I’m a small engine mechanic for a living and man I gotta say holy smokes your attention to detail is amazing. And your videos as well so satisfying seeing you transform a curb find to a like new piece of equipment!!!!!!! Happy new year ! 🎊
I recall something in a comment about a non-generator here that amused me a lot! Along the lines of: James will soon have [defibrillator patient] at 61 hertz with 122 volts…
Actually, pneumatic....he had a video on if you were giving it to him. I never paid attention to it until I saw the video, now when he starts making it go up I can hear the air compressor in the background kicking in....I just never put the two together.
Hi James, another great year is getting underway. While you were testing the blower, my wife came into my gamer room. After watching you blow leaves, she asked what you were going to do with them. I told her you had a unique tool for that, a BIC lighter. I watch several other YT channels concerning mowers and small engine repair; yours is the best. Incredibly, you are the only one who knows how to use a torque wrench.
Something particularly satisfying about this one, saving one that economically had no business being saved except that you’re willing to donate your time and expertise. Great to watch
Thanks to your videos, I fixed my Generac Generator and am puttering with my vintage 80s Kohler Gen. Every time I watch your videos, I learn something new while at the same time, becoming less afraid to attempt working on small engines! Thanks for being such a good mentor and for the inspiration!
Leaf Blowers. The original "Now it's your problem" machine. Great vid, Jim. I must be learning cause I find myself calling the next step before you do it.
Pretty neat editing, Jim! As the engine slides into place the frame underneath cleans itself off! 😂👍 I also spotted other areas getting clean on their own like the part under the removed sticker and the whole vacuum housing.
Thank you for posting a very interesting repair to this fire damaged engine. As a note, I personally do not rake leaves or blow them in any way. Each year I let the leaves stay wherever they fall. A lot of pollinator insects overwinter on and under leaves. I want to protect the polinators and other necessary insects. So the leaves stay where they fall. Each Spring, the leaves have pretty much rotted down and they feed all the plants and shrubs in my yard. No need for fertilizers, the leaves are fine, and I get stunning flower blooms.
One day I'll get to rebuild my shop. Putting a mower in the back of my truck to work on it is more than I can handle anymore. Not to mention repositioning the mower to get to different sides. Lift tables make life so much easier.
James, another nice save! A lesson to all homeowners, use starting ether sparingly. Have you tried using transfer punches to install the needle valve seats? I am not sure if this is a valid tool to use, but I have used them to install washers in deep holes, they are long and have a center protrusion that help keep the washers/seals/seats centered. An entire set of them is pretty cheap and very useful for their intended purpose. Also, for these northeast light snow events where there is just not enough snow to warrant breaking out the snowblower, I have found that using a leaf blower to blow the snow off the driveways, walks and cars is a quick way to clear light snow. When you do not have wet snow… Thanks again for a great video. I look forward to your weekly episodes.
Awesome job as always. That leaf blower runs like a new machine. I recently bought a ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight and all I use in it is warm or hot water and a couple squirts of Dawn dish soap. Seems to work well and it's pretty inexpensive.
Loved this video James. Those briggs vanguard engines are popular over in the UK. Arguably better than a Honda. I purchased a job lot of them brand new from a failed business building railways trolleys for servicing the lines. Paid £100 each and had around 50 engines to get working as they had been stored after testing so had fuel in them. So in adapt with these engines! Funnily enough I sold them to another company who also built railway trolleys! Made a good bit of money from them. Solid and impressive little engines. Thanks for another evenings entertainment. all the best.
James, I have watched many of your vids now and went way back to your earliest ones. You have improved so much in your presentation and video quality. I'm addicted to your channel now. I will be using some of your approach in my own channel without trying to duplicate it. You amaze me of your knowledge of not just generators but engines as well. I have learned a lot and look forward to all your content. After doing some of this myself I realize how much time and work it is to put out the videos as often as you do. Do you ever see your wife? Lol
Most likely close to hydro locked when previous owner tried to start it. With the weight of the blower wheel behind the momentum the cylinder pressure blew out the head gasket blowing out raw fuel and starting the fire. Nice job fixing it.
