Would a Briggs needing valve adjustment, lose power?

[Arkie]

Come on People

Think this one through. If this was actually an engine power problem, the engine would be completely stalling out, then starting to turn backwards as the tractor rolled backwards. I'd be inclined to start with the simple things first, such as;

Has a rear wheel been taken off to repair a flat tire and been put back on without the axle key?

Has the transmission belt condition and tension been checked and adjusted or replaced if necessary?

If unit has a hydrostatic transmission, is the oil level up to where it's supposed to be? Does the oil smell burnt?

As for the engine valves, from what I have gathered, the valves should be checked every 100 hours of operation and adjusted if necessary as a matter of course. When you say the tractor is a hard starter, does this mean that the starter motor has difficulty turning the engine over, or does it take a lot of turning over before the engine actually starts. Let us know what you find,

Sky

[sblg43]

I started the tractor and put a chain from my truck hitch to the rear axle of the tractor. When I stepped on the pedal (hydrostatic) the right rear tire just started spinning in place with no engine bogging down or indication of power loss.

I took the hood off and adjusted the valves. It starts right up every time now without struggling. Now I am going to do a routine tuneup (oil, filter, blade etc...) and get it back to the owner.

He is my pastor, and he will let me know if the problem persists. The thing with him, is that he is about as handy as a tree stump. So everything he tells me about his maintenance issues, I have to take with a grain of salt. It may not be nearly as bad as he thinks it is.

I will update if necessary.

Thank you all for your input.

[Fulltilt]

Thank you all for your input.

You're welcome! Glad you got it squared away.

"The short answer is yes, valve adjust. can effect power.

Now a question for you: Why haven't you just adjusted the valves from the get go? Easy enough to do, right? "

[sblg43]

Well, the problem persists.

I did adjust the valves and the engine starts right up and runs great.

However, I was using the tractor to tow some other dead tractors out of the back yard. As time went by, the tractor did start to lose power. (Not the engine) There is definitely a problem with the transmission. Tomorrow I will look at the oil level in the tranny.

When put under a heavy load (like going up a hill or towing another tractor that had some flat tires) it would simply not move. Engine at full throttle and foot pedal all the way to the floor, but no go. I could hear the tranny whining but no tires spinning or forward momentum.

[Luffydog]

Drive pulleys and drive belt possibly

[sblg43]

After scouring the interweb for info about these tractors, it seems that the K46 Tuff Torq transmissions are an expensive repair waiting to happen.

They are a sealed, non-serviceable unit. The suggested repair option is an upgrade to the K66 upgrade kit. For a mere $1800

[KE4AVB]

After scouring the interweb for info about these tractors, it seems that the K46 Tuff Torq transmissions are an expensive repair waiting to happen.

They are a sealed, non-serviceable unit. The suggested repair option is an upgrade to the K66 upgrade kit. For a mere $1800

Simply Wrong; they are just not end user serviceable as they require to be super clean and a clean area to repair them. The K46 is repairable.

The center section upgrade kit is around 400 USD plus shipping from Tuff Torq plant here in Tennessee. For part numbers you must use the numbers from the serial tag on the transaxle.

Now the K66 is much beefier transaxle with more torque and with 1" instead 3/4" axles so the rear wheel rims would need changing too. I don't know if the K66 upgrade kit you're referring to includes these or not.

[sblg43]

Simply Wrong; they are just not end user serviceable as they require to be super clean and a clean area to repair them. The K46 is repairable.

The center section upgrade kit is around 400 USD plus shipping from Tuff Torq plant here in Tennessee. For part numbers you must use the numbers from the serial tag on the transaxle.

Now the K66 is much beefier transaxle with more torque and with 1" instead 3/4" axles so the rear wheel rims would need changing too. I don't know if the K66 upgrade kit you're referring to includes these or not.

Yep, I just realized that last night.

After I left that latest comment about the $1800 upgrade, I spent time a lot of time on youtube watching guys rebuilding the K46's.

I am sure that it is something that is within my realm of possibility.

According to the website that sells the K66 upgrade, it does include the wheels. The few people on youtube who did the upgrade, say that the upgrade kit is very inclusive (all the right parts) and very well detailed with the instructions. I almost wish I had the money to do the K66 upgrade just because it would result in a very durable end product.

However, that is not in the budget. But the $400-$500 price is easier to swallow. I am gonna call Tuff Torq today and get some info.

Thanks

[sblg43]

So I visited the Tuff Torq website and generated a login name.

Based on the model number of the unit - I was able to get these prices:

Repair Kit - $341.54
New Transmission - $676.78

You know, I have been making several trips to the scrap yard lately just to get the yard cleaned up. Those trips included a couple of tractors. I do remove the wheels because the scrap yard charges me for disposing of them and I know that I can sell them on craigslist for a reasonable price to needy people. Now I realize that I should be removing these transmissions/transaxles as well. They might fetch a pretty penny if they are good working order!

[KE4AVB]

Now you see why it is sometimes better to just part out an used mower. I no longer sell used mowers as folks in my simply don't want to pay a fair price for that has repaired with 90 days warranty. They rather buy off Craigslist to only find out it still needs repairs. I buy a Craftsman 42" last year with blown engine just for tranny as a customer was wanting a 6 speed (Dana) that was NLA. He never came and it pick-up. Apparently he thought $85 was too much after agreeing to it. With this aside I usually can make 2-3x what I can sell an used mower for by parting it out.

I had customer this morning that called about a Huskee SLT4200 on the Craigs site for 300.00 with a broken deck belt. Well I just repaired a Huskee LT4200 this week that belt off. It costed the customer 200.00 for repairs. Rebuilt spindles, new new blades, new correct length deck belt, and repair the electrical problem that was bad cable ends. Lucky considering the bearings had completely fell apart and one spindle star stripped. Could have needed 2 complete spindles.

On that Tuff Torq Center section kit don't forget the oil as it not in the kit.