Opinions sought about 8hp flathead engines

HomeyHal

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Jun 23, 2023
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Hello,
I have two 8HP B&S engines and was hoping to rebuild one as my first small engine rebuild. (I did rebuild a ‘56 Plymouth flathead many years ago when I was a teenager). Both engines were originally on Snapper RERs, but it turns out that one of them has the Synchro-Balance weight. That one has some serious scoring on the cylinder walls, the crank main journals measure 0.001 under the reject size, and it is missing the shroud and the starter. I think I can use the starter that is on the older engine though.

The older engine threw a rod, but appears to be a solid candidate for rebuilding otherwise. Which engine should I rebuild? Are the Synchro-Balance engines that much better, or is that just something else to give trouble?
Thank you for sharing your experience.
 

HomeyHal

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Thank you Mark, I have the B&S manual that covers both engines. This being my first small engine rebuild, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on OEM parts and went with one of the eBay kits that has everything needed.
 

Tiger Small Engine

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Thank you Mark, I have the B&S manual that covers both engines. This being my first small engine rebuild, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on OEM parts and went with one of the eBay kits that has everything needed.
Let everyone know how it goes. Any issues, etc. and how it starts and runs afterwards. I enjoy rebuilding engines, but don’t have the time to do it for customers anymore.
 

HomeyHal

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Is there any interest here in an ongoing stepwise thread documenting this engine’s re-assembly?
 
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