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I have a Briggs and Stratton Intek 18.5hp on a riding lawn mower. I ran the mower for only 3 summers. I had a good knocking that recently started. I openned up the crank case and found that one of the 2 bolts holding the clamp and piston rod to the crank shaft had backed out, rubbed on the housing and caused piston rod to crack at the threads at the other bolt. I ordered some gaskets and a new piston rod, cleaned it up and put it back together making sure that as I assembled, the timing marks on the cam shaft gear and crank shaft timing gear were lined up. When I was done, I turned it over and found that the spark plug was firing when the piston was near the bottom of the cylinder opposite the spark plug. I did not remove the flywheel or the magneto from the crank shaft. I have since opened the crank case to double check my timing marks, looks good. Where did I go wrong?

Submitted: 100 days and 1 hours ago.

Category: Small Engine

Value: $9

Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION

Take the flywheel nut and washer off and check the flywheel key. Chances are that when the rod broke you sheared the key and the flywheel twisted on the crank about a half turn. Hope this helps!

Accepts:
Expert:	Rick
Pos. Feedback:	99.0 %
Answered:	8/15/2009

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Outdoor Power Equipment technical trainer since 1990, covering eight states.

100 days ago.

Reply

Rick,

This sounds like it is most probable since there is no other point of adjustment. Is the key there just for timing and not so much for the holding force as the taper would do in combo with the bolt on the shaft end?

Posted by Rick 99 days and 21 hours ago.

Answer

Hi,

Thank you for the accept, and sorry about the delay in reponding to your followup question. Spent a bit of time with the family this evening.

Yes, the key is for positioning only. The torque of the flywheel nut will hold the flywheel in place. 145 ft. lb. is the torque value.

If you run into anything different when you check it, just reply back to this question and I'll pick it up from there, but I feel very confident that is what you'll find.

Best wishes,
Rick

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Accepted Answer

<p>Take the flywheel nut and washer off and check the flywheel key. Chances are that when the rod broke you sheared the key and the flywheel twisted on the crank about a half turn.</p><p> </p><p>Hope this helps!</p>

Reply

Rick,

This sounds like it is most probable since there is no other point of adjustment. Is the key there just for timing and not so much for the holding force as the taper would do in combo with the bolt on the shaft end?

Answer

Small Engine

Have your own Small Engine question?

Question

Accepted Answer

<p>Take the flywheel nut and washer off and check the flywheel key. Chances are that when the rod broke you sheared the key and the flywheel twisted on the crank about a half turn.</p><p> </p><p>Hope this helps!</p>

Reply

Rick, This sounds like it is most probable since there is no other point of adjustment. Is the key there just for timing and not so much for the holding force as the taper would do in combo with the bolt on the shaft end?

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Rick,

This sounds like it is most probable since there is no other point of adjustment. Is the key there just for timing and not so much for the holding force as the taper would do in combo with the bolt on the shaft end?