[kaptain krunch]

Well, after a lot of convincing, me and my mom walked down to our neighbors house to ask them about the snapper that had been sitting in there yard for a while. The guy talked to his brother, and said i could have it. Its a front engine , which i didnt even know snapper made until now :hide:, and he says it runs and mows fine but after a little while it heats up and shuts down. So i figure if its cutting out once its hot its most likely a bad coil, but then i have to figure out why its getting really hot. Anyways, tomorrow there gonna give me a call and bring it over, ill get some pics then.

 

[Walt 2002]

Suggest you remove the cooling shroud and be sure the cooling fins, blower housing, etc. are clean.

Walt Conner

 

[kaptain krunch]

Yup, was planning on that too. I never used to do that, thinking it could get that bad with air constantly being forced through the fins, but when i took the shrouds off my Kawasaki engine in my WH it was really bad! so now thats the first thing i'll check if i ever have a running hot problem.

How many front engine snapper models were there, im trying to figure out what model this is, i only saw it from a distance and im not a very patient person. it looks to be a medium size, 12-16hp, probably early to mid 80's.

 

[tcanthonyii]

They made quite a few. Walt could tell you more specifically. Hopefully you're getting a GT model. They were the same as the Massey GT's and were built pretty stout. What the hold up on bringing it home? Post some pics for us.


T.C.

 

[tmlong]

I have a LT 1250,1984,and still going strong,also parts for the same ,if anyone is interested.The running LT is not for sale.

 

[kaptain krunch]

They made quite a few. Walt could tell you more specifically. Hopefully you're getting a GT model. They were the same as the Massey GT's and were built pretty stout. What the hold up on bringing it home? Post some pics for us.


T.C.

Man, i feel really stupid, i never thought snapper made anything but push mowers and those rear engine riders haha :hide:.

Anyways, i would have been very happy pushing it home yesterday (or even riding it), but we live off a main road, and there on the other side directly around a sharp corner, so it would have been really dangerous. It should be here this afternoon, they're going to bring it over in a truck for us.

When i first saw it from a distance driving by, i thought it was a massey, but looking at pictures on line it looks more like an lt 16, but im not sure, i'll definitely get some crappy cell phone pics up this afternoon.

 

[kaptain krunch]

Well, they were gonna bring it up with a truck, but they called and said its there and the tires are full so we can push it back. Guess thats the only option right now so i'll either go over there tonight if its not too dark when a parent gets home, or tomorrow morning.

EDIT:
isgus:

Now i have to wait a week to get it, it wont fit in there truck bed, and we cant push it around the corner since there is almost no side room to do so. Next week we can barrow a trailer though. Im pretty bummed.

I did figure out what it is though, an LT 16 just like i thought, can these run tillers? Its in decent shape, a little faded. This time i talked to the guys brother, and he gave me a different story haha, it doesnt run right now, it did a while ago but it cut un-even so he just said forget it and parked it.

 

[kogafortwo]

Good luck and post pictures and repair info. I just pulled home an old YT12 from a neighbor who gave his away, same deal as you.

I haven't started tearing into it yet. The neighbor said that the transaxle gave hime trouble, he "took it all apart, couldn't figure it out, and so I put it back the way I found it." Not sure what I'm gonna find on that deal.

What size deck does yours have?

 

[attorney_barnabas_collins]

I had an old Monkey Ward 11hp that did that. Ran ok then dies after about 1/2 hour of mowing. Finally looked at the plug. eeeesh.

Looked like the original one. Put in a new one and it ran like a new one too. Could be the problem.

 

[kaptain krunch]

Not sure of Deck size, i just looked at it, not closely at all though. Its a fairly big lawn tractor though, im really hoping it has a rear PTO but i doubt it does. I will definitely check the plug, but like i said i got two different stories from the two brothers, so im not sure what the deal is on it. Either way, im up for a Project! I hate waiting haha, should be able to pick it up sunday maybe monday.

 

[attorney_barnabas_collins]

PROBABLY an LT1600 or similar with a horizontal shaft briggs twin and shaft drive to the rear disk with hi and lo and 3 lug rear wheels which is an ok lawn mover but no GT.

