Garden Tractor Engine Cylinder to Engine Block Junction Leaking Oil

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KenLockett

KenLockett

Minister of Fire
Dec 27, 2011
580
Eastern Upstate NY
Hey guys my Garden Tractor V Twin 26 Hp Extended Life Series Engine with 471 hours has developed a leak when engine is hot and running. Leak stops when engine cold. I assume cylinder head warped or gasket bad. Is this worth my time and money trying to repair? Tractor about 6 years old and cost me about $1500 new if I recall. Any advice appreciated.
 
You can download an IPL and tell how big a pain it is by how parts go together. Need exact engine model #. Eg Briggs is: XXXXXX-XXXX-XX. Usually on a shroud. And make sure those bolts haven't wiggled loose - that'd be a cheap fix.
 
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depending on how bad the leak is (some seepage to a small river) you may just keep the oil full and live with it.
 
It is a Briggs & Stratton.
 
Will get it later. Thanks.
 
OK. Sorry for the delay. BS Model Number 44P777, Type Number 0412-E1 according to the Craftsman repair parts manual. I can definitively say that the leak is coming from the gasketed junction between the V-Twin Cylinder Head (One Assembly - Left Side) and the Engine Block. I can see the exact spot where the leak is coming from at the gasket junction when I run the engine. Any definitive way to tell if the gasket just needs to be replaced or whether the cylinder head is warped thus causing the leak? Incidentally, I checked the head to block mounting bolts and they are all tight. Gave them a couple of additional turns just to be sure and same thing.
 
greg13 said:
depending on how bad the leak is (some seepage to a small river) you may just keep the oil full and live with it.
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Too much leaking. Will need to be repaired unfortunately.
 
Looks like an entire head assembly would run you $145-$160, depending which cylinder it is. A lot less than a whole new tractor.
 
I should stipulate that the only head gasket I've ever changed was on a '76 Gold Wing, which is an overhead valve engine with a timing belt, not pushrods. I'm imagining that the job on your engine is simpler, but I'm not an expert here.

It would be nice to have a torque wrench, and the torqe specs for those bolts.
 
Jon1270 said:
It would be nice to have a torque wrench, and the torqe specs for those bolts.
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And the cinch down order, too.

I had a golf cart with a kawasaki 9hp engine and head gasket was leaking real badly. I pulled the head, cleaned the metal head gasket, and coated head gasket with multiple sprays of copper head gasket sealer. Worked great. Something like this:
(broken link removed to https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/gasket-sealants/permatex-copper-spray-a-gasket-hi-temp-sealant/)
 
so if it is just a leaking head gasket as it appears to be doesn't seem like that difficult of a repair.
 
No, not hard but putting head back on is an exacting procedure. As Jon said, need torque wrench and torque #s. And the pattern of torque down..eg: 1-8-4-5-2, etc. And you torque down in increments, moving each bolt a little each time. Might take 80-100 "wrenches" to get head on correctly.
Search internet and see if you can get torque #s and pattern for your engine model #.
You tube will have videos on installing a head.
 
I re-built the transmission on this same tractor but have done no serious engine work like this. Is this perhaps a repair better left to a pro?? Especially if I can't find torque settings and torque pattern for the head? Not that a small engine repair guy would necessarily know or execute repair based upon the torque specs. I do have a torque wrench and a decent set of both US and metric wrenches. To tell you the truth though, the four bolts I checked on the right cylinder side were 9/16". Seems like most amount of work is taking off all other required components to get to the head/block. If I could get the repair done for say $200 - $300 dollars assuming head gasket and labor I'd probably defer to small engine pro.
 
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KenLockett said:
Actually both cylinders are an assembly. Looks like if you replace one you have to replace both. From the look of it seems like the gasket is simply leaking IMO. How much just for a head gasket?
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I know I only wrote "cylinder 1," etc. but I was referring to, for example, the head for cylinder 1, not the cylinder itself. Because yeah, the cylinder itself is integrated with the engine block. Those three parts I listed are hyperlinks to Amazon and Home Depot. The gasket by itself is $6.50.
 
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The service manual is B&S part number 273521. I found a free PDF copy posted online HERE. The cylinder head is covered in section 5. Torque for those bolts is 220 inch-pounds, with no multi-stage tightening process. Everything you'll need to know should be there, and it looks pretty well-written and illustrated. May as well read through it and see whether it looks too intimidating to try.

Being a pushrod engine, you'll probably want to adjust valve clearances after replacing the head, even if you just replace the gasket and keep the old head.
 
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Jon1270 said:
The service manual is B&S part number 273521. I found a free PDF copy posted online HERE. The cylinder head is covered in section 5. Torque for those bolts is 220 inch-pounds, with no multi-stage tightening process. Everything you'll need to know should be there, and it looks pretty well-written and illustrated. May as well read through it and see whether it looks too intimidating to try.

Being a pushrod engine, you'll probably want to adjust valve clearances after replacing the head, even if you just replace the gasket and keep the old head.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Will definitely take a look. Is adjusting valve clearances easy and are any special tools required?
 
KenLockett said:
Thanks! Will definitely take a look. Is adjusting valve clearances easy and are any special tools required?
Click to expand...

Typically just feeler gauges and standard wrenches/sockets. Nothing fancy.
 
KenLockett said:
I checked the head to block mounting bolts and they are all tight. Gave them a couple of additional turns just to be sure and same thing.
Click to expand...

BTW, did you check all 5 of those bolts? One is only accessible after removing the valve cover.
 
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