smallenginewarehouse dot com has always been good to me. I don't know why you're having trouble with that engine so soon, I can tell by looking at that mower you take care of it.

Buying off ebay sometimes can be crap shoot. I see on reason to re-engine it. IF I like something I fix it requardless what it costs, which 9 times out of 10 cheaper than buying new.. That looks like very nice mower.

Guys,

I always change my oil when I am supposed to , do Stabil in the fuel, replace air filters and keep up with my stuff. It is why the cheapo aluminum Quantum Briggs motor lasted as long as it did.

I sure don't mind putting forth the effort to rebuild stuff, but when I do, I expect it to last a long time, not 4 years.

I took the head off today, and there was lots of carbon on the head and on the piston top. The head gasket looked great, so I cleaned up the surfaces and all around the valve seats with a brush plus spun the valves to make sure they seated. All together and it is the safe result, almost no compression.

I took the motor off and did an inventory of stuff I need to replace such as a couple of belts and a few drive bearings. If I can get the parts I will probably rebuild the machine. Funny thing is, had the motor held up, the mower would have gone for 5 more years with only minor repairs. It is not a inexpensive Craftsman mower full of plastic parts.

QR

Ifn it were me, as long as you got it torn down this far,
go ahead and drop the crankcase and take a peek at the
piston. If there is no compression, and you say the
valves are in good shape and there is no problem with
the head gasket, then that's the only problem it can
possibly be. Rings are cheap. GO FOR IT!!!!

That's a nice looking mower, I had one just like it except without the BBC. Why not try to find a used mower on craiglist or ebay and just rob the motor off it? Just throw a B&S Quantum 6hp on there and you'll have a trouble free motor for cheap.

ToolTime,

You are so right about the Quantum motor! I'm kicking myself now for selecting the Tecumseh when I knew how long lived a basic Briggs can be. It was based, however, on the really good service I'd gotten out of 3 other Tecumseh motors I'd had and now have. This one turned out to be a dud and so now it gets redone.

I got a good deal on a Briggs series 850 OHV with iron liner.I will go ahead and do the belts and most bearings while I'm at it. Too bad I didn't pick that brand 4 years ago or I'd not be here discussing all this today.

QR

I'm glad you are keeping the Snapper going! I have had a few mowers since that 1988 model Snapper but none have done the job of cutting or especially mulching that one did. The only drawback was the underpowered 3.5HP B&S engine it came with.

My biggest mistake was giving it to a friend for $50 and he just trashed it. He had a tiny little yard so it should have lasted him forever but he ruined it in 2 years.

Guys and Girls,

So over the weekend I mounted the new motor that I bought for the Snapper. It is a Briggs OHV Professional 850. I like it because it is OHV and has an iron cylinder liner at a good price of one the the small engine suppliers we usually deal with.

I had a few issues because the motor is a 25mm shaft, and it is scarcer than 7/8" versions. It is super quiet and requires no priming or choking as it is automatic. Pulls easily as well.

So far, so good.

QR

Nice job! That engine should give you years of reliable service.....unlike the Tecumseh.

Thanks Wade,

Another scary aspect of having a blade clutch is the 2 7/8 inch shaft length. It is almost impossible to find so you have to make it fit if you can imagine.

It all worked out according to plan plus it feels very powerful while testing it yesterday afternoon.

QR

Corrrection........the motor shaft length is 2 7/16". The bulk of the blade brake clutch is why it utilizes a short shaft.

I have the 8.75 version of this engine on a Badboy mower...smoothest running walk-behind engine I have ever seen, and it is a BEAST! Does yours have an oil filter?

Snuffy,

No oil filter, but a 850 motor is different that a 875 because of the difference in cylinder liners.

I ran this thing through the thickest Zosia grass today and it powered right through, so am pleased!

QR

They are definitely a strong engine..and surprisingly, use very little fuel! I have mine for around 2 years and it has been great!

I wish that someone had a need for all of the good parts (or the whole Tecumseh motor) that I removed.

If you are a Tecumseh fan, lots of stuff on it is salvageable.

QR

What would you take for the whole engine?

Snuffy,

I don't want anything for it, just freight.

It has had the shaft cut to accomodate the blade clutch on my Snapper. Shaft dimensions are now 25mm x 2-7/16th inch.

Let me know,

QR

Here is a link that might be useful: Tecumseh OVRM 105

I live in area code 30222...Greenville, Georgia....how much would shipping be to there?