OR it could be a Snapper 1600-1850 in which case, I think that is mine they are giving away..can I have it back?

 

[kaptain krunch]

Im pretty sure its just the LT16, there are no controls on the side like that, however that looks like a heavy duty garden tractor. Should be picking it up tomorrow...hopefully, i'll get some pictures when i do.

 

[kaptain krunch]

Shes here! and not the 1600-1800, its an lt16, with a twin cyl horizontal briggs, shaft drive hi-low range, and 6 speed transmission. Electric PTO, the deck isnt pretty but it isnt rusted out, the blades look horrible. I think low range is shot, when its in gear and in low range i can push it, and it makes a grinding noise...but high range seems fine. Engine turns by hand with good compression, so do the blades. I havent taken anything off yet, im going to wait and jump it a little later to see if she'll fire.

EDIT:

OK so i cleaned the foam pre-filter, which was very dirty. Checked both plugs, one looks new, you can still see a little white in the electrode, although the rest is a good golden brown color. looks and smells like fresh gas in the tank, fuel filter doesnt looks the best, but not bad. Still waiting on a car to jump it with.

 

[kaptain krunch]

Well, something is either too corroded or just shot in the wiring, i had to jump the starter directly, it turns over nicely and has spark, but even with a little WD40 in the cyl it wont kick over. Also, the fuel pump doesnt appear to be working.

 

[LoveLearn]

Borrow or buy a compression tester meter. Then, depending on how it is designed, either press it into each spark plug hole while spinning the engine, then record the peak values it reaches for each cylinder. Next, squirt some oil into both cylinders, which won't greatly affect how well leaking valves seal nor will it affect how well a leaking head gasket seals, but it will temporarily improve how leaking piston rings seal. Then measure and record the compression in each cylinder with the oil added. Report back here those compression values. Internal combustion engines derive power during their decompression stroke, more commonly called the "power stroke." If any of these sealing boundary lines are leaking too badly, the engine cannot derive enough power during its decompression stroke to overcome its considerable internal friction. When those conditions exist, engines cannot sustain operation, let alone produce excess power to drive other loads.
John

 

[kaptain krunch]

Compression is fine. I have to see if the spark gets better when its grounded to clean metal, right now its more of an orange-blueish spark, but thats when i grounded it to the engine shroud which is painted.

 

[kaptain krunch]

How come i cant edit my posts? Is there something I'm missing?


Anyways, i cleaned the fuel pump, and cleaned up all the wiring and she started right up! Went and got a new battery, the mower deck is in great shape and mows nicely. There are two problems, first of all, i cant shut it off with the key, it starts up by key, but when i turn it to the off position it wont shut off. However, when i do turn the key off, it does stop it from drawing power, i checked by turning the PTO on while the key was in the on position, and the off, it only worked in the on position. Also, low range is shot, when you shift into low range it barely moves, and grinds a little.

Overall, im happy with it, heavy built machine. I also learned that this thing uses a friction disc drive just like the rear engine riders, i had no idea.

 

[kaptain krunch]

Man i guess the snapper forum is pretty dead...


I did some heavy mowing with it, the grass was 5-6ft, did a great job. I almost seized it though, i mowed for probably an hour, then ran out of gas, i went to fill it and noticed that from 2ft away i could feel how hot the engine was. I decided i should take off the blower shrouds to see if it was clogged, turns out there was at least one heaping handful of grass and dirt clogging each cylinder. Anyways, cleaned it out and it ran great, but after a while it started surging and sputtering (lean) at idle and mid range.

I also figured out why it wouldnt shut off by key...i forgot to re-attach the key switch ground wire to the ground:fing20:

Anyways, im pretty happy with it, no complaints here.

 

[tmlong]

They are great mowers,i have got a 12.5,1984,and still going strong.

 

[kaptain krunch]

Yup, just need a few cans of fix-a-flat for the tires and im good to go. Right now the right tire will last for about a day, the left about 2-3 days.