Torque specs for 8 hp Briggs...

[MikeBrown]

hi gents,
i am new to your forum,and a diy guy.last night, i stumbled on your forum while searching for something for my coleman generator, and was lucky enough to find the answer. today, i have a question though...lol

i have a coleman contractor series 4700watt generator, that i bought used, from a co-worker.i bought it with the understanding that the crank case leaked oil,and had other minor issues. i got the minor stuff taken care of...now on to the oil leak.

i removed the genny from the motor,after some scratching on how to remove the rotor from the shaft. thanks to smokstak, i succeeded. today i removed the motor from the genny frame and it appeared the leak was coming from the bottom of the motor around the gasket.

everything has been removed and cleaned up, and i am now ready to replace the gasket and the oil seal. two questions come to mind...1)would it be advisable to put a thin layer of permatex on both haves of the case to aid in stopping the oil leak? and, 2)what are the torque specs for bolting the case cover back on? sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for your help.

by the way...the motor is 8 hp b/s horizontal shaft model number 197412...hope this is enough info.

mike

[Pat Barrett]

Purchase a new side cover gasket. but first, look at the old one, there might be more than one. The dark ones are one thickness, the brown ones are thinner and the white ones are the thinest. Make sure you get the proper thickness gaskets you take off. After you acquire the gaskets, Buy a tube of black or blue silicone. Use your fingers to squeeze some between your index finger and thumb. Rub a thin layer of silicone on both sides of the gasket/s and hang them in a safe place to dry. Allow them to dry a day. Once they are seasoned, you can install them. Allowing the silicone to dry will make a great seal as well as making disassembly easy as they won't stick and the seasoned silicone will provide a good seal. Silicone is great as long as you coat the gasket and allow the silicone to cure prior to installation. That's the trick. 80 inch pounds of torque should be adequate for the side cover bolts, I believe they should be 1/4". If not write me back and I'll advise you.

[MikeBrown]

pat,

thank you for the response. the old gasket was a dark grey almost black.so that is the same as i should get to replace?

thanks for the advice on the silicone to gasket...thought i should ask here, didnt want to put it in the wrong place and pay later.

my dad told me that the side cover should be torqued, but he didnt know how much, so again thank you.

now i just need to get that gasket,and oil seal, and i am on the road to recovery.

mike

[ken karrow]

What Pat was saying is that your gasket thickness determines the end play on the crankshaft. Be sure to not end up with the crank too tight on the thrust. Ken

[MikeBrown]

another quik question...

should the new oil seal for the crank be put in before the case cover goes on , or wait and install after? just dont want to mess it up, never been this far into engine repair before.

thanks, mike

[K D Redd]

The gray gasket is .015 inch. It is the thickness most Briggs engines are assembled from the factory with.I always put the seal in the side cover before I install, even when there is a key way in the crank's PTO end. Yours is a tapper, no key way. The one thing I do is to soak the gasket in WD-40. This will keep the gasket from sticking but it will still seal. I rarely torque these bolt. Not sure a spec. is listed for the older flat head engines. The newer OHV engines do list a spec. and a torquing pattern which I follow. As they are 1/4 inch by 20 TPI capscrews I would torque to about 100 in/lbs.

Kent

[Pat Barrett]

It's best to install it with the cover off, be careful and keep it straight as it's going in. Put a thin film of oil on the seal lip and make sure the cranksaft is clean and also lightly oiled before the cover goes on. After the cover is on, do a visual on the seal to make sure you didn't turn the lip out on any part of the seal. and it looks proper.

[JKWidener]

Also, ask yourself this question, did the gasket use any silicone from the factory? I have worked on way to many engines "small and auto" that someone used too much silicone. Sometimes, that is what causes them to leak even more. Because if you use too much, the two half's that are being bolted together will kind of hydro lock and not tighten completely, causing them to loosen later in use. I try to avoid using silicone unless its just a BB size dot beside the bolt holes to hold the gasket in place until mounted.

[MikeBrown]

thank you all very much for your help and advice...very much appreciated.

just got back from getting the gasket and seal, will be assembling this afternoon.

i will let you know how this newbie made out


mike

[MikeBrown]

well...re-assembly went fine, filled with oil , and no leaks...as of yet...

i pulled the engine slowly a few times to circulate the oil, and then started the engine.

the engine ran fine as long as you kept the choke at 1/2 - 3/4,
when pushing down to the run position, it started running very erratic(acted like it was going to stall, then come right back to life).

the carberator is a walbro, and i only saw one adjustment screw(on the top). there is no adjustment screw on the bottom of the float bowl. time to take the carb apart and soak it?

thanks for all the help,trying to get this ready for back-up power for the pellet stove this winter.

mike