Generator Head

[lvfd50]

I have an old Ajax brand 1500 watt generator with a 3.5 hp Briggs & Stratton engine on it. They generator came with the house I recently purchased. I know it runs because I used it, but when I decided to check the spark plug and make sure it was all set for this winter I realized that the last owner cross threaded it and so the threads came out with the spark plug. I have two questions: 1) What is a fairly simple way to possibly repair this if I can. I don't have too many specialized tools or ability to mill anything. and 2) Is there any good places preferably online or in Western NY to possibly get a price to replace the head solving the thread issue. Thanks in advance.

 

[knockbill]

hi,
keep an eye out for an old trashed lawnmower, lots of them have bs engines & will fit,, i pick tehm up once and a while for teh pull starters,, good source of free parts ,,, or look up a small engine shop & they can help you out...new or used.

 

[John_M]

Try this link (broken link removed). These helicoil hardened spring thread inserts are supposed to be an excellent repair for stripped threads. They are used quite frequently to repair stripped and cross threaded spark plug threads on automotive engines.

I have not yet personally used one of these products but have heard and read very good reports about their effectiveness.

 

[Highbeam]

I have had heads helicoiled. It involves drilling the hole bigger, threading it with a tap, and then adding a bushing with the new outer thread and the original inner thread to fit the spark plug.

Removing the head is a piece of cake. Just take off all of those bolts and it will come right off. The valves on the old briggs engines are in the block so the head is a flathead or basicly a chunk of fancy stell with no moving parts. Any machine shop should be able to set the helicoil or if you can find a scrap engine then you can grab the head really easily. They don't wear out and your only concern would be whether the spark plug threads are stripped and that it is the same size.

Don't spend too much money here. You can buy a brand new 3000 watt genset for less than a few hundred dollars that will be superior in every way. Would be a bummer to spend 150 and then have the generator take a dump.

 

[jdemaris]

I have an old Ajax brand 1500 watt generator with a 3.5 hp Briggs & Stratton engine on it. They generator came with the house I recently purchased. I know it runs because I used it, but when I decided to check the spark plug and make sure it was all set for this winter I realized that the last owner cross threaded it and so the threads came out with the spark plug. I have two questions: 1) What is a fairly simple way to possibly repair this if I can. I don't have too many specialized tools or ability to mill anything. and 2) Is there any good places preferably online or in Western NY to possibly get a price to replace the head solving the thread issue. Thanks in advance.

Older 3.5 horse Briggs & Stratton aluminum heads are pretty easy to find. Should be pretty easy to fix the old one though. Helicoils usually don't work and tend to backout of the repair job (they don't stay in place). There are special spark-plug repair soild thread inserts made just for this type of repair. KD sells the kits - comes with the repair insert and large tap to make the new threads needed to install it. I've used the kit many times in the past 40 years. You can probably buy or order it at any good autoparts store. Might be cheaper though to find a place that already has the kit and does it for you. Cheaper yet - get a free head somewhere.

See at: (broken link removed to http://www.mytoolstore.com/kd/kdengi11.html)

 

[FORCE FAB]

Send me the head i a pre-paid box and ill heli coil it for free