Gas-Diesel engine swap question

[Soundguy]

Find a mower on craigs list that has the same engine, runs good, but doesn't have a deck. You'll find one all day for $300 or less. Do the swap then scrap the old one. Or, if the deck fits, keep the new one and scrap yours.

My buddy just killed his 15 y/o Murry - he bought a used late-model Murry that looks absolutely new for $400.

JayC

my murray is nearing that age. engine and undercarriage are fine. drivetrain maybee getting a lil loose.. but no slipping or skipping.

deck is what is going to go next.

I rehabbed it a while back. new belts.. cleaned it up.. fixed a stripped pulley retainer nut / spindle by undersizing and rethreading..e tc. It's tires are bald but holding air.. and battery is getting weak.. if you don't mow 1x per weak, byt the 2nd weak it's low.

figuring the cost of a battery and deck and tires.. i'll put those few hundred into a new economy mower and see if I get 15ys out of it too. especially since this was like a 700$ mower.

I see northern tools has a economy mower they are clearancing for 799$ right now...

soundguy

 

[handirifle]

No argument here. Horses are a lifestyle, not a purchase. I tried to get out of the horse thing for a while based on the theory that I don't have to feed a tractor when I'm not riding it. I just couldn't do it, though. Horses are too much of a part of who I am. I felt I owed it to my kids to give them the same opportunity to ride that I had as a kid. I fully believe that one of the best things for the inside of a kid is the outside of a horse.

There are a lot of free horses out there with hay prices as high as they are. Maybe instead of looking for a Murray lawn mower you should be looking for a New Holland swather. Then you can take advantage of the fools like me that can't seem to get rid of the horse bug.

Just think of the swather as a lawn mower except you only have to mow the lawn three times a year.

I check craigslist nearly every day, so far nothing that will fill the bill. Most of them around here are in the 12-13hp range. About 6 months ago a guy had a 23hp mower for $250 and said it needed a steering gear and a couple tires. I said I would be there in 30 min, on the way there I called and he said "it's sold to a guy that called last night and said he would look at it today., I was ticked. I said the least he could have done was to tell me someone else was looking at it from the day before. It was a 30 min drive to get there and I was almost there.

And as for the horse, my youngest kid is 26, and my granddaughter is moving almost 2hrs away. I have no desire to buy or take a horse for her, seeing that she'll show up once or twice a month. I KNOW who will end up taking care of it. Besides, tractors don't poop everywhere either:laughing:

 

[handirifle]

OK after checking ebay, I found a bare block. The model number of engine is slightly different, but when I check the B&S website for both engines, it gives the same part number for the "cylinder assembly" (block) for both models. So now I am contacting the seller to get some pics of the valve area of the engine. If they look good, I will give that a try.

 

[Baby Grand]

21hp Briggs Gas....$570.00
Briggs & Stratton Engine Model: 331877-0036 on sale with free shipping from Tulsa Engine Warehouse!

Help Line....
TulsaEngineWarehouse.com - How To Guide: Repowering With A New Engine

After being won over by the performance of my Kubota diesel I tried looking for a vertical shaft diesel for The Plant Manager's Craftsman when her OEM unit grenaded. Couldn't find anything even remotely close. Ended up getting the exact same engine as IH3444 suggested from BNE (Brand New Engines):
Briggs & Stratton Vertical Engine 21 HP OHV 1" x 3-5/32" #331877-0036 (331877-0142)
ORDER SUMMARY
ORDER SUBTOTAL: $529.95
TAXABLE SUBTOTAL: $534.95
ORDER TAX: $0.00
SHIPPING: $5.00
DISCOUNT: $0.00
GIFT CERTIFICATE: $0.00
ORDER TOTAL: $534.95

It came with John Deere decals on it.
So far, it's worked out well, other than the carb solenoid. A $3.49 fuel shut off valve in the fuel line fixed that problem. Pumping a claimed 21 HP out of a one lunger is not a long term proposition, IMHO, so I'd agree to look for a 2 banger - they're not much more, should deliver more useful torque, and last a bit longer.

 

[handirifle]

After being won over by the performance of my Kubota diesel I tried looking for a vertical shaft diesel for The Plant Manager's Craftsman when her OEM unit grenaded. Couldn't find anything even remotely close. Ended up getting the exact same engine as IH3444 suggested from BNE (Brand New Engines):
Briggs & Stratton Vertical Engine 21 HP OHV 1" x 3-5/32" #331877-0036 (331877-0142)
ORDER SUMMARY
ORDER SUBTOTAL: $529.95
TAXABLE SUBTOTAL: $534.95
ORDER TAX: $0.00
SHIPPING: $5.00
DISCOUNT: $0.00
GIFT CERTIFICATE: $0.00
ORDER TOTAL: $534.95

It came with John Deere decals on it.
So far, it's worked out well, other than the carb solenoid. A $3.49 fuel shut off valve in the fuel line fixed that problem. Pumping a claimed 21 HP out of a one lunger is not a long term proposition, IMHO, so I'd agree to look for a 2 banger - they're not much more, should deliver more useful torque, and last a bit longer.

Thanks for the confirming feedback. That was what the B&S rep said on the phone as well. Still waiting to hear from the guy on Ebay about the replacement block.

 

[Soundguy]

good luck.

I figured you'd likely find an engine or block soon enough. decks seem to go out faster than engines on a mower that at least gets a yearly oil change and has an air filter in place..


soundguy

Thanks for the confirming feedback. That was what the B&S rep said on the phone as well. Still waiting to hear from the guy on Ebay about the replacement block.

 

[Tenn_Blue]

I understand you may have found a block, but if it falls through, you might check with a machinist re getting new seats put in your block. I seem to rememeber seeing somewhere about this issue with the older "L" blocks - the L's did have an issue with the seats coming loose IIR- they could be dimpled and pinned a few times, but then there WAS a way to re-fix them after that. I looked for the article but couldn't find it anymore.

Find a GOOD machine shop (harder and harder each day, I'm afraid...) and see if they could fix it and how much. They can also give you an estimate on rebuilding your engine - might be cheaper and more reliable than a used unknown engine.

 

[Soundguy]

find a shop that has someone in there with some grey in his hair..

soundguy

 

[Pete Judd]

I found that that after mowing for a coupe of years around our place, the deck, trans, belts, ect turned into a turd, but the engine would be in perfect running condition. This was in MTD, Coast to Coast and Craftman mowers. Now I mow with diesel, and will see how long it lasts. And on a side note, I mow about 6.5 acers of rough lawn.

 

[Soundguy]

that's alotta lawn for a rider mower.

neighbor next to me is well into his 3rd lawnmower in 11 ys mowing a 3ac lawn. and they wera / are not cheap mowers. all jd riders...

i'm still on my same near 15yr old murray since I only mow about 1/4 ac with it ( now.. used to mow more ), and let a tractor do the rest of my mowing.

soundguy