24HP V-Twin B&S - Fault driving me CRAZY!

Boudreaux In Eunice La. said:

Neo.................. Before you order a manifold try something that might work........ Get 4 of those gaskets that are used for the aluminum intake..... On each side use 2 gaskets.... Don't use the O rings when you try this.....

This might save you some Monopoly money LOL.... If it don't then you got a hairline crack somewhere .........

Plus Tard Mon Ami ~!~!

Click to expand...

Hi Boudreaux,
I've actually gone ahead and placed my orders for the Ali manifold and another gasket set. B&S in Australia have HUGE delivery delays so I have to wait 2 or 3 weeks for delivery from the US and Asia anyway. If I'd ordered just the port gaskets and they didn't work that would have ment another 2-3weeks delay. So best to bite the bullet now :laughing:

Bert, I ended up ordering the manifold from the US because I couldn't find one here. Apparently the Ali manifold are still fitted to the professional series B&S engines.

Lets see how we go with this next step in 2 or 3 weeks time ....Thanks for thinking of me :thumbsup:
Neo

Yes B & S Australia are a joke.
I ordered a 10Amp stator 15 weeks ago and it is still on back order
Finally bought one from China for $ 25 delivered as compared to $ 70 + freight from Briggs .

One of the things that killed the British bike industry was the failure to keep an adequate parts inventory.
This forced dealers to seek out after market parts and the after market parts companies actually made better parts than the factory did.
This then cut off money flow in the off season and left the dealers in a bad way financially so they had to start looking at other motorcycles to suppliment their income.

The parts supply problem is forcing people to abandon Briggs engines full stop particularly a new Honda clone is less than repairing the Briggs & the Chonda is there on the shop floor where as the Briggs parts will arrive on the 12th of never.

Completely agree Bert... And in today's market it's gonna to happen so much faster than it did for the British Motorbike industry lol!

Every company play this game at different level, because the financial guy don't want to have money sleeping on shelves. And when they go too far its a big issue for everybody to source parst and live on this business :thumbdown:

But I agree with you, the price of Chonda and the quantity of available parts is awesome - and if you find seller that ship from Asia with DHL, FedEx or similar its quite fast !
Even if this not that bad with B&S for where I live.

Hi Bert, where can I find these Honda clones?

All the best.
Neo

At any of the tradies tool stores .
Sydney tools, (suburb ) Tool Box, Gas Weld, etc etc etc.
They have names like Millers Falls , Ross, Atco, Pioneer, etc etc on them, usually with an American flag somewhere trying to pretend they are USA made.
Dave at Charmhaven ( DMC ) does Loncin's really cheap.
I can do you a good price on Kawasaki, selected models and of course Michael at Londondery will have a lot of USA engines at reasonable prices.
If you want to be frightened, ring your friendly B & S dealer & get a price on a new B & S then do the same for an equivalent Kohler.
make sure you have taken your calm pills & are sitting down when you do.

bertsmobile1 said:

At any of the tradies tool stores .
Sydney tools, (suburb ) Tool Box, Gas Weld, etc etc etc.
They have names like Millers Falls , Ross, Atco, Pioneer, etc etc on them, usually with an American flag somewhere trying to pretend they are USA made.
Dave at Charmhaven ( DMC ) does Loncin's really cheap.
I can do you a good price on Kawasaki, selected models and of course Michael at Londondery will have a lot of USA engines at reasonable prices.
If you want to be frightened, ring your friendly B & S dealer & get a price on a new B & S then do the same for an equivalent Kohler.
make sure you have taken your calm pills & are sitting down when you do.

Click to expand...

Wow Bert, you are full of great information. :thumbsup:
I'd seen those Millers Falls engines but a B&S retailer told me they have weak crankshaft?
DMC is 30mins drive from me and I've been there 2 or 3 times to buy belts ..... Small world lol!

The biggest problem with Chondas is parts.
The shop will tell you "Honda parts will fit "
What they do not tell you is WHICH Honda parts will fit.
Thus finding the correct parts can be a bunfight.

A mower engine is a pretty low tech piece of kit.
Think about what a 500cc single motorcycle puts out then look at the output of your mower.
Because it is governed it gets less stress again.
The only shock you put on it is turning the blades on & off.

So as much as I hate to say it, most of the knock off engines seem to be reasonable.
having said that it can be a lottery and you could be the person who gets stuck with the total dud engine.
Big Boys Toys also bring in a lot of funny branded engines.

Many of these have several several brand name stickers , one on top of the other.
Lifan , Ducar & Loncin all export engines to Australia.
Loncin now have a warehouse & parts distribution network.
Gripskies now sell Loncin parts, mainly for Toro repairs but the inventory increases on a daily basis and just about every workshop has an account with RGS.

I predict they will over take B & S very shortly down here, although Kohler will be the first to fall over.
Most of the Kohler powered ride ons down here run Chinese made Kohlers as do all of the store branded mowers.

You have "brand clone" as Loncin, they have support on website - this can help to find parts. Predator is well known too.

But other clones are quite the same... however you have to spend time to find part. I have an EM168F engine (supposed 5.5HP - clone of GX160). I bought a 168F carb with the correct shape and it fit perfectly. Aliexpress is a good place to shop parts for them.

About the weak camshaft I don't believe so... especial from B&S they started to put plastic cam shaft in their engines, and they fail. Most Clonda have metallic one.
Even if I love B&S. Even if Chinese sometimes do poor casting (aluminum that break like chocolate after few years)

Ok... I've fitted the Ali manifold with new gaskets aaaannnnnddddddd..... The fault is STILL THE SAME :thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown::confused2::confused2::confused2:

So unless someone can talk me out of it ...I... GIVE... UP!!!! And out of despair here's my current chain of thought ...

• It's just a sneeze .... not a full backfire.
• After 2 years of this sneezing I have stripped the engine down and uncovered minimal wear and tear.
• The issue is not detectable when I wear earmuffs :laughing:
• Sometime in life you just have to admit defeat :ashamed:

What's your thoughts gents?

All the best.
Neo