Craftsman Rider 12.5hp Briggs 286707 Junk or Repair Decision

A 350 Chevy. The last time I needed a used one they were getting hard to find anymore. I am a old retired Chevrolet mechanic and now have a small repair shop. Now getting to your Briggs your car engine tools like hones and ring compressors might be a little large. If you are rebuilding engines you should know what it cost if you have to have machine work done, not cheap. You should be able to buy a lot of your Briggs parts from NAPA. If it was me other then throwing a lot of new parts into a old block without any machine work I would get a used engine . You should be able to pick up a good used engine from a mower salvage for around 100 dollars.

reynoldston said:

A 350 Chevy. The last time I needed a used one they were getting hard to find anymore. I am a old retired Chevrolet mechanic and now have a small repair shop. Now getting to your Briggs your car engine tools like hones and ring compressors might be a little large. If you are rebuilding engines you should know what it cost if you have to have machine work done, not cheap. You should be able to buy a lot of your Briggs parts from NAPA. If it was me other then throwing a lot of new parts into a old block without any machine work I would get a used engine . You should be able to pick up a good used engine from a mower salvage for around 100 dollars.

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A Chevy man! Yep, the old 1st generation 350's are getting scarce... I still know of a few u-pull-it yards locally that I could get one if I needed it, but... they're harder to find every day!

Good info on NAPA, I had no idea... will run by there tomorrow and get prices. I also know a couple of lawn mower repair shops I'll stop by and ask about used engines. I hadn't considered that. Some quick searches this evening are looking like at least $150 for parts to fix this one. (Rebuild kit + counter balance parts...) I can probably get a used more on craigslist for $200-$300. Initially I couldn't spare the cash at all, but I may spring for it out of my tax return in a few weeks.

threefivezero said:

Hey Folks,

I have a very old (20ish years) Craftsman rider with a 12.5hp Briggs engine that's hammering like crazy, presumably a rod knock. The engine is the original, never rebuilt.
Thanks!

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You are saying a rod knock. Now that is that telling you? To the very lease a crankshaft and connecting rod. Once that is replaced you will have a lot of money in a old engine that lord knows how long it will last. If you don't have the money why not look for another old mower that you could use the engine out of. Of course you could do it the American way and go see you local friendly dealer and a dollar down and a coupon book buy a nice new shiny mower. :thumbsup:

reynoldston said:

You are saying a rod knock. Now that is that telling you? To the very lease a crankshaft and connecting rod. Once that is replaced you will have a lot of money in a old engine that lord knows how long it will last. If you don't have the money why not look for another old mower that you could use the engine out of. Of course you could do it the American way and go see you local friendly dealer and a dollar down and a coupon book buy a nice new shiny mower. :thumbsup:

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Oh how I wish a shiny new mower was in the budget! I had all that... the big house, nice comfy income, wife and kids, 2 new cars. Shiny Deere in the garage! Sadly, the American way is also to give all that to the wife even if she cheats a lot. Now I'm raising kids alone and we just make it paycheck to paycheck. No idea how I'm going to fund college for 2 kids. Mower is going to be a super cheap purchase... (I did get to keep my shiny Camaro in the divorce, but only because it was in a gazillion pieces at the time...) Amazingly, divorce was the best thing that could have happened to us. Kids and I are very close now, and while we can't go on expensive vacations or buy much cool stuff, we're a very happy little family...

I did some craigslist surfing and I can definitely get something that runs good for $200. I think I'll go that route. My old Craftsman has big holes rusted in the deck and the transmission is questionable at best. Even if I could fix it for $200 I'd be putting that engine back in a heap. Sometimes I like fix things just because I can though!

Well the best of luck, if you could find another old craftsman parts mower and make one out of the two would be the cheapest way. I know where I live there is more junk craftsmans then any other brand mower. They are a cheap mower to begin with, people buy them just wears then out and then buy another and that is why there is so many around.