Garden tractor

[Ted in NE-OH]

I have a Craftsman garden tractor 15.5 HP with a Briggs and Stratton, engine about 15 years old. Does it have a compression release? It has
difficulty and stops on the compression stroke, battery is good.

 

[Dieseltech]

Might try adjusting the valves, if too loose the compression release won't work as it should if engine has it.

 

[Billy Shafer]

Depends on which engine it is. But most likely needs the valves adjusted.

 

[jeffcat]

Yup....adjust valves. Was just covered a few days ago on one of the pages. Most are .004 intake and .006 exhaust. There is something about just after TDC bump. Need to read that post.

 

[jeffcat]

Buy the way. When you turn the key, does the engine go raa.raa.Ruh! and stops? Thats the tip off.

 

[old]

If it is a valve in head engine yes it has a compression release and the valves need to set right on for the release to work correctly

 

[David G]

Could also be an electrical issue.

Check the voltage at the starter while cranking.

 

[Ted in NE-OH]

Thanks I'll adjust valves.

 

[mmfan55]

Is your battery strong enough. Will it spin properly if you jump it. Some of the "bargain" price batteries are very low on cranking power. Some of the larger engines require more amps than the cheap batteries produce. Similar to the scenario of starting a chevy 250 six cylinder versus a 454.

 

[DonTN]

I had the same type of problem last year. I fought compression, timing, carb, bought new battery, but no matter what I did, it always stopped on the compression stroke. With nothing else to check, I took the starter apart, and found that one of the magnets was broken. It spun real good without a load, and I didn't want to believe that it was the problem, but finally, out of desperation I bought a new starter, which was not all that expensive, put it on, and it was like a new mower. It now cranks real fast and fires right up. I still find it hard to believe that all it was was the starter motor.

 

[westga]

I had a craftsman a few years ago that had a bad ground. Would spin over one day then slow the next. A quick test is go from negative post to engine case with only one jumper cable. A direct path for gound. Just something simple to test and rule out.

 

[jeffcat]

Just to add a little more. Adjusted one of my Briggs engines this morning. The intake was at .oo4 but the exhaust was at .oo8. YES it makes a difference.!!!!!!! If you remove the plug and turn the engine CW you can watch the valves work. When both valves are closed and you JUST go past TDC you will feel the piston go over that TDC point and then a tiny bit further you will feel a tiny bump and you will see the exhaust push rod want to turn a tiny bit. THAT is where you want to adjust you exhaust valve. Really makes a difference. The engine starts much smooooother.