Craftsman 18HP Twin help!

[shok47]

I have a old Craftsman 18HP twin 6speed garden tractor that is awesome but the motor has some problems. I can barely get it to start. The key wont do it so I've been hooking up my 200amp engine jump starter to it and touching the 12v to the starter (from the solenoid). When i do this The engine will try and turn but only gets around once. and then it will sound like something is blocking it from making another turn. I would try and try then sometimes it would keep turning trying to start. I would spray engine starter in the carb and it would start but now even when i get it to constantly turn, it wont start at all.

There is some serious problems with the engine but why wont it start anymore, even with the engine starter fluid? We have a plow for it and it rips, so I want to get that t hing fixed.

[liljhall09]

Hey man , i take power mechanics at a technical school. Been working on the same motor and had the same problem. First off take the starter off and clean it out real good, thats only if you know how to put it back together properly lol. If that doesnt work most likely your gonna need a new starter.

[shok47]

Not to sound rude but isnt that a little far fetched? shouldnt I diagnose other parts before I go taking out a part thats under the engine and replacing it?

[liljhall09]

what u mean far fetched ?

[shok47]

You know, just assuming its the starter before testing other things. Is yours that you are working on the starter issue?

[liljhall09]

well im gonna be honest with u here. my teacher owns his own lawnmower shop. and my engine did the exact same thing , and he told me the exct words i told u. so do it if u want. if not then your motor most likely wont run lol

[shok47]

Hmmm so he didnt actually see the engine? Wise words from a teacher IMO. Its like hes working backwards; diagnosing the stuff from hard to easy, thats crazy talk:blah:

Well I posted this on my R/C forum and got the input that night while working on it. They told me to do a compression check, battery connections, spark, gas, battery. They also said the starter or the starter ring flywheel but thats the last thing Ill check since its the hardest. And my dad replaced and cleaned the internals of it with our old one so its not that abused. He said it should be the connections because they were lousy.

After going through everything, its most likely the battery and was partly the connections because these batteries only last 1 1/2 -2 years and this was bought awhile ago from walmart, so who knows how long it had sat on the shelf. I trickle charged overnight and a friend is going to bring over a load tester. SO we'll see then

I appreciate your input nevertheless, anything helps right now

[Ruby Soho]

does it actually run if you can get it to turn over?

if it wont fire just do the basics.. fuel, spark, air, compression etc.. check all connections, check the battery for turning over issues.

check the woodruff key aswell.

[shok47]

trickled charged it and tested it. The battery is bad, and the solenoid is about to die, it goes click click sometimes. but now when we put the 200amp jump to it, it will fire up no problem, other than the solenoid going click click. Going to get a interstate battery for it from a friend who gets a discount. Will get a solenoid too. Then we'll see if anything else is wrong

[derekhonda]

jump starter to it and touching the 12v to the starter (from the solenoid). When i do this The engine will try and turn but only gets around once. and then it will sound like something is blocking it from making another turn.

doesn't sound far fetched to me, starter problems.

[mfr422]

shok,
If you get your battery sorted out and still have a problem with it turning over, it's more than likely a valve adjustment that is stopping it from rotating, this is a common problem on those briggs v-twins. The valves will need to be set and she will run good as new. The manual will tell you to set them to .004 intake, and .006 exhaust. I always set mine to .005 on both with good results. Btw, I worked in a lawnmower shop for 2 years and saw them do this a lot. people would ruin their batteries trying to start them after sitting all winter and were always amazed I could fix them in about 15 minutes:D !! Good luck, Lonny

[Wheelie]

The engine he's working on isn't a v-twin. It's the old horizontally opposed twin cylinder. L-head.