# starting problem on briggs 11hp



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

briggs 11hp 253707 0206 on an old snapper rer. This had been sitting for a good 15 years and I kind of brought it to life (carb cleaning, engine block cleaning etc). It looks like someone replaced the throttle plate as it is a different color than the rest of the engine, see photo (black throttle plate vs. white engine). Seems odd. Here is my problems. I go to start it (electric start). It will pop and put put put then die. This process goes on and on. SOMETIMES it will put put put put for 10 seconds and then take off and increase the rpm to where it should be. It seems like if I take the foam out of the air filter housing it will start a little bit easier but it still does the really slow put put put then high rpm. 

I also think the engine is overspeeding by quite a bit at wide open throttle. I think it is hitting 3600rpm at about half throttle. I am going to adjust the governor, could this have anything to do with my starting issues?

Could my starting issues still be carb related? Was also going to check the valve clearence, could the valve clearence be the issue? 

Looking for which steps I should take first.


----------



## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

The engine may have had a short block installed on it at one time, which would account for the difference in color of the throttle plate. I would think that there could still be a carburetor problem, but I would also check the valve lash, as that could be the root cause.


----------



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

I checked the governor calibration and it seems to be correct. With the governor arm at full throttle I loosened the nut and turned the brass internal arm all the way to the right. It was already all the way to the right. Did I do this correctly? If so, what could be causing the overspeeding?


----------



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

30yeartech???


----------



## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

Loosen the arm that is attached to the shaft. Hold the throttle on the carburetor to the wide open position and note which direction the arm attached to the governor shaft moves. While holding the throttle wide open rotate the governor shaft in the same direction it would turn to open the throttle, turn it until it stops. Tighten the arm back down to the governor shaft. Thats the procedure for making the static adjustment on any internal governor, horizontal or vertical.

If it still wants to run away, then there may be a problem with the internal governor, which would require removing the oil pan on the engine. You may also want to check the carburetor throttle shaft to make sure it can move freely, and that the butterfly plate did not come off the throttle shaft.


----------



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

got the starting problem fixed

I did the governor adjustment (it did need any adjustment), checked all links etc. I ran the engine and I don't see any movement of the governor link. If I turn on the blades it boggs down and doesn't recover, if I drive the mower with the blades engaged it bogs even more with no recovery until i turn off the blades or stop driving the rider. Everything externally seems to be in good operating condition. I'm confident the internal governor is toast. I think it is time to take the sump cover off. Getting the snapper drive plate off of the shaft should be fun. 

Must get enough oil slinging around without the oil slinger, I mowed my city lot with it and it didn't seize. I did keep the rpms down while doing it.


----------



## phillipmc (Jan 27, 2008)

The oil slinger on those are normally a plastic gear that turns off either the crank or the cam ( i cant remember which ) which has little paddles on it.


----------



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

Took the sump off to get a look at the governor, everything looks good to me, see anything wrong with the governor? 

On the metal bracket that holds the governor in the picture there is that tab, does that slide into a track on the sump cover? 

I'm at a loss what would be causing the overspeeding???? I did the static governor calibration. I loosened the nut on the arm, put the arm at full throttle (clockwise), turned the governor arm all the way clockwise and tightened. Help


----------



## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

That all looks good to me.

There is a cavity in the sump that cradles the slinger/governor assembly.

Are you sure the arm was moving independently of the governor shaft when you did the static adjustment?

May need to inspect the throttle shaft in the carburetor, make sure there is not excessive play or wear in the casting where the shaft is installed in the carburetor.


----------



## pyro_maniac69 (Aug 12, 2007)

double check your timing marks on the crank and camshaft since your in there

How does the flywheel key look just out of curiosity?


----------



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

[email protected]#K it. Got the correct spring (looks exactly like the one on there) and installed it, bent the tab in. It is still overspeeding. Tripple checked the calibration - moved to full throttle which is clockwise, turned brass shaft clockwise. Made sure the throttle plate in the carb is present and closing all the way and it is. It is still overspeeding. I give up, time to part it out. I'm guessing the snapper tranny and some of the briggs parts should have some value on ebay.


----------



## phillipmc (Jan 27, 2008)

Is the little plunger on the inside of the engine on the govenor gear moving freely ? Also with the engine running see if you can move the govenor lever by hand to make the engine speed up, You should feel the lever pull the opposite way with a bit of force.


----------



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

Yes the plunger moved free.
Yes if you move the governor lever by hand the engine would speed up but it would pull back down to where it should be. But sometimes when I would pull the governor lever by hand it seemed to slowly creep back down to where it should be or stall at the higher rpm for a few seconds then come back down. I didn't see anywhere it was binding.


----------



## phillipmc (Jan 27, 2008)

I would try replaceing your govenor gear assembly and your govenor rod that rides on the plunger and goes through the block. Maybe someone else has diffrent advise.


----------



## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

when you had the sump off, did you check the flyweights and spool on the governor assembly to see if they were free and not stuck?


----------



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

30yearTech said:


> when you had the sump off, did you check the flyweights and spool on the governor assembly to see if they were free and not stuck?


I spun the governor and the weights came up and so did the plunger.


----------



## phillipmc (Jan 27, 2008)

Is the butterfly on the carb sticking ? does everything move freely between the gov and the butterfly when you move it by hand ? Make sure the rod between the govenor lever and the butterfly isn't touching anything else on the engine.


----------



## mopar4u (Jul 14, 2006)

got to thinking maybe i did the calibration wrong. answer me this. after a proper calibration of the governor, with the engine off should the arm be touching the plunger (similar to the above photo) or not be touching the plunger?


----------



## phillipmc (Jan 27, 2008)

It should be touching the plunger. With the throttle on the carb in the wide open position


----------



## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

mopar4u said:


> got to thinking maybe i did the calibration wrong. answer me this. after a proper calibration of the governor, with the engine off should the arm be touching the plunger (similar to the above photo) or not be touching the plunger?


Plunger??


----------



## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

Looking at the original photo you posted, loosen the nut on the governor arm, push the arm as far as it will go to the right (looking at the photo), while holding the arm in this position, take a screw driver and rotate the governor shaft clockwise until it stops (again referencing your photo), while holding the shaft and arm in this position, tighten the nut back on the governor arm to secure the arm to the shaft. The static adjustment is complete. It should work this way.


----------

