Brast petrol grass mower.

[m80]

2 years old and cutting a slopey bit at the back it packed up 2 weeks ago.
It felt like it had seized. I stripped it thinking it would be a welding in the bore but it turns out the big end has seized.
No evidence of wear otherwise.

Spares from Brast (Germany) don't seem to be a possibility.

With the big end off the crank it rotates well enough.
Big end connected and it is tight as 'eck.
There is evidence of scoring on the inside of the shells. I'm assuming that the shell scoring is clamping the crank when tightened.

Assuming that Brast no longer service the UK (seems that they no longer post here anyway) it seems I've nowt to lose.
So how to free the bearing, any ideas?

 

[Bellow]

Dress it with emery until you have clearance. Wash the emery off thoroughly (scrub with soap and water). Nothing to lose - it's scrap otherwise.

 

[Trickythemerc]

Check the crank pin for any pick up off the bearings. Back the bearing cap bolts off till it moves and try and lapp the shells in using plenty of thin oil slowly tightening the cap as you go.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Hold on. This is a 2 year old rather pricey German lawnmower and it is Kaput after just 2 years. What have you been mowing , The whole of the Dark Peak ! ?

Or is the 'slopey bit' VERY slopey and it has suffered oil pick up starvation ?

 

[m80]

Hold on. This is a 2 year old rather pricey German lawnmower and it is Kaput after just 2 years. What have you been mowing , The whole of the Dark Peak ! ?

Or is the 'slopey bit' VERY slopey and it has suffered oil pick up starvation ?

The slopey bit was heavy work for the machine and steep.
Starvation looks likely with the scored shells.
Until 2 years ago the gardens were cut with a geriatric Honda. It was difficult to start each year but got on with it. It is in semi retirement in Prestatyn, but still doing as asked.
I'm less impressed with this pretty machine.

 

[unimog]

They used to sell those in world of power in Buxton I think, don't they have a 140cc Briggs motor in them? I'm sure they will be able to get parts for it even its not a B&S motor.

I nearly bought one, however went for a deal on a Viking one a few Xmas' ago when they were flogging them off prior to them rebranding as Stihl.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Thats the reason I asked. I am not much of a gardener but was forced to buy a petrol lawnmower by SWMBO in 2005 because she was fed up of using the feeble electric one we had.

She did all of the Garden work because I was often working away. I bought (almost) the cheapest Petrol mower I could find from (I think) Focus DIY.

It has a Briggs & Stratton engine and has had 3 oil changes since new (latest's due to lock down boredom) , one air filter - original one turned to dust - and one new (cheap) blade because I could not be bothered to sharpen the original one.

It is still on it's original spark plug. I think it was made in Italy. 15 years old and still going strong...well as strong as it ever was. The plastic grass box is suffering from UV damage from being left outside (along with the mower) more times than necessary.

Luckily our lawns are flat !

 

[Bellow]

The slopey bit was heavy work for the machine and steep.
Starvation looks likely with the scored shells.
Until 2 years ago the gardens were cut with a geriatric Honda. It was difficult to start each year but got on with it. It is in semi retirement in Prestatyn, but still doing as asked.
I'm less impressed with this pretty machine.

I missed the 'slopey' bit.
That's what it will be - starved due to the slope. Greenkeeper customers of mine used to get away with it as the oil was clingy enough to stick to the bearing and protect it even when the 'dipper' couldn't access the oil.

If you are going to try and lap it - use grinding paste. And clean thoroughly after. If the pin is scored dress it with emery. Or, if the pin isn't scored and you can get new shells - better still. And buy a 2-stroke for the slopes.

 

[flying haggis]

if it is a very "slopey" bit i used to do them with a flymo with a rope tied to the handle and swing it from side to side

 

[m80]

The rear lawn used to be quiet an incline, I levelled it by skimming the high and filling the low. I've yet to build a retaining wall so the neighbour doesn't get my landslide though.
The grass has been growing too well on the slopey bit though.

It seems Wickes are running out of gear. I attempted to order bulk stone, sand and cement, the delivery option failed. I could collect from different stores, but in truth I can't get the bulk gear into the Vito, and individual bags were unavailable.
So that little project, along with finishing some steps that I'm well on with at the side are on hold.

I'm happy here catching up on these jobs, but now it seems I may have problems getting the gear.

Anyway thanks for the suggestions. The lawns are getting a bit high now so I favour a bit of emery on the inside of the shells, and keep trying until it rotates with some resistance. The usage will hone it further. Grinding paste would work but i'd rather not have that near the crank (is that what you're calling the pin?) I don't like the idea of the paste potentially getting into any oilways, I can white spirit the emery dust off.

 

[Bellow]

The rear lawn used to be quiet an incline, I levelled it by skimming the high and filling the low. I've yet to build a retaining wall so the neighbour doesn't get my landslide though.
The grass has been growing too well on the slopey bit though.

