When I had the business we used to put the purchaser's postcode on various places on machines - an obvious couple to be found and some not so obvious ones to hopefully remain hidden.
We had a ride-on in for service from a new customer some 30 miles away and one of my mechanics called me into the workshop querying the postcode on the job card with one of the ones he'd found on the machine. We had sold the machine to an address a couple of miles up the road and it had been stolen three years previously. To cut a long story short it turned out the present owner had bought it for cash from "a man in a van" and his father in law had also bought one from the same man - also stolen!
. There is a danger of using both too much oil or not enough oil in case you were unaware. Too much oil can cause a carbon build up that could seize a piston or score a cylinder, probably not as bad as not enough oil, but it does happen.
Another potential pitfall resulting from using too much oil.
This came to light when the UK switched to unleaded fuel. At the time we were agents for Victa two stroke domestic and commercial mowers which enjoyed the reputation for being virtually indestructible - particularly in commercial use. Then, for no apparent reason we started seeing engine seizures, nearly all for machines in domestic use. After a lot of quizzing of customers etc it came to light that "to compensate for the loss of lead" some customers were adding a considerable amount of extra oil. So now every intake of mixed fuel through the fixed jet carb contained a lower percentage of petrol / gas..Less gas = weaker mixture = hotter burning fuel charge = engine in trouble!
Confirmation of the diagnosis was backed up by some experiments carried out by Victa's UK service manager who demonstrated that although the recommended mixing ratio of the day was 25:1 , their engines would actually run quite happily on unleaded fuel at a 60:1 mix, but at 16:1 were showing signs of impending seizure.
I've always been an advocate of "old oils for old engines" - most of which in the UK are Villiers with plain bush main bearings and no oil seals. The extra "body" of straight 30 grade does appear to be beneficial in sealing the mains. Not sure where the OP was posting from but in the UK there is no problem in obtaining straight SAE 30 or 40. 30 is often sold as Lawnmower oil, locally Tesco, B&Q and Halfords have it. it's also sold as Classic Car Oil. Millers and Morris lubricants both sell a "classic bike mixing oil".
On a slightly different track, the manufacturers of Aspen alkylate fuel have been promoting it as having less carcinogenic properties together with resistance to the worst effects of ethanol and reduced shelf life. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the UK distributor of Cobra chainsaws issued a service bulletin that on no account was an alkylate fuel to be used in one Cobra model as it had been found to cause piston and bore failures.
Might run a bit hotter both due to the higher octane and the added oil making it a weaker mixture, fuel to air wise. very unlikely to do any harm unless worked hard for a prolonged time so revert to standard unleaded when convenient.
I also tried another "mower breaker" friend and the answer was the same. I checked on the Barrus/Lawnflite parts site and it does appear that the pulley in question was only ever used on the various versions of the rear-engined riders and not any of the front engines tractor mowers. Also, it looks like the last machine that used it was back in 1997 so they are likely to be thin on the ground. Pretty amazing that Barrus still have a new one in stock.
Good luck with the repair - not a nice job as unless it's spot on the machine will vibrate badly. It may be worth looking for a more modestly priced generic single pulley and get it welded to your boss.
Getting the old boss off the crank is likely to be a fight . If you have access to oxy-acetylene, getting it up to cherry red and letting it cool may create a bit of differential expansion. We used to protect the sump with some "tin" shields and lots of soaking wet rags. You may need to temporarily weld a heavy washer to the boss so that there is something for a puller to get hold of.
What machine is it? Possibly easier to try and source a new pulley.
Quite a few crankshaft pulleys are constructed like two saucers back to back and spot welded together. The metal fatigues around the welds and the pulley falls apart. If the fracture / tear is such that the pieces can be put back "in register" it may just be possible to do a repair. Back in the 70s/80s we would see quite a lot of that type of failure, particularly if belts were over tensioned but then the manufacturers got wise and ran a seam of brazing down into the bottom of the V and spread the load.
How can you adjust the max revs? Would that be by the govenor adjuster part?
Thanks
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Assuming that no one has fiddled with the relationship of the governor arm to the shaft that emerges from the block, speed adjustment is usually adjusted by bending the spring anchorage. As far as I can see you have not posted the model type and code to give positive id of what you have so that is just general advice. Reference to those number will enable specific information for your engine together with the top no-load speed and if applicable the governed idle speed. If your engine has governed idle, setting that is slightly more complicated that just setting the throttle stop screw to 1750rpm
Before going any further with specific instructions for stripping/cleaning the carb on an 8HP Briggs it will be a good idea to pin down what 8ph Briggs you have and what carburettor - there have been a few over the years. So, Model, Type and Code numbers as stamped into the cowling, please - often just above the spark plug.
When removing the float bowl it sometimes helps to gently rotate it a couple of degrees to break the seal between it and the O ring gasket. Then gently tip the bowl left and right in the hope that the O ring remains with the carb body. The objective is to try and avoid stretching the O ring as once stretched they can be a B**** to get back unless left to shrink for a couple of days or more.
You need to bear in mind that a filter sold for car use is designed to be used for a pumped fuel system and not a gravity fed one as used on many mower engine installation. An example of this is that Briggs and Stratton market three grades of filter, each with a different micron rating, one for gravity fed systems ,usually red, and another for single cylinder pumped systems, usually white and a clear one usually found on twin cylinder set ups.
For the filter to fill up under gravity it is necessary for the air in the system to find its way out. If it can’t , such as when the carb float valve is closed, the filter will just sit there empty.
Any one who has worked on many Vanguard and Intek installations will recognise the strange phenomenon of a happily running engine yet with a filer that appears to be empty.
What you describe is typical of hunting caused by fuel starvation, usually by an internal blockage in the carburettor. This is often caused by the ingress of dirt or these days a fuel quality issue leading to obstruction by gumming. The solution is a careful strip and clean of the carburettor using an aerosol can of carb cleaner to blow through all jets and orifices, or, if you know anyone with an ultrasonic cleaning tank, a good hot wash in that.
Spark Plugs with resistors are for reducing or eliminating 'ignition noise' and removing 'Peaks' in current which can have a detrimental affect on running
The only reason that resistor plugs are specified in some markets is to comply with that market's electrical interference legislation, not anything to do with the performance of the engine. (Quoting a well-known engine manufacturer)
The thing to avoid is using a resistor plug where there is already a resistor plug cap - then there can, but not always, be erratic performance.
Said engine manufacturer normally supplies HT leads with a plain non-resistor (unsuppressed) plug connector; hence them specifying a resistor plug for certain markets.
I know some people say you should leave the leaves to fully wilt, Angus. But if they are left they leave a big brown patch. I've been cutting them down for years and they still come up ok.
Point understood but it was meant as a light-hearted comment. In retirement, I mow the village churchyard and a couple of weeks of "prettiness" is followed by four months of scruffiness!
At the risk of stating the bloomin obvious getting the pulleys in the wrong orientation will effect the blade tip speed - a safely consideration.
Lets just say that the larger pulley is the same diameter as the crank drive pulley , we then have a deck input speed of engine rpm , say 2800 to 3000rpm . Reverseing the deck pulley putting the smaller one on top and the input speed goes up plus the larger pulley is now driving the blade spindles at an even higher rpm - excessive blade tip speed ?? In addition the idler pulley bearings and blade spindle bearings may all be subjected to higher rpm than intended.
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Don't let him near me!