, It was running two weeks ago so it's probably good ? And you know this how ?
Just because it ran two minutes, hours, days, weeks, months ago doesn't mean squat !
It's good you found the gasket kit but there's more to a rebuild than that bearings, pistons, valve guides/seals, rods, rings etc. along with machine work should be a consideration also.
And changing just one side is asking for trouble since if you freshen one side up the other will surely let go fairly quickly !
My approach would be tear it down to see what has happened then determine if the rebuild cost would be economically feasible.
BTW in case you had any doubts ( based on your first post) it is a vertical shaft opposed twin.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to download the owners/parts manuals from MTD and the engine manual from K&T, they will be allot of help when it's time to work on it.
http://www.mtdproducts.com/webapp/w...p/wcs/stores/servlet/OperatorManualView?storeId=10500&catalogId=20500&langId=-1
http://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/
Ron
P.S. I'm curious what is TTT as you posted about being on vacation ?
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To The Top, a.k.a. BTT (or, Back To Top). In other words, he "refreshed" his post after being away for awhile.
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Ahhhh ok guess I'm not up to date on Forum/Text speak ? :thanku:
I guess this is the way old curmudgeon's do that :bump9:.
Ron
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As far as running a couple weeks ago, I meant that about the carb work and that it should be clean still. I will for sure pull it and get the heads off and inspect everything. I will be borrowing my cousin's compression tester also. Is it necessary to split the case as long as I pull the cylinders and inspect the case carefully? With snowmobiles if a crank seal goes it'll run lean and burn down...does this happen with these small 4 strokes? I was on vacation last week and just got it on Sunday so I haven't had a chance to do anything with it. As soon as it finally cools down to where I can be outside more than 30 seconds before my clothes are sticking to me, I'll get it torn down.
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OK now it's getting clearer, yes the carb should still be ok if you did the cleaning good and are using fresh fuel.
The same thing can happen to a four stroke but if the crank seals have failed you would definitely know buy all the oil blowing out.
The cylinders are cast with the block so yes if you want to pull the crank you have to remove the rear cover but the crankcase is a single unit.
I would do a compression test before cracking the heads it may show you don't need to open the engine.
Just a guess but I would say it's something really simple rather than the engine grenading internally.
Like I said get the manuals they are worth their weight in gold.
Ron
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I know how to go about the disassembly/reassembly. I just need to get in and see what's going on. I was for sure going to test compression before I tear anything down. It's possible that the motor is fine and it was a carb issue or something else. I sold my craftsman tonight, so I have some money for parts. If the motor will need machining and a whole bunch of unplanned work done, I'll probably scrap the motor and sell the parts on craigslist. Everything on it is in excellent shape so I would hate to do that, but then again I could make some good money as long as parts are needed by other people. I'll test compression and go from there. Any idea on what numbers I should see?
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Here's what the manual says :
Ron
P.S. If you know how to disassemble it why did you ask about splitting the case ?
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I got confused, was thinking snowmobiles. The crank is one piece, with a cover on one side of it that you pull off. Unbolt the end of the rod and pull out the piston. I've downloaded those manuals in case I get stuck as well. Thanks for those. It's going to be unbearably hot this week...heat index of 110 degrees or higher every day. I'm not going to want to be outside tearing down a motor in that heat, and there's no way my mom would let me bring a motor inside the house to work on.
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I bought a tester today and tested compression on the mower. One side didn't register at all, other side has 115 psi. I'll start with the tear down next week since it should be cooled off by then, and my family's on vacation this week.
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