Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Equipment Shed => Topic started by: Saulty on April 20, 2008, 21:40
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Hi,
I have a Flymo DM rotavator with the B & S 3hp engine. I topped it up with oil, on reading the manual I kinda figured that you fill until it is level with the top of the fill hole (if you over fill it then the extra oil just ends up on yer veggie patch!).
Once this was done I took it up the lottie and off it went, smoking like a train but full of beans. After a couple of hours use it started to lose power and I found the spark plug seriously fouled up. I cleaned it, checked the oil and there was not much left in there so I repeated the above.
Am I over filling this engine? It starts easily, runs well, has good compression and has loads of power.
Sounds silly but I don't wanna sieze the engine or waste oil!
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Which fill hole did you use there's 2
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Which fill hole did you use there's 2
There is?
I used the one that has the plastic oil cap on the front of the engine on the pulley end (I'm sure it says oil fill).
Where is the other one?
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piston rings are goosed i thinks but mr wiz will put you right :wink: :wink:
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On mine there was one at the back immediately behind the front one, it should be filled up until the oil nearly reaches the lip, you fill from the front (it's a little lower than rear) make sure your on level ground when you fill, not rotavating on a slope are you?
you can see the rear one quite clearly on this pic
(http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u111/richyrich66/DSC00041.jpg)
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piston rings are goosed i thinks but mr wiz will put you right :wink: :wink:
Yep he's "the man" :D
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Hi saulty
Yep, I reckon that the piston rings are shot. if one of them has snapped it always scores up the clyinder, so just putting in new rings isn't going to solve the problem. it could be just that the oil ring is damaged, but I don't think I have ever seen this happen in over 22 years of fixing briggs engines. The engine should take about 1pint of oil ( grade SAE30 ) Too much oil will damage the rings, but it doesn't sound to me like this is something you have done. when it has the right amount of oil, the level does come right up close to the top of the filler, as you describe.
There is one possability that might be worth a try before getting too gloomy over a costly repair. behind the fuel tank you will see an alluminium pipe that goes from the engine casing, to the carb. at the end which goes into the engine, you should see that, where it actual goes in there is a removable panel. this is called the breather, and alows excess pressure from the crankcase to escape. if the panel becomes blocked, it can cause the engine to smoke a lot. it's worth taking this out (two 8mm, or 4BA bolts) and washing it in clean white spirit or something, and allowing it to dry out before refitting. if that doesn't do the job, then it might very well be time to consider a new engine or a new machine. Sorry to be the bringer of doom and gloom.
these engines should'nt really smoke at all if they are in "good nick"
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Thanks guys.
Rich, my engine only has the filler on the front, the one on the back like on yours is blank on mine.
Gwiz, is doing the rings on one of these an easy job? And is it expensive? I would probably remove the head to see if it has a scored bore before buying any bits.
I've also heard that some Honda engines fit these rotavators. Can anyone give model numbers etc? Also how do they fit? Are the holes the same and the pulley ets? And how does the clutch etc fit?
Cheers.
Matt.
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Fitting the rings isn't too difficult. i find it harder, most of the time, to remove the pulleys (rusted on - often ) have a look, as you say, down the cylinder bore first, any scoring, then forget it. you will need to get a head gasket, crankcase gasket and the rings. years ago, I used to be able to buy "cords piston rings". i understand that they are still made, but only available from the manufacturer. i think they are better than the original ones.
if you go down this route, don't forget to de-glaze the bore before putting the piston and rings back in. :wink:
costwise, if you are doing it yourself, should be well under the £50 mark. before going down the honda route, just see if this one is dead!
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In all honesty, even if the bore is scored I will prob just put the head back on and run it until it dies. (I remeber putting piston seal in a car engine, it worked for a while. Don't know if you can still get it though!)
I remeber Cords piston rings, I fitted them in my 1986 Cavalier 2.0 CDi. They were good for getting rid of piston slap in worn bores without the cost of a re-bore.
Thanks for the advice.
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I used to be able to find a B & S website that told you what the engine numbers meant but can't anymore.
Can anyone here point me to this (I'm sure it was from this forum I found it) as I can get hold of a similar engine with a different code number on it.
Looks the same etc but wanted to check before I buy it in case pulleys are different or something!
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http://www2.briggsandstratton.com/maint_repair/manual_and_more/doclist.aspx?category=Engines&manual_type=Illustrated%20Parts%20Lists&menu=nav3&subMenu=3
or http://www4.briggsandstratton.com/miscpdfs/RNT/Numerical%20Designation%20System.pdf
Are the above the links you were looking for.??
"Dori"
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Thanks Dori, that second link is the one. Great help :D .
Only thing is, my engine is an 80202 where as the other engine is an 80282. Looking at the numbers mine has a plain bearing/du non flange mount but the other one has a plain bearing auxillary drive (PTO) perpendicular to crankshaft.
Can anyone explain that in English to me ie will it fit/can I make it fit? :wink:
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sorry mate, that's dutch to me.
I THINK the non flange mount bit means that it has no threaded holes on the pto side of the crankcase, to mount a gearbox. But don't take my word for it.
The other bit...........( :?: ) :?