I'm a new member and, as such, very late to the party here but I had to comment on your snapper quickrick. Awesome mower and awesome job restoring it. I found this forum by looking up snappers several years ago and that's when I found your mower project. I just joined today because this seems like a place for lots of info not just about mowers but gardening in general. I'm not a great mechanic but I've always loved old snappers and now have 12 in my current collection. I have done a few restos as well and torn many mowers apart and put them back together. Older snappers are my hobby and, being a fellow member now, I had to chime in on how impressed I am with your project there. Including your latest briggs engine swap, that looks like it should mow anything. Job well done sir.

That's the thing about forums. As you noted so many of the posts are old. His re-power project is now two and a half years old. Oh well....I hope it is still going. My snapper re-power is way older than that and it's still going so his probably is as well.

What was your repower project rdaystrom? I've never re powered with a newer engine, only swapped older engines from deck to deck. My current fleet has mowers from '79-'89 with all original or vintage engines. I'm always on the lookout for new additions too.

Snapper Fans,

So this past Fall, I am sad to say that I made the choice to remove the Briggs motor from the Snapper.

Soon after I placed this motor on the mower it would just quit while mowing. This turned out to be a sheared flywheel key which led to the stalling (out of timing). I replaced this aluminum key and re-torqued the flywheel only to have it happen again and again. Imagine how I felt? All that effort and and the best power plant that I could find. I wrote Briggs and Stratton who had me take it to an authorized repair facility nearby. The fix? Automotive lapping compound for valves on the taped flywheel shaft, seemed odd but it lasted two years.
While mowing grass I had the same backfire and stalling condition. To make matters worse, Snapper no longer makes parts for the blade brake clutch and it was beginning to fail again from old age. (it was the last new old stock from the Tecumseh repower days).
I made the hard decision to do what Snapper does, do away with the blade brake clutch and return the mower to service. The motor was dead, the clutch was dead and to retro-fit the beast to no BBC, I needed a longer shaft. I bought a Harbor Freight Honda clone motor and installed a blade adapter made for an MTD at Lowe's. Feeling as if I had no choice I decided to either junk it or go this route. I gave the B and S motor to the repair shop so that they could at least get some use from it. (the shaft had been cut to 2 and 7/16" for the blade clutch).
The good news is that the motor fits well, as a person on Harbor Freight's testimonial alluded to. I utilized the BBC handle and cable, now unused, for the safety shut off control. Without that, I'd have no way to shut down the motor, even though it was my least favorite compromise.
How does it start and run? Better than any of the other motors, burns no oil and is easy on gas.
I will try and post a picture soon.

QR

I bought one of the Harbor Freight engines for an old tiller, out the door for less than 100 dollars. So far it has been a good engine!

My re-power project was an early 90s Snapper Hi-Vac that came new with a 4hp Briggs engine with the Snapper logo in big letters on the large white plastic gas tank. I used it for many years but it got too weak eventually. I watched Ebay and picked up a 6.5hp Briggs with overhead valves and a spin-on oil filter new for $125. Easy to start and ultra powerful. I currently use it.

So Folks,

I have added a photo of the Predator motor onto Snapper deck. You will see the second cable, it does the safety stop feature off of a lever that I welded to the old clutch bale handle. The cable is a new John Deere snow-blower drive spare replacement that I had for my neighbor. As I'd mentioned, had I not bought the Tecumseh and just used a replacement L-Head Quantum, I'd have probably still been in business. The OHV Briggs timing problem could have been corrected (one shouldn't have loose flywheels issues on new or 2 year old motors) I reckon. But with the cut shaft for the unavailable clutch and the timing/ flywheel problem combined, I elected to do this motor swap to get on with my life. Odd thing is that I have had success with other Tecumseh and Briggs motors, but not these two.
QR

That doesn't look bad QR. Hopefully u have better luck with that engine than the others. I've never used one of those engines but as long as it works well it's worth keeping it on that bulletproof deck. Here's a pic of my 1986 21402P Tecumseh BBC. Luckily I've recently acquired a NOS BBC assembly for it so it will probably outlast me.

Rdaystrom did the original engine on your snapper look like this?

snapperfreak, That's the one. I probably used that model for 15 years before I put a new engine on it. Part of it's secret to longevity is that air filter.

Guys,

I had that 4 HP all aluminum Briggs motor and, while weak for the weight of this monster, did the job. It always started easy, burned no oil, had no issues for way over 15 years.
I was shocked how I could not make these other 2 motors perform, certainly they got great maintenance--oh well, as the parts fell off of them I had little choice.
Snapperfreak, where did you find that blade clutch? Talk about super-rare!
Anyhow, should I have junked the old Snapper and bought a Toro or did I do the right thing keeping it alive? Beyond the motor issues, I liked the rest of the mower and with new front metal ball bearing wheels, I essentially have a commercial mower.

QR