Opinion of Briggs Intek Platinum 19 HP Engine used by Craftsman

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  • / Opinion of Briggs Intek Platinum 19 HP Engine used by Craftsman
My Craftsman 203881, 42", hydrostatic, has the Platinum 19 hp, prior model with same 540 cc displacement was labelled a 22 hp. Sears claims there is no difference in these engines except that the 19 hp was an improvement after the 22 hp in that its longevity is greater.

I have read very good things on this engine, certainly better than the Gold or Silver Intek. However, there have been some harsh criticisms and people with crankshafts getting bent, and other issues.

I'm also curious about the V-Twin Platinums, as there seem to be more problems with those engines for some reason.
 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Opinion of Briggs Intek Platinum 19 HP Engine used by Craftsman
The way engines are rated was standardised a while back and the system Briggs used was dropped.
Under the new rating system the new mowers are all lower than the identical old ones rated under the old system.
You can go to the engine specifications of the Briggs web site for a full explanation of the nut & bolts of it.

Been hers for 3 years and have not seen any one here with crankshaft problems.
A fair few with cam troubles and lots of blown head gaskets but can't recall any cranks going west.
 
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  • / Opinion of Briggs Intek Platinum 19 HP Engine used by Craftsman
Bertsmobile,

Hope we have moved on from the prior nasty forum, for which I'll apologize for any offense to anyone, and I'm simply willing to put behind me the posts that you & several others posted that were not very nice. I'm not asking for apologies - I just want to wipe the slate clean. I DO respect you and others who do this for a living, and, as I have found, have posted hundreds of excellent help responses to members here.

I know you can't believe everything you read. There are many complaints and horror stories about B&S engines, less on the Platinums than the Golds, Silvers, but still more on the Platinum than I would want to see. I've not had any problems with my Platinum, except I wish it wasn't so loud. It does seem, however, that all these engines (which you consider mass-market, cheap) are built for a modest life, and that's it.

I wondered what your experience with the Platinum V-Twins is. It seems, at least on Sears own site, that there are more complaints on this engine than on the single cylinder Platinums. Also, do the Craftsman V-Twins have a different carb than is on the single Platinums? The reason I ask is that there were numerous complaints about the carb going bad, leaking, etc.
 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Opinion of Briggs Intek Platinum 19 HP Engine used by Craftsman
Firstly I do not seek apologies from any one nor do I deliberately set out to offend. We just tell it plain down here. No false nicities no shop attendant singing "have a nice day" through gritted teeth while wishing you fall flat on your face as you step out the door. I do not take offense but also do not waste my time trying to help those who ignore the advice proffered, so I stop posting.

Second we get slightly different models down here, usually container loads of ones that failed to sell horribly in the USA summer.
Craftsman is a very ,very, very small section of the ride on market here, only sold through small mower shops as the non Chinese cheapie to get customers through the door.

Third, I am an independant mobile serviceman so I never see anything that is new because I can only do Kohler & J D services without voiding warranty .
It will cost me better than $20,000 to gain all the necessary endorsements to service most brands, unless I buy a shop front and sell whole goods when I automatically become authorised. ( funny world )


Last, I see very few problems that were not, at least in part , the fault of the operator / owner or a poor service history.
Starting with failure to take a mower in for it's first ( in warranty ) service all the way through to owners who blow engine from running with no oil or unbalanced blades ( talking 1/2 blade missing here ).
A lot of kawakasi have come in with wrecked heads because the dealer did not bother to remove the rocker cover and check the single mounting bolt had not come loose when they check the valve lash. Or the owner never bothered to do a proper first service.
I have Kohlers come in with cracked blocks because the owners did not bother to remove the blower cover to clean the fins & check the bolts on the closing plate.
I have one in the shop right now where the bolts have backed off that much the flywheel had worn the heads completely off and the owner only called me in because it was stopping after an hours mowing.
This was because the crack opened up so much there was insufficient crankcase pluses to power the fuel pump.
Most inteks that I do head gaskets on are due to a hydraulic lock, usually on the first mow because the owner did not either run the mower dry or put some sort of stabilizer in the fuel during the last mow of the season and despite the fact I always fit an inline tap I still get people bringing them in because they did not turn the fuel off.

Whinge lists are handy because you use them to alert you to things that need extra careful attention when servicing.
And yes the twins have a different carb as can be checked by looking at the part numbers which are different.
 
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