Great video and series! I can learn a lot of good stuff here :) Since last year I am an owner of a Tractor lawnmower witch is new to me, now I have used it for one summer. I have a Stiga Villa Senator with a 12.5 HP Briggs and Strutton engine year is 1999.
Thus is turning into what could be a Very helpful series for anyone who wants to get one of these beauties going... In the last vid, i chuckled because when you did the compression test, and it wasn't terrible, i thought to myself "i bet the heads not torqued down" and then one of the bolts came right out in your hand 😀 😅 ha. Might have been able to just torque that head and go, but the tear-down of both heads, valves, lapping... all Excellent to show. I sure hope anyone w/o experience finds this video. Also the flywheel magnets.👍👌 That machine is like the Cadillac of those Craftsmans in the following years.. easy to see why you held onto it. The mud guards, the slotted hood, the 12x12x24 wheels and the Oil Cooler.. they got rid of All of that as far as i know at least for the US models. Sounds Really annoying to have pulled out those head threads, but it's easy to forget your own talents when doing a demonstration. Means nothing. Can't believe how huge those new head gaskets are 😂. But that's good too. That was Such a debacle when those motors were introduced. They designed them for every commercial application out there, and then they basically ALL had to he replaced. But those engines are Solid afaic. On my GT5000, one thing i did was to replace the central axle pivot. It's one large bolt with a nylon bushing into the cast axle. I think the bushing is nla (dunno), but certainly you could find a brone one instead. On mine, i actually replaced the bolt with stainless... you can't grease it to prevent Rust. And lastly it could be some more strain on the tranny, but i Highly recommend some weight on the rear to make the steering easier. Mine has the dealer-sold "rear carrier". Works so well i have s spinner and can turn the wheel with my finger. You'll be extra happy w/a rebuilt deck. But beware, my 48" deck is mostly 'pot metal', easy to tear whole pieces right out with the bolts. I bought a 54 (high flow) deck off another GT5000 only to learn that it had a completely different set of hangers. I was pretty annoyed. Still don't know if i put the new hanger bits on if they would interfere with the smaller deck so i couldn't swap them as needed. I've got tire chains on mine (not suggested for yours) and used my machine for years to haul logs out and bring firewood up to the house. The little tractor was a great investment. I bought it new, in 2004 for $2800 (including the rear carrier deck) and thought i got a deal. They were basically giving commercial engines away ~ Thanks again. Wicked fun series, i hope it gets it's deserved viewing 👍🍻 ~
like your videos- I have been working on lawn equipment for over 65 years- never used a torque wrench on any part connected to a lawn mower - ever-- that is me
Great video once again. It’s funny you mentioned as a kid seeing the craftsman. I remember going to Sears and seeing all the craftsman garden tractors. I remember the gray ones I think they come out before the green ones. I am 47 years old, so maybe I’m a little older than you. I wouldn’t mind finding a craftsman to restore. I’m usually a John Deere guy. I live in upstate New York and garden tractors. Are so darn expensive here.
Garden tractors are expensive here too! What part of New York are you in? We travel down through New York the odd time. We are 40 mins from the Thousands Islands border crossing.
@@marriedwithsmallengines I’m in the Syracuse area. I race horses at several tracks in Ontario. My hobby is restoring John Deere garden tractors. Love your videos. 😊🚜
Have you ever tried Evaporust for cleaning parts with carbon buildup? I had a mechanical throttle from my 1989 Tacoma body that was so filthy that throttle body cleaner would not work - as a last resort I dipped it in Evaporust overnight - it came out spotless and worked perfect. 😊
I prefer the longer format with the tips and tricks. I am tired of everyone getting away from the explanation. I have 4 of these GT tractors from Craftsman they are real work horses.
They sure are! We know the videos are long, but there is so much information that we can't squeeze it into a short :) We show it all, good and bad, mistakes, everything.
I learned a bunch thank you for sharing. A great way to lap the valves in is to chuck up the valves in a cordless drill and pull back to really polish the seat with valve grinds compound. It really speeds things up. What is the brown round bail you were setting the heads on? Cardboard? Just curious. TY
For our particular engine spec, the accelerator pump kit part number is KH-24-757-21-S. As far as I can see, the carb kit does not include this kit so we ordered it separately.
He's right that the video length is long, but as far as i know there's None on RU-vid that shows someone doing the valves, head, flywheel completely correctly on a Command V-twin. Still glad i watched this one and will probably need to return to it sometime 💁♂️