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"Perpendicular"....as in right angle drive :?: ..I have never seen one of those...can you post a photo.??...it may not help answer your question.:? ..but it may satisfy my curiosity :shock: :wink: I wonder what it was used on.:?:
Have seen reduction gearbox types and camshaft drive (auxillary Parallel??) for an older type of cement mixer but not a Perpendicular version.
Likewise I believe the non flange mount could be the ref to not having the 4 mounting bolt holes that some engines have in the crankcase sideplate...evidently not required for DM from the photo already posted.
Is the "new" engine genuinely a right angle drive. :?: ..or offering a glimmer of hope.:idea: ..something else with a transplanted starter cowling :?:
"Dori"
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sorry mate, that's dutch to me.
I THINK the non flange mount bit means that it has no threaded holes on the pto side of the crankcase, to mount a gearbox. But don't take my word for it.
The other bit...........( :?: ) :?
My thoughts exactly!
I will try to get a photo up later. The shaft comes out of the side on the "other" engine and I believe it to be off a Norlett rotavator.
Thanks for your help guys.
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....I'm wondering if the 8 is erroneous??....It might pay to check the numbers out again?? :wink: They are often quite hard to read given a bit of rust or a scratch to the area they are applied to.
"Dori"
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Please accept my apologies, both as a newbie on this forum for jumping in and for hijacking this thread, but I've just won a Flymo DM on Ebay and the (very honest) seller contacted me this morning to say that he'd been checking it over to make sure everything was OK whe,en, upon trial-starting it, 1/4 inch of the recoil spring broke off. Nw he's admitted to being rather non-mechanical whereas I am a little better so he might not have the description exactly right. I have been told that recoil start modules are a bitch to repair and that replacement is preferred by many repair techs. If this is the case should I (a) forget the whole thing, which he has offered to his credit, (b) take a chance and see if I can fix it or (c) take the chance, knock the price down a bit and source a new one?
Please offere nay help you can to a clueless learner? :oops: :D
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Hey up browser no apologies necessary we always hijack threads around here :lol:
Depend what he means by recoil spring if it's the metal itself then also I've heard that they are a pain in the ass, the starting rope is easy enough must be cause I've done it. Problem you may have is sourcing the part.
Hang on for a while if you can Gwiz is the man on these things
I have a copy of the original manual if it's any help ? PM me with your email addy and I'll send it to you.
Welcome to the forums btw :D
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Hi, browser.
The recoil spring is housed inside the enging cowling. this is held on with 3 or 4 3/8th's bolts.
fitting a new spring can be a bit fiddly, but it's not that difficult.
a spring will set you back about £8.
I'm always around this section, lurking in the shadows, so if you get any problems just sing out! don't be shy. :D
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Thanks for the replies guys and thanks for the welcome. My dusty ol dmemory is recalling fixing a recoil starter on some unnamed machine a few years back, which had had the same thing happen i.e. the recoil spring's 180-degree-bent-over end had snapped off. If I remember correctly I heated a small section of srping until cherry red and bent it over as a replacement. The fiddly bit was winding enough tension onto the spring and then clipping the spring's ends over their various retaining thingummies. I've spoken to the current owner of the machine and he offered to sell it to me for £30 spares or repair. Since I'd won it at £51 my concience kicked in and we settled on £35. I'm going to pick it up on Friday so I hope he doesn't change his mind between now and then!
I will probably be back with progress reports and asking for more advice once I get the thing home. Are they OK as rotavators go?
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Yes good little rotavator.I only got rid of mine to fund buying my mantis and the mantis is great, but it don't like damp ground due to the tight spaced tines, whereas the DM would work ok on damp soil. that and I couldn't lift it after my back went :lol:
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OK, final question, is there a potato ridger/plough attachment available for this machine? If not, would one intended for a Merry Tiller or similar be easy to adapt?
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as far as I can remember, there wasn't any attatchments for this rotovator, and I don't think that you will find the merry tiller one will fit at all.
unless you are planning to plant out a field with spuds, I don't think you'll need one!
Wolf tools make a hand furrower, or you could use a draw hoe (that's what I use)
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Funny enough I found this on ebay a year or so ago being sold as a potato ridger for the Flymo DM he was selling it with his DM so I borrowed the pic just in case I wanted to get one made, they also did a wheel barrow attachment hence some DM's came with a chrome lever on the front. Others just have the mounting for it. There was also a couple of other bits knocking around as well, discs and bits I think, I know I managed to find some for the electric version which MKH has/had.
Thye pop up on ebay very occasionally
(http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u111/richyrich66/spudridger.jpg)
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I was aware of the small barrow body/plastic wheels/traction tyres and the mystery front lever that used to puzzle folk...but hadn't seen a ridger before.
Also of note....Do you still get a full set of fitting instructions in the box with a Genuine B&S recoil spring..??.....they certainly used to include a set.
"Dori"
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well, there you go. I didn't know they made one!
I don't even remember them in the flymo catalogue/brochure so it's all new to me! :?
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well, there you go. I didn't know they made one!
I don't even remember them in the flymo catalogue/brochure so it's all new to me! :?
Unless of course they just had one made to fit or used it from another rotatater,