I was not able to clean up the crank. It is scored underneath the aluminum. I also tried polishing with some 1200 grit sandpaper with no luck.
So I'm still weighing options on rebuild or buy a new engine. I could buy a new 18hp for the same price as a new 16hp, around $1100. If I rebuilt it, it would be about $450 for two new pistons, new rods, used crank, gasket set, new filters and plugs, and a ball hone to deglaze the cylinders. I believe the heads are also warped and one of the head gaskets had blown. I suspect this because there was burned oil around where both heads bolted to the block. I read in the tech section how to flatten those out.
The 18hp should bolt right up from what I've seen. Will I be able to use the extra HP mowing thick grass or will it just burn more gas? Could I expect to run into other problems due to the overheating that it becomes more of a money pit?
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