# old snapper



## Scott15 (Nov 11, 2004)

My friend's dad has an old snapper from the early eighties. I was talking to him and he said that the older snapper decks are cast iron and that they wroth a lot so he got a new disc drive and has to replace the old white briggs 4 hp. Are the old ones worth it?


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yeah they are worth it, havn't had a snapper pusher but i don't think they were iron, steel yes iron no. the old briggs should be easy to get rebuilt, be cheaper as well. but hell yes, indeed worth it.


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## Scott15 (Nov 11, 2004)

So the decks are all the same?


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

if its steel its steel, just saying that steel sometimes when it rusts right will look like iron


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## Scott15 (Nov 11, 2004)

So this guy is wasting his time if the deck is crap?


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

if the deck is good and solid no he isn't, if its rusted bad, has holes and if the engine is totally blown, yes he is.


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## scrench (Dec 8, 2004)

he might have ment to say cast aluminum


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

oh well if cast alluminum basically the same, if it has cracks and is corroded to death then its a waste as well. me i've only messed with the rear engine riders by snapper. all are good.


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## scrench (Dec 8, 2004)

snapper rer is the greatest lawn mower bar none hands down the best ,


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yes after a fire, a flip over and wrecking it it ran till the friction disk and pulleys ripped out of it and the engine breathed its last. still have the engine though. some work and that will go. old white briggs. type of rear engine with the single blade. huge blade. cut the grass for years upon years with that little 10hp briggs.


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## Scott15 (Nov 11, 2004)

It has a good deck for being really old. He changed the oil once out of all the years he has had it. Is that bad?


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yes thats bad, you should change the oil regularly. usually every season to 300 hours of use, if it gets dark it needs it then, if like you say he just changed the oil, the bearings are fried and the bore is as well. surprised it lasted that long. gotta be changed regularly to keep the engine running longer and at its peak


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

bugmans right clean oil,gass and air is the only way to keep an engin going for a long time.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yes totally the fact, thats what happens to an engine when it fails from just normal use and every thing else is fine. usally it starts with oil, which even some of the new ones will leak a little but after a while will go away. then they don't clean it. grass and dirt clings and dries and cakes. then later when the oil isn't changed, bearings wear out quicker and the engine overheats from old oil and caked crap all over it. then well engine failure is next.


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

for all you people who dont know how to clean this stuff.

Oil- prety east hear... just drain the old oil and put in the new. not overfilling it. 

Dry element air filter- cant realy do much hear except tap it out. watter and such will ruin it.

oil bath filter- drain oil n replace

Oil weted clean it wih soap n water. dry, and soak in oil squeez out so its not dripping wet. and replace. 

No filter- GET ONE

as for gasoline- just put in nice gas not crappy gas thats benn sitting around for 3 years.

Did i miss any?


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

use the correct oil grade and use fuel stabilizer to give your engine a better chance, gas then can last about a year, makes it good to store the engines without draining the gas and running it out. change the plug and or clean it once a year. cleaning's better but when it gets hard to start replace, use autolites


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

If you run clean fule n oil the spark plug should never gunk up.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

no after a while you will get some carbon on older engines, but you see its people who never do it and end up getting rid of em due to that. all mine stay a nice tan dry color, autolites of course. plus stabilizer seems to when over used will dirty it up a little.


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

I have never had that prob with my engins so i guess bugs right. but clean gas n oil help alot carb wise.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yes they do and stabilizer helps em more, just when sometimes you use a little tooo much it can smoke.


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

how much stablizer would you sugest for like a half gallon gas tank


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## roperdude91 (Nov 10, 2004)

i used a whole measuring bottle of the home depot powercare stabilizer in the craftsman pusher

smelled like buttered toast and smoked when you shut it off or encountered a load


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

hahaha thats why i use stabil fuel stabilizer, at the right mix you get nothing but when overly done it'll smoke


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

mmm buttered toast


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

:lol::roll: funnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny,,, buttered toast


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## scrench (Dec 8, 2004)

to use stabilizer the right way you are suppose to drain it out and put fresh fuel in when you are ready to run the engine ,, the fuel will still sour in about a month ,,"If you run clean fuel n oil the spark plug should never gunk up." that would depend on the rings the valve guides and the crank case breather, the load on the engine .and the air fuel settings !!!!!


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## scrench (Dec 8, 2004)

Iron head said:


> how much stablizer would you sugest for like a half gallon gas tank


read the instructions ,


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

well my fuel i keep i do two things. i use stablilizer and i keep em in container's that totally seal up, even if they bulge they seal, usually i can keep the fuel fresh like that for about 3 an a hlf months, and i know bad gas when i see it and smell it, looks clear with a slight tinge, like new, ok and well smells like fresh fuel. not a pungent smell. left my murray 8 up for 2 months without starting it with stabilized fuel, with a fuel shut off, have two but the original's metal and leaks bad when off. and turn the fuel on, turn the key and 5 seconds of turning over she fired up, oh and :lol: forgot about the how much, ^^^^^ yeah read the directions


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

scrench said:


> read the instructions ,


I dont like instructions there for standart people who dont like to push the limits.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

Iron head said:


> I dont like instructions there for standart people who dont like to push the limits.


 yeah i hardly ever either, on some engines including heads i never bother with the torque i just do it by feel and well never have i cracked anything nore have i messed anything up at all.


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

thats the way of a trew mechanic my granfather was a plane piolet and if you ever see the worlds largest gass enging a 24 cylinder engin i think his test to becom certified was to put the whole engin together blinfolded.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yeah, i beleive the old ones are 2-cycles, not sure but yeah big engines, round designed engine, 2-cycles to me are the easiest engine to work on ever. i'm a fan of the p-51 mustang, fastest gas engine powered plane made by the u.s.


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

i think thats the one. my gramps was telling me about a flyboy he was watching tes the engin in a plane. well as the guy was coming back in to land i guess he freaked and hit the throttle to try to go back up. well when he gassed this engin the Torq literaly flung the plane into the ground. destroying the whole think killing the test piolet. wana know the only part that was un damaged. the engin not a scratch on it. its now in the boston muse that is one powerhouse. that nothing could controle.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yeah they were some good high torque engines, i beleive some were over 1,000 hp.


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

ohhh god way over.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yeah and i beleivew jay leno put one on a hand made car, and very few are used for monster pulls, over 1,000 hp stock then they add turbo's.


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

the engin i am thinking about you couldent fit it in a car. the crank shaft has to me like hald a foot wide or more.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

no he made a car for it though, big long engine


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## Iron head (Feb 3, 2005)

damn i think it would tear outa the engin mounts.


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## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

thats why he used alot of em. they had it on the speed channel then that show rides on the discovery channel i beleive. had a freakin sweet car with a 572 crate chevy in it *drool* chevys


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