6.5 H.P. Predator Gas Engine : Replaced a 5 h.p. Briggs on my log splitter 2 weeks ago . It ( the Briggs ) was having a odd " Miss " issue . Still ran , just sounded weird . Then something broke some were , went from running about 1/2 throttle to barely running , sounded almost like a old hit and miss engine . No throttle response , any choke it would die , but if I held the throttle linkage on carb wide open for about 5 seconds , it would stay there till to much " Load " was applied by splitter then it would go to weird idle again .
Anyway , $50+ for a carb kit ( new float , needle valve , gaskets, etc.. ) , if that was the issue , or around $90 for entire carb , again if that was the issue ??
Or As I ended up Doing was dropping $99 for the 6.5 h.p. from H.F.
A Few Issue's . but this is not exclusive to the H.F. motor .
Since old Briggs was almost 10 years old , old pump mount had a larger bolt pattern , so I made my own , since I was to cheap to Drop $55 + on a new mount . Checked around at various locations and found that just about every new engine regardless of brand , in that H.P. range has the same smaller bolt pattern . Minor issue , easily fixed .
Also output shaft is 3/4" , were as old Briggs had 1" shaft , thus old output shaft lovejoy coupler , did not fit . Again easy fix . Ordered new one from Amazon for $15 . Again , Easy Fix .
Once it was all put together , added oil , manually turned it slowly over for a few minutes to make sure oil was getting around . Added gas , opened gas valve , 1/3 throttle , turned the ON switch On with 1/2 choke and pulled the rope for the first time . Purred like that Briggs never did , even when new .
It starts easier , runs Smoother and Quieter than that Briggs ever did . Also seems to put less strain on it even when splitting nasty black oak or madrone .
For $99 , I am Impressed . Basically Looks exactly like old Briggs with overhead valves , etc... , just a newer version .
Fred H.