The Tecumseh seat tool you pulled out the first time, does work on Briggs as well. I've had that same struggle removing seats, esp on older carbs or slightly crusty ones. I also noticed on the aftermarket seats, i often end up having to use the needles that came with them for some reason. I don't think the seats got fully seated, bc as you mentioned the float should sit parallel to the carb body. I wonder if there wasn't a little schmutz or something that prevented the seat going all the way down the first two times.
You forgot to bolt the motor to the blower housing with 4 bolts great channel , very thorough , every video helped me thank you for all your knowledge and patience fixing equipment.
At work we got a non working leaf blower something like this. A sister facility was throwing it away. They had it repaired several times but would shortly stop running again. It had a really warped head and a blown head gasket. I replaced the head and gasket. So the first time out it came back non running. The head got warped again and blew the head gasket?? The screen on the flywheel had been missing when we got it. The engine sucked in leaf debris packed up the cooling fin area. Got a new screen, flat sanded the head, and installed new head gasket. The engine had been overheating the whole time. Well that fixed it and we used that blower for some twenty something years without a problem. Your engine may have also overheated along with the fire. You may have a warped head also. You should have checked it.
When I replace a head gasket, I flat sand the head(s) and block to ensure they are both flat. I use 150 or 220 grit sand paper. For the block I use a long flat file with the sand paper wrapped around it. I put the piston to the bottom fill the cylinder with paper towels and around where the push rods come through. A little extra work, just want to make sure everything is flat.
Whether a wire is solid-cored or stranded isn't really important, so long as it can carry the current for the necessary period of time. The only advantage of using solid core wire is that it can be a slightly smaller gauge for the same current carrying capacity. I wouldn't bother so much for an ignition kill wire since I assume it only needs to carry a relatively low current for a few seconds.
Nice repair, certainly shows how quickly the repair price can add up. A couple of things I'd have done, would be to put heat shrink on the old kill wire or the new one to help with heat protection. I'd have also removed all the burnt plastic on the accelerator cable and used heat shrink as a replacement, that would have looked better.
That's the one thing I love about the main jet on those old Briggs carbs. Just hit it with the wire wheel and it's good to go. I have had some terrible looking carbs of that style come around and run the engine perfectly with little effort.
Thanks for another very interesting video, Jim. I still cannot completely wrap my head around what happened to that machine, but the way you fixed it back up made sense. Happy New Year to you and your family. Looking forward to more fascinating videos.
I think he's accurate. Someone spilled fuel while filling the tank. That gasoline soaked the leaves that were already lodged under the tank area. The wire from the coil arced and ignited the gas/leave mixture.
Thank you sir, it be a privilege to own one of your repairs. A old man like you told me. One day leave grinder.. vines and fishing line hard on seals. Sure you agree.
James , I'm thinking of another scenario for the fire . Potentially the cylinder was flooded because of the carb and could not compress liquid and blew the head gasket , spraying the fuel out under the tank and its own spark ignited the fire .🤷🏼♂🌵
Happy new year! Well done. I certainly would have managed to melt the new tank while removing the label. 🙃 I'm with the crowd that suspects some kind of liquid lock for the head gasket blowout: fuel or water. The pressure to break out a chunk like that had to be tremendous. nb: The sound of the 4-cycle blower is surely a lot easier on the ears than the back pack style 2-cycles. Yikes those are irritating.
That's a nice machine, with proper care will last a long time and give great performance. I like the way you clean and lap the valves. That Scotch Brite works great. I didn't know you could filter gas with a paper coffee filter. I gotta try that. Good one James.
I've personally had one of the briggs vertical OHV on a pressure washer have a catastrophic head gasket failure randomly while in use from a factory defect. I could see with this sort of setup that particular failure burning the flames and exhaust blasting right out the side of the head toward the carb & fuel tank burning right through the fuel line and causing the fire.
Wire insulation typically uses either PVC or Teflon. The easy way to tell which one you have is apply some nontrivial heat to it. PVC will melt, teflon won't react at all. That "Tecumseh tool" sure bears a strong resemblance to a crochet hook. I wonder if one of those would be useful for removing seats? The come in a lot of different sizes...
