Breather 101

[SUKI]

So far I have only installed one HF horizontal engine a go-cart. Conversion to pedal operated throttle went well. The worrisome part was how short the PTO end of crankshaft with a sliver of it mounting the torque convertor clutch. By shiver I mean less less than 1/8 of an inch. I have heard any complaints but to me it is plain unsafe to operate with such a short shaft.

[bob]

I still have oil coming out of breather tube. I have tried a different breather, took the head off and removed carbon from valves and set valve lash. Now as bgs says it is probably rings needing replaced. But my question is since it starts good and run good does that not indicate that compression is reasonable. I actually increased the compression after setting valves I was getting about 60 lbs and went up to 70 to 75. My other question would be due to the age of this Tecumseth is it practical to replace the rings and may I not only have more problems with cylinder wall and piston. Another thing I did was to remove oil stick and stick finger over opening.
I had a little suction but nothing great and when I removed my finger should I have not had oil gushing into the air which I didn't. Looking for opinions. Thanks

Blair

[bgsengine]

oil gushing out dipstick tube depends largely on whether the bottom of the tube is immersed in the oil sump or not, on these, if it is a horizontal shaft which I am guessing it is, they terminate at top of crankcase , so they won't be immersed. As for your compression 70-75 is still a little low , so I would tend to suspect worn rings (does it burn oil? - that is, do you have to regularly add oil?) and finally as noted earlier, *some* amount of oil coming out the breather tube is relatively normal as the oil vapor condenses inside the tube, you'll always have some drip.. But when you had breather apart did you check for presence of your filter mesh? as old as it is, quite likely the mesh (which was a sort of fiber mesh similar to steel wool) has broken down and disintegrated over time.. if that mesh isn't there, or in good shape, then it isn't collecting the oil vapor like it would have if it was new, so your oil vapor is misting out the tube and being collected there on the tube , which then obviously drips down into the intake.. But if the amount of oil is really excessive (that is, if engine is burning off a lot of it and smoking until the tube is unhooked from intake) then I'd say you probably have worn rings.. and given the age (and very iffy availability of parts) even if it was worth re-ringing (assuming cylinder bore is good, not tapered or worn out of round) , it'd probably cost as much if not more to rebuild it than to replace it with a Harbor Freight Predator, or even a Briggs service replacement engine.. You might luck out and find some new old stock short block listed somewhere for cheap, but the one I found when looking at options for our troy-bilt tiller, the asking price they had up for that NOS short block was considerably more than even the new Briggs Vanguard (and for the price they wanted, I could have bought three Predator engines)

[bob]

Yes the mesh is still there and looks good. What is coming out of the breather tube is more than a mist. It is a steady drip. If I hang the tube out and straight down with my hand under it, it would be just saturated with oil. I do not know if was using oil or not as I am just looking at it for a friend. But since I checked the oil before starting to work on it and it was bone dry I would assume it was using oil. That was what I was wondering if even if I could find rings maybe the piston bore would be done also. The engine is probably about 30 to 40 years old. So I think I will tell him its time to bite the bullet and look for a replacement, Thanks bg

Blair

[creia]

Bob,
Unless you friend has an emotional/personal tie or is otherwise "married" to that engine, a rebore is not worth it. You will be into it at least a couple of hundred dollars just for the rebore, honing, and O/S piston ring set- IF you can even find one . My experience is that most Tecumseh O/S piston/ring sets are long gone (especially the H60) and NLA. Have you actually had the bore measured to check for excessive wear, taper or out-of-round?
Michael

[bob]

No. I agree with bgs that even if I did replaced rings I would still be taking a chance that everything else would be good

[creia]

Replacing (only) the rings will do no good whatsoever if the bore is worn oversize, tapered, or out-of-round beyond specs. You can get a 6.5 HP HF "Predator"engine for $ 100.00 when they are on sale to replace that H60 Tecumseh. I have had 2 of these engines and they are pretty well built and a very good value.
Michael

[SUKI]

Replacing (only) the rings will do no good whatsoever if the bore is worn oversize, tapered, or out-of-round beyond specs. You can get a 6.5 HP HF "Predator"engine for $ 100.00 when they are on sale to replace that H60 Tecumseh. I have had 2 of these engines and they are pretty well built and a very good value.
Michael

As said before you to make the PTO end of the crankshaft will work for the application. The last 6 hp Tecumseh I replaced had a longer crankshaft PTO which meant the torque convertor clutch just barely engaged the end of the shaft, around 1/2 of a inch. Personally I would have not ran it like that but owner insisted on the HF engine.