Can't find model number on B&S engine

[crazyal]

I have POS Briggs engine on a leaf vacuum that got water in the cylinder so I had to pull the head off. It's a small CR750 horizontal engine (looks like a Honda clone). I've looked every place Briggs says it should be but can't find it. There's a sticker with the S/N on it that Briggs says should also have the model number but it's not there. Briggs says it could be on the valve cover yet it's not. Tomorrow I'll pull the pull starter and see if it's on the cover in a place that can't be seen.

I don't know if the company will survive but I can say I will NEVER buy anything with a B&S on it again. This is the second engine (both less than 5 years old) that has had this happen. The first I assumed it was left outside under an eve and somehow water ran off the roof and on to it. But this engine has spent almost all of it's short life inside a garage. It has less than 2 hours on it and while it's running again I had to use high temp RTV on the head gasket. But without a model number trying to order the correct head gasket is almost impossible. What happened to them? When I was a kid their engines were everywhere. Unless you ran them without oil they ran forever. I even had one that smoked like crazy so I put 85 weight gear oil in it and it ran for years like that until the lawn mower rusted out.

In the lower left is what the head gasket should look like. I found this on ebay but there's no part numbers.

 

[crazyal]

Here's what the sludge inside the engine looked like.

 

[RandyT]

I have seen it stamped into the valve cover on either the muffler side or in some cases on the carb side which is hard to read. Some of the older ones had it stamped into the metal shielding around the cylinder. If you could post the full serial number I have the capability to look up the engine by serial number on some of there newer engines. On some of the engine manufactured since 2015 the model number could be stamped into the side of the block and then somewhat painted over.

And ten to one the water is getting in the engine from the muffler. Setting outside and the rain is running in the exhaust hole and down past the valve into the cylinder.

Further research shows that the model number should either be stamped into the side of the block, or on the lower mounting flange of the engine next to the drain plug on the fuel tank side

 

[DJ54]

i have a similar unit I bought at an auction, and the model number was stamped in the valve cover. Ran fine when I bought it, but I didn't take the blower housing off. A mouse nest, I'm assuming caused a hot spot in the cylinder, causing a ring to break. I replaced that engine with a low hour older model L-head (flat head) engine. off a chipper/shredder with the same MTD tapered shaft. Someone gave i to a buddy of mine, thinking it may be a straight shaft, to re-power agarden tractor. When he saw the tapered shaft, he had no use for it, so gave it to me. Took less than an hour to change it out. This is the second summer for it, and runs great.

Might want to check FB Marketplace, or Craigslist for such units, just make sure it has the L-head. Everything bolted right up, from the base, to the blower mounting on the shaft, and blower housing. I picked up another chipper/shredder for $40 off Marketplace for a spare engine, just in case. I use mine a lot to pick up leaves, for mulch for the garden, off 3 of the neighbors lawns.

 

[WranglerX]

Umm... The parts may be more than repairing engine is worth..... This is why B&S is failing.... I bought a log splitter with dead B&S and the cost for parts to repair was more than I could buy a "disposable chinesium" engine....

Was not my greatest move as I am not a fan of a lot of Chinese stuff, but over $200 for just a bag full of carburetor parts (carb body, fuel tank, air cleaner and miscellaneous do dads for linkages) for a 30 year old engine was just a bit more than a new $130 engine (and 1.5 more fresh hp - from 5hp to 6.5hp).......

And was direct bolt up to B&S or Honda specs...Only negative is placement of run/stop switch as it sits on my log splitter, may not be issue in other applications...

Please forgive me for going over to the dark side....

Dale

 

[crazyal]

There's some numbers etched onto the mounting flange next to the oil drain but one is the serial number and the other doesn't seam to be anything google or Brigg's sites can find. I've had the valve cover and head off and the only part number is the one you can see in the second picture is on top of the block. It doesn't appear to be a part number so I can't find the model number from it.

