# 8 hp briggs overheating!! Help



## Dutch515 (Apr 8, 2008)

Ive got an old john deere 68 with an 8 hp briggs vertical shaft, it sat in a barn for a long time and I pulled her out and cleaned it up, put new oil in it, spark plug and rebuilt the carb. It starts great and runs just fine for about 15 min, then just shuts off, kinda sputters then dies quickly, but the heat that comes off this thing is unreal! I replaced the head gasket but it still does it. Does anyone know what causes this and what can be done to fix it. If you drench it in water and wait 20 min. it starts right up and runs for anther 15 min and gets too hot to run again. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Jesse


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## indypower (Apr 8, 2009)

Sounds like the timing is off. Check the flywheel key. Did you remove the shrouding from the engine? Mice LOVE to build their nests under the shrouding. Running for 15 mins then dieing many times is caused by the coil overheating. Find & fix the overheating problem and it should run without dieing.


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## Gocart (Mar 28, 2008)

Lawnmowers run hot for one of three reasons: the cooling fins are clogged with grass clippings, the ignition timing is off, or the fuel-air mix is too lean.


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## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

The old JD 68 with all the covers over the engine, just begged the engine to run hot. I never saw one of these riders that did not use a lot of oil after a couple of years of use. Just not a very good design.

You may want to test for spark when it shuts down and see if it still has any. Could be a coil breaking down or a condenser. 

Best of Luck.... :thumbsup:


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