18.5 OHV Intek Plus engine

19 years ago

Does anyone know if I can change my 3 year old 18.5 OHV Intek Plus engine from my Craftsman DYT4000, model #917.273637, with other engines such as a plain 18 OHV Intek? What would be the difference? Today my tractor made a pop noise and a small white cloud and then stalled out. It will attempt to turn over , but not run. I think there may be a slight vibration when trying to start it and I found a small 1.5" crack in the casing just 4" above the oil release valve. Do you think I blew the engine? I wasn't even using the blades... What are some good sites to look at engines? thank you very much for your time.

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Comments (8)

bill_kapaun
19 years ago
You have to match the PTO shaft to the proper diameter, length and keyway(s) etc.
Charging system should also be compatible. Briggs has several different variations. Some have a separate circuit off the alternator to power the headlights, while others have a headlight circuit similar to your car.
Capacity- If you have an electric PTO, you need more capacity than the nominal 3 AMP battery charge only capacity.
Electric start or not.
Probably a few things I missed-

Your engine should be a 31P777-0348-E1
roydavid
19 years ago
Take it to a small engine repair shop and have them take a look at it.
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walt2002
19 years ago
"made a pop noise " "I found a small 1.5" crack in the casing"

That is a pretty good indication that it threw a rod. Unfortunately most of the later models B&S engines pretty well wipe everything out inside when they throw a rod.

I doubt very much if there is any difference to speak of between an Intek Plus and a Intek. Just a sales ploy by Sears I would say. Crankshaft size and mounting holes are pretty much standard on recent B&S engines. That is not to say some mfg. couldn't special order a variation. Crankshaft is going to be 1" dia. X 3 - 5/32" long(never quite sure of that fraction)

As for charging system, the components are interchangeable. If you need a larger capacity than the replacement engine, swap yours, be sure to check the size and number of magnets in the flywheel, you may need to swap flywheels also.

Walt Conner
walt2002
19 years ago
PS: IF you are talking NEW engine, messing with charging system, etc. will void warranty.

Walt Conner
tnkrbel3_yahoo_com
18 years ago
Hey guys, I had the same problem, and I can tell you what caused the engine to BLOW. It seem that B&S didn't do a good job of fastening the SCREWS that hold the butterfly inside the carb. They rattle loose and get sucked down the intake into the cylinder. That it turn gets smashed against the head by the piston and from that point on you're in trouble. Look at the piston and see if there are tell tale "Screw thread" marks on it. Of course B&S isn't going to admit it, but I had it happen TWICE. Your SOL with this engine and B&S.
walt2002
18 years ago
"I can tell you what caused the engine to BLOW. It seem that B&S didn't do a good job of fastening the SCREWS that hold the butterfly inside the carb. They rattle loose and get sucked down the intake into the cylinder. That it turn gets smashed against the head by the piston and from that point on you're in trouble. Look at the piston and see if there are tell tale "Screw thread" marks on it. Of course B&S isn't going to admit it, but I had it happen TWICE."

This happens periodically but is not common. PLUS, the piston smashing the screw into the head will not break or cause the engine to throw a rod. You are right, the screw will embed in the soft aluminum of the piston and the head. By the way, B&S does not make the carbs. The screw coming out of the carb butterfly may cause the engine to over speed resulting in failure unless the engine is shut down immediately.

Most common cause of current B&S engine throwing a rod is carb float needle leaking, people don't check the oil when they start the engine and the oil contaminated with oil causes failure, oil not checked before starting and being low on oil OR just plain old not changing oil when it should be.

Walt Conner
walt2002
18 years ago
Surprised someone hasn't pointed out this should be "oil contaminated with gasoline".

Walt Conner
dread58
16 years ago
Walt, I know it's been a long time, but searches I've done just recently have shown that in fact this "Screw" coming loose is a little more common that you might think. And while you're correct in that the screw will embed in the soft aluminum of the head, if the screw is smashed close to the outside of the cylinder/piston, it will colapse the groove that the top piston ring is supposed to ride in, and break the piston ring thus causing a siezure of the piston resulting in broken rod, gouged cylinder, etc, etc. And as to the over rev of the engine due to the loss of screw holding the butterfly, while one screw did come loose, the other held the butterfly in place. So, no open carb throat allowing unlimited fuel. I know this because the 2nd screw came loose just after the engine was rebuilt, causing the engine to do the same thing all over again. This time it WAS noticed that the butterfly and screws were a problem.

Cheerz

Bob