As strange as it sounds, please try an oil change. The drain
plug on the side, one side or other. Use a good brand of
oil. Castrol GT is my favorite. Old oil can do some strange
things.
Same on the gasoline. Most places have "gasohol" now days,
but buy a good brand.
Please remove the motor cover, and clear any traces of oil,
dirt, cut grass, etc. If the fins on the motor side are
dirty, the motor will run hot. And kill the motor oil early,
as with some other problems. Use engine cleaner foamy spray,
or oven cleaner spray to strip it down to the paint. Rinse
well. A hot running engine can do strange things.
Seriously, the simple stuff is the important stuff.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..
"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Cub Cade riding mower. 24 Hp Briggs & Stratton V-twin
engine. 129 Hours, 6
years old.
SWMBO has been complaining that it doesn't have the power
that it used to
and it kind of 'sputters'.
Put on new air filter (really needed it) and pulled the
plugs. Left side
plug is sooty (black) compression is 72 p.s.i. Right side
plug is normal
(light brown) but compression is only 40 p.s.i.
BTW, both plugs were very clean, i.e., not crusted or worn.
Plug gap is
right on the money.
Upon buying this riding mower 6 years ago (we're new to
country living) my
neighbor said "nice machine, you'll be buying one every 5
years". I hope
he's wrong.
What could be going on with this engine? Is 129 hours a
lot?
I've rebuilt probably 15 car engines over the years. I've
done 2 automatic
transmissions. Have never tackled a 'small engine'. What
do I need to
know? Do I inject a little oil, redo compression in order
to differentiate
between piston ring wear vs. valves?
All directions and encouragement would be greatly
appreciated. I don't have
the $2ką to go buy a new one.
Help!!
Ivan Vegvary