Mower question - Bent crank?

tillboy2001 · Sep 17, 2005

I think I know the answer already, but before I sell it cheap, I thought I'd run it by you all. I hit a metal pipe while mowing with my walk-behind mower (21" Craftsman with 6HP Briggs and Stratton engine). It bent the rod the blade is attached to and so now you can barely turn the blade by hand and you can forget about starting it. The blade attachs to the end of the crankshaft, correct? So essentially what I bent is the crankshaft going up into the engine. Right? If that's the case, I'm going to sell it off cheap. I already have a new mower and this one has been sitting around. But I really didn't want to 'give it away' if it was only going to cost $40 or $50 to fix. Thanks

Fez · Sep 17, 2005

Yes,
Crankshafts arent hard to replace, just quite involved, youll get to know the engine well when its in 1 million pieces on the bench.
Have you thought about costing up parts, might not be really all that much if you install it yourself.

beenthere · Sep 17, 2005

Be nteresting to know if Sears will have that part, or if you have to go through B&S?

Maybe a parts store on-line if the length of the crank can be determined and spec'd out. Worth a look-see anyway, IMO. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

MrSteve · Sep 17, 2005

Sure Sears would have the part (kind of) when you order a part from them in most cases the order goes right to the manufacture of that part (talking about this type of thing), then they drop ship it to you.

In any case... I would think it isn't much worth fixing the engine. There could be things you just don't know about until you open the case and start to take things apart. We know for sure you bent the crank, but what about the rod and so on. A rebuild kit for the motor is around $60 and that just comes with your basic things (rings, bearing, gaskets and so on), I am not sure what a crank would be. You could get a complete engine ready to run for $200 or so and that would be ready to run... OR get a NEW motor for the same cost.

tillboy2001 · Sep 17, 2005

Yeah, it's just a shame because it was in excellent condition. It sits in my basement most of the time. I bought a new Troy-Bilt walk-behind to replace it. I just hate seeing that very clean 6HP Briggs sitting there dead. Oh well. Like you said, no telling what I might find if I open it up...bent rod, etc. Since I already have a replacement, I'll take this one over to the flea market and sell it. I know someone at the flea market will buy it! I figure $35 or $40. Thanks for the replies.

MrSteve · Sep 17, 2005

LOL sorry for the typo... ( OR get a NEW motor for the same cost)

Should had been... ( OR get a NEW mower for the same cost )

But I am sure you knew what I was talking about /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif .

1962 · Sep 18, 2005

as for straightening out the crankshaft, shops dont do that anymore. too much of a liability, if the repaired crank fails and comes apart someone could be injured. part out the engine, youll get more $$ on ebay than if you sell it at a flea market. there are lots of good useable parts still on that engine. and you can see how it all works by taking it apart.

krmunson · Sep 19, 2005

But did you get rid of the pipe so that you don't hit it again? It would be a shame to thrash that Troy-Build!!

Chuck52 · Sep 19, 2005

I did that same thing, though with a stump, to a fairly new walk-behind last year. As it happened, I had an older mower with a trashed body but a working engine. I put the good parts together and now have a Frankenstein mower I use as if it were a brush hog. The mounting screws seem to be the same for most B&S engines. In my case, the crankshaft lengths were also the same, but that's where most of the variation seems to be. I had two old engines, but one had a shorter shaft and wouldn't wortk with the good mower body.

Chuck

slowrev · Sep 19, 2005

I have an old mower in the same boat, really like it better than the self propelled Troy Built that I bought. I am going to order a new crank and gaskets, under $100 total and fix it this winter.
The wife loaned it to her young cousins to mow with, They set the blade height low so they did not have to mow as often and caught a stump /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Laziness always winds up costing more money and trouble.
A local lawnmower shop offered to straighten it for $50 but I declined as it seemed to be bent back in the bushing. Crank Straightening tools are available, although cost several hundred dollars.

Ben