Rebuild Parts
 

Where are you guys getting your engine rebuild parts?

I have a 16HP Briggs Vanguard that's needing a rebuild. Im not sure what happened but it started smoking pretty good and burnt quite a bit of oil. I checked Ebay and found a complete rebuild kit but my engines model number wasn't listed. I also checked Jacks Small Engines but could only find kits for small single cylinder engines.

Also, is there a manual like a Clymer manual that would have torque specs and what not?

I need to make this happen pretty quick as this is my only mower and Id prefer not to have to pay someone to mow my yard very many times.

Oh my engine model number is 303447

Thanks.

The best you can do for your Briggs is go to Briggs and Stratton website to get a manual the has the needed specs and part numbers to rebuild your engine. I'm not a big fan of the e-bay deals for your small engine. You don't know where the parts came from and are they to the small engine specs.

I purchase my replacement parts from my local NAPA store or a local small engine shop.

I looked around at OEM parts. I never found a complete rebuild kit but looking at the prices to a piece a kit together, it may be pointless to spend the money. All the required parts are gonna be $500 plus any machining I may need done. A brand new 16HP Vanguard is $850 and at that point I might as well go buy a new mower since this one is 17 years old. I was hoping to find a cheaper alternative as this engine only has 700 hours on it and may be worth salvaging.

I purchased this mower from a guy who was told the PTO needed replaced. I replaced the PTO relay for $13 and it worked perfectly. I paid $50 for the mower. Replaced the battery, a couple of tires and all the fluids and filters. Ive been mowning with it for 4 seasons now so Ive definitely got my money out of it but if I can save it without going to crazy, I will.

I suggest you tear it down and see what went wrong before trying to decide what it may need. You will need gaskets, but do you need over sized pistons and rings? Is the cylinder scored so badly that a rebuild isn't an option? (I doubt it, but I have to ask anyway.) You may just need valve seals or a head job. First step is to pull heads and do an inspection of cylinders and heads/valves.

Briggs using oil
 

My friend's engine started to smoke real bad all of a sudden. Engine is an overhead valve, Head gasket blew into the push rod chamber, this pressurized the crank case and pushed oil into the air filter chamber, he used it for a couple of mowings lucky it didn't erode the block in the area of the bad head gasket, there was about .005 lower which the head gasket will take up. There is a long space in that area between head bolts. Easy fix pulled head, new Gasket, followed Briggs torques and has been mowing up a storm. Grass clippings accumulated from 13 years of use in the push rod chamber area which may have caused a spot to overheat. Hope this helps, My Dollars worth.

Come to think of it, I have actually seen that happen on a Kohler OHV engine. Good call. Might be worth the check.

BTW, if there is a .005 dip in the block and or head, the gasket might take it up for a while, but that is certainly a temporary fix. Likely to happen again at the same spot if not repaired.

Ive done some more research and the blown head gasket makes since. Im hoping to get some time to possibly pull the heads tomorrow and have a look. That would be nice if that was the problem. I can get a complete valve gasket set shipped for about $45.

Thanks for the tip guys.

So I replaced my head gaskets today and I need to set the valve clearance. My service manual says the piston needs to be 1/4" passed TDC on the compression stroke and the valves need to be set at that point. What does that mean? How can you go passed TDC? Does it mean to bring it to TDC and then then let the piston drop 1/4"? Im confused.

By the way, I purchased the Briggs service manual and this is the worst service manual I have ever read. Im used to Haynes and Clymer, etc. Complete tear down manuals that actually tell you how to do a job. This is just a step by step manual without any real info about the steps such as how to adjust the valves.

Can someone please help me with valve adjustment on a Briggs Vanguard 303447. Thanks.

The book isn't "literal". Just put the piston at TDC, then roll it a little past. That's all it wants you to do.

K thanks. How do I know Im on the compression stroke?