# Help?



## slindner (Nov 11, 2004)

hey, im a 16 year old going to highschool. My school last year dropped their small engine/autobody programs for new computer and graphing programs.
I would really like to learn about building and repairing small enignes, and eventually car engines. 

Do you guys have any good suggestion on sites or books that i could use? what kind of engine should i start with and all that thanks!


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## slindner (Nov 11, 2004)

*YEah..*

ok i read the new to engine repair thread and im going to do that too , get an old leaf blower or osmething and take out books from the librayr and try to take it part and put it back together

haha but any other suggestions would sitll be greatly appreciated


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

there is a haynes small engine book out there you can buy but just go looking around at yard sales anything you can find thats cheap. even go around asking people, most of them will give you what you ask about. like what are you going to do with this i'd like to have it to learn how to work on it. stuff like that. now car engines, big versions of 4 cycles. basically you should start on an older style pushrod engine, they are easy to work on.


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## snoman (Feb 13, 2004)

slindner
Here is a site that has an excellent reference book for you to start with.
http://www.cpdonline.com/692509.pdf This covers most of the Tecumseh L-Head engines. Now you can go get yourself a mower, blower, tiller or whatever with a 4 cycle Tecumseh motor, tear it down and learn very much from doing it.
Enjoy the hobby.

snoman


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## slindner (Nov 11, 2004)

so what is the difference between 2 cycle and 4 cycle engines?


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

a 2-cycle has one inlet port or intake which is where the carb is and another which is the exhaust port. very simple and powerful. a 4-cycle has valves instead of ports that are open and shut by a camshaft. 4-cycles are much more powerful but more complicated to work on. briggs and tecumsehs, kohlers are the mostly used but there is hondas and off brands for 4-cycles. there are many 2-cycle manufacturers like poulan and tecumseh.


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## bbnissan (Nov 7, 2004)

slindner said:


> hey, im a 16 year old going to highschool. My school last year dropped their small engine/autobody programs for new computer and graphing programs.
> I would really like to learn about building and repairing small enignes, and eventually car engines.
> 
> Do you guys have any good suggestion on sites or books that i could use? what kind of engine should i start with and all that thanks!


It's such a shame that high schools are doing this. Back when I was in high school we had woodworking, metalworking, and materials and processes. I learned alot when I took these classes and I still have the tool box that I built and the name plate I machined on the CNC mill. Now all of those classes are gone at the high school I went to and they've been replaced with classes on making web pages.

Anway, if you want to learn how to build and repair small engines, you should see about getting a job at a small engine shop. I started working for a small engine shop when I was still in high school...after I learned the basics from observing the other mechanics (and from attending the schools provided by the engine manufacturers), I finally got to jump in and do engine rebuilds and repairs. That was 7 years ago, and being a small engine mechanic is still paying the bills while I'm looking for an engineering job (I have a BSME).

Even if you don't get a job as a small engine mechanic just talking to a small engine mechanic will help you out. Most of the mechanics I know have more knowledge than you could ever learn by reading a book. For example...one of the mechanics I know could show you how to straighten a bent crankshaft on a push mower with nothing more than a wooden block and a 2lb brass hammer. The guy refuses to use the straightening jig because he can do it with the hammer without removing the engine from the deck of the mower. I know it sounds crazy, but I have watched the guy get a crankshaft so straight in this manner that what is left of the bend will barely show up on a dial indicator.


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## slindner (Nov 11, 2004)

yeah thanks guys, but i found a website, howstuffworks.com, that just has a lot of information on 2 stroke engines, 2 strokes diesel, gas car engines, carburetors and so on im gonna read it all through and then go look around for an old 2 stroker thanks


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## slindner (Nov 11, 2004)

an now i know exactly waht 4.0l v8, with twin overhead cams and a supercharger means, hahah


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