[bunker]

hello everyone


I have an old sears/roper model 785.290030 roto spader. and in need of a parts blow up picture and manual for it so if anyone has one please contact me @
[email protected]

Thanks
Tom In Ga

 

[Bill Kapaun]

Sears says that's an ENGINE???

 

[stripmine]

Sears says that's an ENGINE???

That's what I got when I checked SPD,

According to Mark Rideout's site, "785 General Power (Magna America)"
, Not familiar with them.

 

[bunker]

i just looked again and yes thats the tag on the engine not the tiller itself. its called a sears roto spader then gives that 785 number. if i loaded this pic correct my tiller looks just like this but with a tech engine and 4 sets of tines not two, frame and all are the same i see on other websites people calling it by the same 785 model i am

 

[Bill Kapaun]

Look for a different number in the xxx.yyyyyy format on the machine itself.

 

[bunker]

ok im going to pressure wash it today and see if i cant find some other tags on it

 

[bunker]

well i looked again after a pressure washing and the tag is on the body of the tiller not the engine, i cant find a thing on the engine becasue someone painted it before dang i hate when they paint over the ID tags. im going to post a picture so you guys can see it

 

[69l46vert]

Looks like a Magna built tiller to me Bunker. And looks like the motor has been replaced with a later Tecumseh. Make sure the motor has an iron flywheel. A motor from a lawnmower that has an aluminum flywheel won't work. Aluminum flywheel motors need the mass of the mower blade to carry the motor through it's cycle. If it's what I think it is then it has a cone type clutch. You could still buy the clutch lining a year ago but I think they may be gone now.

 

[Bill Kapaun]

IF the motor had been replaced with a Tec, it wouldn't have 785.xxxxxx number.

 

[69l46vert]

Bunker has clarified that the tag is on the tiller and not the motor Bill. I could be wrong but the motor looks like later lawnmower motor. Either way it's a cool old Rotospader.

 

[Oo-v-oO]

My dad had one of those when I was a kid. He repowered it with a lawnmower engine and it ran OK with the lawnmower flywheel, once you got a load on it. With no load it would rev up and down, backfiring and shooting flame out the exhaust each time the rpms came down. Vroom-pow, vroom-pow vroom-pow....

He also adapted it to the hitch on his Ariens GT - much easier than wrestling with it by hand!

 

[bunker]

Well we took her on her madian voige today plowing up a 50x20 plot to get our garden ready, and man is this thing a hoss, there is no reverse belts on it and all the better i guess being i read in a few places this thing bugered up people legs alot when it would get stuck in reverse. other than the tires falling off a few times it did great. going to get new tires and axels tomorrow. I still need the manual just to see how things go together on it becasue after this season i`m going to rebuilt it so if anyone can point me in the right direction thanks im going to post a few more pics soon.

tom
[email protected]

 

[bunker]

thanks for the info. i tried all the links listed but nothing.even the sears site has no tillers with the 785 prefix listed. oh well ill keep looking

 

[bunker]

thanks for the info. i tried all the links listed but nothing.even the sears site has no tillers with the 785 prefix listed. oh well ill keep looking

Well found a manual! and im glad for sure, got the new tires on and it plows great,just wish it had reverse thanks for the help now time to look for parts

 

[bunker]

Bunker has clarified that the tag is on the tiller and not the motor Bill. I could be wrong but the motor looks like later lawnmower motor. Either way it's a cool old Rotospader.

yes the manual says it came with a 4hp briggs and there is a tech and it runs great after cleaning the fuel bowl out the fuel tank and running some injector cleaner through it now it purrs like a kitten. now looking for a few parts and it will be in realy good condition. thanks all for the advise

 

[willie8605]

Well found a manual! and im glad for sure, got the new tires on and it plows great,just wish it had reverse thanks for the help now time to look for parts

Just wondering if you would be able to send me a copy of the manual? I just got a similar tiller (785.290045) with forward/reverse and a 4hp (i think) briggs and stratton engine. Can't find any manuals anywhere online!

Thanks

 

[willie8605]

Well, after much online searching I found one rotospader manual. It's not the same model as mine, but it lookes nearly the same according to the pictures and parts lists.

Here is a link to the manual I found (.pdf): http://www.mediafire.com/view/?g6uaajjwvwadnnc

The guy I bought mine from said there were some seized pulleys and bearings would have to be replaced. I took it apart last night and there are not seized pulleys, the transmission feels smooth (turning by hand), and the only real problem seems to be that the belt was rusted in place on one of the pulleys, which is why I think he thought the pulley was seized. That was easy enough to remove. I already found an engine gasket kit, a replacement belt, and some other random parts so hopefully I can get this thing running soon!

:EDIT:

Not sure how I did this, but after hours of searching online for manuals yesterday, I found another one online today with a single google search. This manual is for a similar rotospader model #785.292050 (1972, 5HP briggs and stratton, power reverse).

Manual: http://www.phoenixfab.net/RotoSpader/Manuals/OwnersManual.pdf

Also, the webpage containing this manual link has a bit of info about the rotospader, pics, a link to the engine user manual, and a link to an engine parts list for B&S engine model series 130900 to 130999. Here is the link: http://www.phoenixfab.net/RotoSpader/RotoSpader.htm

 

[OldLawnMowerMan81]

bunker,

This tiller you have was sold in 1970. The engine for this machine was indeed made by Tecumseh, which would be an LAV40 series. The model number for the engine would begin with the "143" prefix.

I would suggest the engine for your machine is a model 143.207052, or LAV40-50201B.

~Ben