Nice video and presentation. The chance of catching fire is quite high with the tank shape design as it is. I can imagine any large or small amount of gas spill while refueling is “funneled” to one side where the kill switch is. It is a fire hazard waiting to happen.
Very well bought, a high quality machine like that is worth far more than you put into it. I’d keep that one for personal use, real leaf blowers like that go for quite a bit and last a very long time.
James. Happy new year to you. Noticed you only used the one drill bit to insert the needle seat. I would use one like you did that fits the seat, and after seat is pushed in I would use a second one that fits the actual seat pocket and tap it down further into the pocket. I would also spray some lube in the pocket before inserting the seat so the edges of the seat go all the way in. Basically what I'm saying is, the hole that the seat fits into is stepped. 😉 OH, and just remove the choke shaft and you can straighten up the spring or replace it with a donor. The control cable you could cut the burnt part of the covering off and put some black heatshrink on it to tidy it up.
Good job. You saved if from the trash pile without too much in to it. I guess it's getting late but I do find it amusing the manufacturer chose to name it 'Giant-Vac' when more appropriately it should be called 'Giant-Blower'. 😊
Happy new year James...... Now apart from that "nostrils of God" that you resurrected a while back, normally I prefer a genny resurrection, but that said, you sure had a mountain to climb to get this breeze box back on it's feet! Short of un-inflatable tires and some panel beating, there was not much that did not need your TLC on this old girl, but you found a way as you found each obstacle. Your tenaciousness and a shrewd cost savings brought that machine back to former glory.... As always, the journey you take and the things you do and find make your channel one of the best, if not the best 2 and 4 stroke small engine channels around. I adore your can do attitude and I bet there must be getting on for a thousand purring petrol engines that still work because of your skills. I salute you sir and bet many others would do too. Bravo James...keep us hitched and those many machines coming please :)
Great job as always. Just noticing how the internet makes finding all these parts possible. It's no wonder we developed a throw away culture. Always relying on a manufacturer for parts gets cost prohibitive.
At 1:04:42 Rope in the cylinder.... I don't know if it would work for locking up the cylinder, but to keep valves from falling down, you can use compressed air. You have all the makings for it with that leak down tester....
Yeah Thursday is James Day! I always use a shot of compressed air via the fuel line nipple to remove a old seat, it will go flying across the garage! Wooohooo
Hello James: Welcom to 2025. A new year for more quality videos. Your commitment showed itself again with a difficult needle & seat. I am old school and agree with you on the float setting Level is a visual aid to proper float bowl fuel capacity adjustment. The functional test of it sealing and opperating with enough fuel in the bowl to let the engine catch up when suddenly loaded or continued running if not on a level surface for extended time. Is the practical necessary float level. Your final product worked flawlessly. So the non level float seems to be a non issue. Maybe the needle length is the discrepant part? Great job looking forward to seeing your future project videos.
I have one of those engines on a craftsman tiller. One of the best Brighs engines ive ever had, starts with no more than 2 pulls every time and thisnis after sitting for months at a time
You know, another great use of blowers are after those 1-2" light snowfalls. Makes faster work of clearing the driveway than the snow throwers and can leave a nice clean surface. 😊
Happy New Year James from all of us at Eliminator Performance in Canada. Gonna agree likely excessive explosion internally from using ether as a starting fluid to blow that head gasket to that extent. Just wondering if that ignition coil was still producing spark would you consider using liquid electrical tape to repair the damaged area?
@@jcondon1 I've done that more than once, usually due to mice chewing off chunks. If it's real bad but not to the core I'll split a piece of vacuum hose and double heat shrink over that. Never had an issue. I also often heat shrink the entire kill wire just to be safe.
Great restoration. I think you should add to your cost for parts the cost of shop supplies, such as WD-40, carb cleaner, paper towels, oil, etc. Perhaps not a large sum, but a cost nonetheless. Of course the satisfaction of a job well done is priceless.
James I've rebuilt a bunch of those carbs and sometimes the seat isn't fully in or there's something in the hole preventing it from being inserted flush
A very good lesson for those that spill fuel and not clean it up. I’d guess the head gasket was the original issue and the person sprayed fuel into the intake.
