Recent content by gmcinnes

Following up gents: Of all the things I tried it seems like the most important was this. After draining and re-filling the oil it starts on the 3rd or 4th pull. No kickbacks so far. FWIW I was able to counter-hold the flywheel with a Harbor Freight strap wrench. I tightened the clutch with...

Here's the key, along with the keyway in the flywheel and crank. It looks ok to me, but I have no experience.

Interesting. What's the function of the spring washer, out of curiosity? Is it convex on top to further reduce friction between the clutch and the flywheel? Absolutely. I like to think I know how to turn a wrench, but I'm well aware I don't know what I don't know, and have been humbled more...

There's a washer there. It looks like this one: https://shop.briggsandstratton.com/products/briggs-and-stratton-691736-washer from the part number you quoted. You can see it (out of focus) on one of the clutch pictures above. Using my fingernail I can feel it's slightly convex on one side...

Oh! And thanks for the manual. I have an old B&S manual I've been going from that is probably from the early 80s. Yours is better.

Now... When you say bevelled washer... I don't think I have such a thing. Between the bottom face of the clutch and the top of the flywheel there is a flat washer. Am I misunderstanding? (See below for image). I set the coil gap to .010" (I even used feeler gauges!) No points on this...

Oh, all questions that assume I'm an idiot are welcomed. They're far from out of place. :) It doesn't have a flywheel nut as such. It has a clutch assembly that threads on and presses the flywheel on the shaft. But it's not really amenable to torquing. There isn't even a great way to get a...

Oh, forgot to mention that. I checked it. Looked totally fine. Replaced it anyway out of an abundance of caution.

Gentlemen: I inherited a 'Garden Way' sicklebar mower made in about 1980 along with a family property. I'm sure it's been ridden hard and put away wet in it's life. After pulling the head and re-installing, when I had to pull it again, I found that there was a surprising amount of oil on the...