I Was Right

I was right, the new push rod was solid all the way, no swede (or weak spot) in the push rod. In fact it looks just like the other push rod with no swege in the shaft. Took me a while to get things set up. A little difficult getting the push rods just right to work off the cam. But that was really easier than I thought it would be.

The shop said to use .004 clearance, the book showed it to be .003 to .008 inches. So I used the .004 and got it as close as I could. The shop also said reset the clearances after 10 or so hours of operation (makes sense to me). That takes care of a little initial wear or break in so to speak.

Got it started and it felt like it had more power. That's probably because the valves are set closer to where they should be. If the gap is to wide, the timing is a little off. So with them being set correctly, then the engine should produce a bit more power.

It is a little strange, never saw an off set for valves before. But they are a little offset from each other. I guess they had the space and could move the exhaust valve a little farther away from the intake valve. Exhaust valves get hotter and need more cooling area. So by moving away from the intake valve, it gets to use more surface area for cooling. It is not a giant difference but it is noticeable.

Then I had to charge up the battery a bit to get it to start. But it fired up, ran a little funny until it got up to temperature and there after worked like a champ. I then finished cutting the front and most of the back yard (I may catch hell for that, don't know). The engine seemed to run a little slower but with a lot more authority.

So flat tire fixed, throttle readjusted, valves properly gapped and engine oil topped up. Like a new mower, right? Not! But it runs good now.

Will got start it up again and make a couple of passes on the wind row of grass clippings. I call it cutting the cut grass.