It seems Wickes are running out of gear. I attempted to order bulk stone, sand and cement, the delivery option failed. I could collect from different stores, but in truth I can't get the bulk gear into the Vito, and individual bags were unavailable.
So that little project, along with finishing some steps that I'm well on with at the side are on hold.

I'm happy here catching up on these jobs, but now it seems I may have problems getting the gear.

Anyway thanks for the suggestions. The lawns are getting a bit high now so I favour a bit of emery on the inside of the shells, and keep trying until it rotates with some resistance. The usage will hone it further. Grinding paste would work but i'd rather not have that near the crank (is that what you're calling the pin?) I don't like the idea of the paste potentially getting into any oilways, I can white spirit the emery dust off.

You'll be making your own grinding paste with emery anyway and, if it's splash lube (probable) there'll be no oil ways in the crank. Grinding paste though will dress the crank pin also - if it doesn't need that - then avoid and just attack the shells with emery. Scrub them clean with soapy water.
It wont last but it will be rescued for a while.

 

[Gollom]

2 years old and cutting a slopey bit at the back it packed up 2 weeks ago.
It felt like it had seized. I stripped it thinking it would be a welding in the bore but it turns out the big end has seized.
No evidence of wear otherwise.

Spares from Brast (Germany) don't seem to be a possibility.

With the big end off the crank it rotates well enough.
Big end connected and it is tight as 'eck.
There is evidence of scoring on the inside of the shells. I'm assuming that the shell scoring is clamping the crank when tightened.

Assuming that Brast no longer service the UK (seems that they no longer post here anyway) it seems I've nowt to lose.
So how to free the bearing, any ideas?

Just a thought. Given the German pride in what they do, I reckon it's at least worth a shot contacting them by email and seeing if there is anything they will do? It's surprising just how far you can get. The website is Brast but you need someone who reads German - I'm sure there will be someone on this forum who could help.

 

[alabbasi]

When you bought it, did you change the oil after the first 3 hours? That's usually needed as part of the break in processes. If not, the engine will last about 80 hours.
Swap the engine out for a Honda CGV o something similar. There's a store here in the US that sells Chinese Honda CGV copies for about $130 that has become a very common swap. A quick youtube search for preditor engine swap will return about a billion videos.

 

[John N]

Just a thought. Given the German pride in what they do, I reckon it's at least worth a shot contacting them by email and seeing if there is anything they will do? It's surprising just how far you can get. The website is Brast but you need someone who reads German - I'm sure there will be someone on this forum who could help.

Alle ist clare,

I opened the Link (Nozy git) and google presented a English Button!

 

[219]

Get a second hand Atco .

I still have the Atco with 18” x 12 blade drum my dad bought second hand from the golf course back in the sixties ; it wasn’t new then , but it looks likely to go on forever . But then it was made when things were built to last

 

[m80]

A result. It's rebuilt and I've cut the over grown grass.

My mistake there aren't any bearing shells, just the con rod clamping to the crank, I guess it is coated.
I 'ground' it using a little solvol autosol, less abrasive than the fine grinding paste I think.

It took a while to get a start but now it seems to be running as before, I'll keep an eye for burning oil.
If it packs up soon I've just managed to get a little more use out of it. With luck it'll get me beyond the the lockdown and I'll have more options.

 

[ioweddie]

Google translate...copy and paste

 

[Wolfie1]

You need a 2 stroke mower to save it from oil starvation i reckons

 

[Bellow]

A result. It's rebuilt and I've cut the over grown grass.

My mistake there aren't any bearing shells, just the con rod clamping to the crank, I guess it is coated.
I 'ground' it using a little solvol autosol, less abrasive than the fine grinding paste I think.

It took a while to get a start but now it seems to be running as before, I'll keep an eye for burning oil.
If it packs up soon I've just managed to get a little more use out of it. With luck it'll get me beyond the the lockdown and I'll have more options.

It will either run fine and you'll forget all about it or it will start knocking and get progressively worse to the point where it starts hammering the oil until it gets smokey from the CC breather.
I assume it's a side-valve motor. If so, the only thing the piston can hit is the head. Keeping the rpm down will aid its survival.

 

[m80]

It will either run fine and you'll forget all about it or it will start knocking and get progressively worse to the point where it starts hammering the oil until it gets smokey from the CC breather.
I assume it's a side-valve motor. If so, the only thing the piston can hit is the head. Keeping the rpm down will aid its survival.

No head to speak of, push rods from the sump cams (plastic, driven by plastic gears). O/h rockers and valves (that can contact piston). No rev control, pull the handlebar control, that lifts the brake off the flywheel / magneto, pull the ratchet engine crank and it starts. The carb is preset to rev, but not too high. There is an anti stall enrichment / rev device that I think lifts as revs drop (not looked too closely).
In truth I don't think I would hear the 'little' big end knocking above the exhaust. If it lets go so be it.

I'll keep it off the slopey bit and as well as looking for another motor (car) I'll see if I can get materials delivered to finish the wall and finish levelling the lawn.

I can keep myself busy around here for months yet, with materials, or another car to play with.