New Engine for splitter

I don't do squat to my Honda on the splitter. She keeps on ticking old gas, uncovered all year for almost a decade and a half, outside.
 
I put fuel shut off valves on all my small engines and run them out of fuel before longer storage. It makes a big difference. I also put fuel stabilizer in the tank.
 
A shut off probably would help as well as running them dry of gas before you store it .I don't but probably should .The only ones I do are my pressure washer and portable generator .Usually on the older Briggs with points ignitions the damned points get a little bit of corrosion .It's not a big deal except you have to pull the flywheels to get to them .Which quite frankly is a pain in the buttocks .--and another thing.Everybody wants their log splitter to run like it's in the grand prix or something .Briggs engines have governed speed of 3600 RPM for a reason .They float the valves a little above 4,000 and fly apart like a dollar watch above about 4500.They aren't race engines ,puts the rod right through the front of the engine .
 
The manual fro my honda eu3000 says to pull the cylinder to TDC after rumning it dry for long term storage
 
Yeah that's the best thing to do, along with oil or fogging spray in the cylinder and sea foam in the fuel lines and carb. In reality, here's how it normally goes.
Guy 1: do we got a generator on this damn job?
Guy 2: yeah in the trailer, but it doesn't have a pull start thing because we stole it when the one on the pump broke.
Guy 1: go grab it, and grab some rope or string or some shit. If you aren't back in 10 min I swear to god I'm gonna use your g string to start this pos.
12 min later...
Guy 1: wrap this around here like this, then pull when I tell you to.
Guy 2: why do I gotta pull
Guy 1: because you are an apprentice, and therefore have no real life skillz. (Guy 2 nods, won't start. Pull air filter and completely clogged with concrete dust.)
Guy 1: go blow this out with a cutting torch, I'm gonna grab some ether
Guy 2: we don't have one
Guy 1: goddamnit if I gotta hold your hand anymore people will think you are my prison bitch. Go steal the ironworkers one, they don't know how to use it anyways...
5 min later, it's running. :D
 
A lot of fuss about small engines not starting .Dead of winter is not the time to tinker with your log splitter and when the grass is knee high to a giraffe is not the time to diddle with your lawn mower .Fix that stuff before you park it .mumble grumble ---
 
I use my little splitter all year. It's made me lazy.

It's got a knock off motor on it. 'Champion' brand. Sounds like the best to me?


Kyle, f-cking hilarious story. :thumbup:
 
Promise not to laugh.......

I purchased a small walk-behind tiller at an auction. Got it cheap cheap...motor was shot.

OK....I went to Harbor Freight and bought a Predator 6.5 horse engine. Bolted right up in place of the old Briggs. No changes to be made. No problem replacing belts and pulleys. Everything fits perfect.

The HarborFraud engine starts on the second pull. Runs perfectly every single time. No problems at all. I'll buy another one for my sawmill when I get to that project next spring, but I'll buy the larger 13 horse.

99 bucks for the engine, plus 8 bucks shipping.

Joel
 
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  • #40
ordered a Honda
https://www.brandnewengines.com/GCV190-G5B.aspx

short shaft limited the options. About the same price if I bought from local northern dealer.
I looked on those other sites......couldnt find same one. I hope black Honda is as good as red one...

Do y'all use the self tapping mounting bolts?
 
Good luck. Hope it lasts a long time for you.

I bought a log splitter with a Briggs 8 hp back in the 70's. Pretty good overall. The original points lasted a decade. Then they corroded annually after being cleaned up. I bought a new set and they didn't last for beans. I went to the old timer parts store and asked him if I could switch to electronic. Yup. 20 dollars and bolt on part. Worked great.

So my bud has the same engine on a tow behind concrete mixer that won't start. He asks if he can borrow my carb and coil to trouble shoot. I tell him he should just take the coil but he wants carb also. OK.

Coil it is. So he goes to the local chain saw and lawn mower shop with my coil and says he wants one of these. The guy says what year and model , blah, blah, blah. He says I can sell you one, but it won't work.

My bud tells him yeah OK, buddy. I just had it running with this one, so just sell me one, OK? The difference between old timers and what we are left with now.

Me Briggs is just plain tired and the splitter is as well. Low to the ground model that won't flip up. I should buy a Harbor Break 99 dollar engine, get it going and sell it.

I bought a TSC model last year for 800. Black Friday deal. Not bad for the money.
 
I never do because that makes it much harder to pull or swap it to something else. I recently had to swap a bearing on a mower deck, John Deere homeowner zero turn, and I about shit myself when I saw that's how they attached. With a self tapped screw, you are relying on the al to hold a screw. There's a reason they don't make al nuts and bolts. I just can't bring myself to use them
 
Aluminum and steel don't get along to well either. Pretty cheap, lame ass design. JD used to be top shelf. My baler is almost 40. The first kicker latch lasted 30 some years. I welded it a couple times and it broke next to the weld. OK. Buy a new one. 5 years later it breaks. Come on JD.
 
I read an article recently about farmers suing them because the equipment they bought had a clause where it was illegal for them to have anyone but a John Deere dealer work on them. Some intellectual property bs. What's the world coming to?
 
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  • #46
I don't think the self tapping screws are the same as a self tapping bolt.......could be wrong. Other option is to tap it........but I bont have taps.

I could through bolt, don't have motor et to see if they are accessible on all sides. The old ones where solid.

If I do use them, any suggestions to the install? I figured would run them in first before mounting engine.
 
Center punch at the least before you attempt to put them in. Self tapper is a screw, there are no self tapping bolts that I know of.
 
I think they’re a tapered bolt. Still need to pre drill but they will self tap the hole on light gauge steel. Like a heavy duty sheet metal screw.
 
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