I agree that the water got in through the muffler but Agri-Fab put a muffler extension down spout on it so it shouldn't be possible for water to just run into the muffler. What I really believe is that Briggs has a decompression device that opens the exhaust valve when the engine RPM gets below idle to help starting it. But Briggs should have thought about water. Every other brand did. I could see if it was on a trailer being towed in a rainstorm and water getting in. But even then what business would want an engine that they have to worry about bring it to a jobsite if there's a possibility of rain.

 

[RandyT]

There's some numbers etched onto the mounting flange next to the oil drain but one is the serial number and the other doesn't seam to be anything google or Brigg's sites can find. I've had the valve cover and head off and the only part number is the one you can see in the second picture is on top of the block. It doesn't appear to be a part number so I can't find the model number from it.

I agree that the water got in through the muffler but Agri-Fab put a muffler extension down spout on it so it shouldn't be possible for water to just run into the muffler. What I really believe is that Briggs has a decompression device that opens the exhaust valve when the engine RPM gets below idle to help starting it. But Briggs should have thought about water. Every other brand did. I could see if it was on a trailer being towed in a rainstorm and water getting in. But even then what business would want an engine that they have to worry about bring it to a jobsite if there's a possibility of rain.

Post the serial number and I can get all the engine information on most of the newer engines.

 

[flyerdan]

I've got a folder with every B&S manual I could find, does it look like one of these?

 

[crazyal]

Here's the serial number.

Here's the muffler extension.

Dan, none of those are right. If you look at the picture of the gaskets the valve cover gasket is the one that's on the lower right and the head gasket is lower left.

 

[Peter 315]

My guess is the water is getting in through the bolts on top of the muffler......

 

[RandyT]

Try model number 10R232-0007-F1 Gasket set 594951 contains all the gasket that you need. Gaskets are not available separately for that engine. Looks like if any major component goes south on that engine the parts are not available. Head and push rods for just a couple things that don't have available replacement parts.

 

[crazyal]

I'm betting it's an engine made in the same factory as the ones Harbor Freight sells. While pulling the pull starter cover off one of the screws ended up behind the flywheel. While removing the loose screw I found that the flywheel will move in and out by about a 1/16" of an inch. It seams like Briggs is just riding it's name now. To be honest I set a limit of $15 for the gasket and shipping. Since it'll most likely happen again and the cylinder wall is damaged from the rust I don't have great expectancy for the longevity of the engine.

Randy, that looks like it. The number is laser etched, not stamped next to the oil drain plug. It too hard to read correctly so I was searching for the wrong number. What's funny (and sad) is that the gasket set you listed above also allies to the CR950 engine. It comes with two head gaskets. The head gasket for the slightly larger CR950 can be bought separately. I did find an aftermarket gasket set on ebay matching the Briggs part number but only has one head gasket in it. All of the gaskets (other than the head gasket) that are identical between the two engines can be bought separately as long as you know to search under CR950 (130G32-0022-F1).

I've decided that I'm not going to spend $40 for a head gasket set that only has 1 gasket I need. Not when the head gasket for CR950 is less than $10 so it's just a pure cash grab on Brigg's part. I guess I'll just run it as is and if/ when the RTV gives out or the engine gets water in it I'll just buy an engine from Harbor Freight for $100. Maybe I can take it apart and sell the good parts to whomever wants them.

 

[RandyT]

I'm betting it's an engine made in the same factory as the ones Harbor Freight sells. While pulling the pull starter cover off one of the screws ended up behind the flywheel. While removing the loose screw I found that the flywheel will move in and out by about a 1/16" of an inch. It seams like Briggs is just riding it's name now. To be honest I set a limit of $15 for the gasket and shipping. Since it'll most likely happen again and the cylinder wall is damaged from the rust I don't have great expectancy for the longevity of the engine.

Randy, that looks like it. The number is laser etched, not stamped next to the oil drain plug. It too hard to read correctly so I was searching for the wrong number. What's funny (and sad) is that the gasket set you listed above also allies to the CR950 engine. It comes with two head gaskets. The head gasket for the slightly larger CR950 can be bought separately. I did find an aftermarket gasket set on ebay matching the Briggs part number but only has one head gasket in it. All of the gaskets (other than the head gasket) that are identical between the two engines can be bought separately as long as you know to search under CR950 (130G32-0022-F1).

I've decided that I'm not going to spend $40 for a head gasket set that only has 1 gasket I need. Not when the head gasket for CR950 is less than $10 so it's just a pure cash grab on Brigg's part. I guess I'll just run it as is and if/ when the RTV gives out or the engine gets water in it I'll just buy an engine from Harbor Freight for $100. Maybe I can take it apart and sell the good parts to whomever wants them.

I am going to throw another weird thing into the mix. If I input the serial number as 18 0403 98 19898 I get the CR950 engine and if I input it as 1804039819898 I get the CR750 engine.

 

[WranglerX]

Did you look on side of valve cover?

How To Find Utility Engine Model Number | Briggs & Stratton

Dale

 

[RandyT]

Did you look on side of valve cover?

How To Find Utility Engine Model Number | Briggs & Stratton

Dale

Not there, The new engines have is laser etched into the block Either on the side or as noted above next to the drain plug on the bottom mounting flange, where it gets covered with dirt, oil and debris and depending on how the engine is mounted requires some good cleaning and a mirror to read the numbers.

 

[crazyal]

Unlike the old days when Briggs would stamp it into the engine the laser engraving sucks. Maybe brand new out of the box it's readable but that's it. The only way I found it (and even then couldn't correctly read the numbers) was because I wiped that spot of the block with dirty fingers. My hand had previously been on the ground so it had some soil on it. That highlighted the etching just enough. Why Briggs cheaped out and laser engraved the serial number and model number onto the block but only printed the serial number onto the easy to read sticker is beyond me. It's like they don't even want you to find the model number.

I'm thinking of buying a head gasket for a Honda and seeing if it'll fit. I can get one mailed to me for about $5 so it's not a huge expense.

 

[RandyT]

Honda went through a period where their model information was a dot matrix type stamping, Almost impossible to read in some cases. Briggs actually did the same thing when was a disaster also. Or the Kohler with all the information on a sticker type tag that either peels off, fades or in some cases you will wipe the information off trying to clean it to read it.

 

[MickeyDBC]

Umm... The parts may be more than repairing engine is worth..... This is why B&S is failing.... I bought a log splitter with dead B&S and the cost for parts to repair was more than I could buy a "disposable chinesium" engine....

Was not my greatest move as I am not a fan of a lot of Chinese stuff, but over $200 for just a bag full of carburetor parts (carb body, fuel tank, air cleaner and miscellaneous do dads for linkages) for a 30 year old engine was just a bit more than a new $130 engine (and 1.5 more fresh hp - from 5hp to 6.5hp).......

And was direct bolt up to B&S or Honda specs...Only negative is placement of run/stop switch as it sits on my log splitter, may not be issue in other applications...

Please forgive me for going over to the dark side....

Dale

Aren't shop vacs rated in chinese horsepower? I always wonder how they could get 7hp out of a 15 amp circuit...

 

[crazyal]

Just thought I would post a quick update. I ran the engine for about 30 to 45 minutes (with the old head gasket and RTV) before it shut down. It's on a leaf vacuum and it's not quite leaf season yet but I wanted to know if it was going to self destruct before I really needed it. Also I wanted to put an hour or two on it and then change the oil. Turns out the gas cap failed and gas wouldn't flow into the carb. Swapped the cap with one off a Harbor Freight water pump I have and ran it for another hour without a problem. I have the Honda head gasket but I'm going to leave it as it is. Luckily in this application the engine has more than enough power so I run it at about half speed. At full speed the vacuum noise, which is a low frequency hum is annoying and hearing protection doesn't really do much to reduce it.