Wonderful video James. Sensing your frustration with the needle and seat although ultimately making no difference, I was wondering if you ground down the contact point of the needle on a bench grinder 4-5 thousands to get a horizontal float. Kind Regards. Craig
I’m a small engine mechanic for a living and man I gotta say holy smokes your attention to detail is amazing. And your videos as well so satisfying seeing you transform a curb find to a like new piece of equipment!!!!!!! Happy new year ! 🎊
Not really, he didn't clean the valve cover mating surface on the head...
I do like that you're mixing it up and beside generators throw in the occasional leaf blower, lawn mower or defibrillator.
Briggs and Stratton make the best defibrillators, lol
Defibrillator? Did I miss an episode?
@@Rorschach1024 that would be an awesome episode, if only for the testing!
I recall something in a comment about a non-generator here that amused me a lot! Along the lines of: James will soon have [defibrillator patient] at 61 hertz with 122 volts…
You know it's a good day when James rolls something onto the hydraulic platform.
Actually, pneumatic....he had a video on if you were giving it to him. I never paid attention to it until I saw the video, now when he starts making it go up I can hear the air compressor in the background kicking in....I just never put the two together.
Our thanks to the donor of that lift so many, many episodes ago!
Hi James, another great year is getting underway. While you were testing the blower, my wife came into my gamer room. After watching you blow leaves, she asked what you were going to do with them. I told her you had a unique tool for that, a BIC lighter. I watch several other YT channels concerning mowers and small engine repair; yours is the best. Incredibly, you are the only one who knows how to use a torque wrench.
Something particularly satisfying about this one, saving one that economically had no business being saved except that you’re willing to donate your time and expertise. Great to watch
Thanks to your videos, I fixed my Generac Generator and am puttering with my vintage 80s Kohler Gen. Every time I watch your videos, I learn something new while at the same time, becoming less afraid to attempt working on small engines! Thanks for being such a good mentor and for the inspiration!
Looks like the head gasket acted like a mechanical fuse and, by blowing, saved the engine. Lucky something more severe didn't happen. Good one James.
I assume if the pressure was held in and the headgasket didn't fail, there would be damage to the connecting rod and/or valves/crackshaft?
@@Mihacappy probably would've bent the piston rod and score the cylinder
Leaf Blowers. The original "Now it's your problem" machine. Great vid, Jim. I must be learning cause I find myself calling the next step before you do it.
Usualy ones that burnt is not worth fixing ,but James will bring back the worst cases,watching you for years,and look forward to your vids every week
Seriously! Even over the slow season you have something to educate and entertain. Happy New Year 🎉
Happy New Year James. Looking forward to another year of fixes. Thanks for taking us along!
Happy New Year to you too, thanks!
Couldn’t agree more! 👍👍
Hear hear.
Pretty neat editing, Jim! As the engine slides into place the frame underneath cleans itself off! 😂👍
I also spotted other areas getting clean on their own like the part under the removed sticker and the whole vacuum housing.
Thank you for posting a very interesting repair to this fire damaged engine. As a note, I personally do not rake leaves or blow them in any way. Each year I let the leaves stay wherever they fall. A lot of pollinator insects overwinter on and under leaves. I want to protect the polinators and other necessary insects. So the leaves stay where they fall. Each Spring, the leaves have pretty much rotted down and they feed all the plants and shrubs in my yard. No need for fertilizers, the leaves are fine, and I get stunning flower blooms.
Regarding the kill switch wire, it doesn't matter too much whether it's stranded or solid core, it's not a high current wire
Jim , you should try contact cleaner as it doesn't attack seals like carb cleaner does. Thanks for the video! 👏🇺🇸
One day I'll get to rebuild my shop. Putting a mower in the back of my truck to work on it is more than I can handle anymore. Not to mention repositioning the mower to get to different sides. Lift tables make life so much easier.
He must have sprayed it with water hose and in exhaust also 😮
James, another nice save! A lesson to all homeowners, use starting ether sparingly. Have you tried using transfer punches to install the needle valve seats? I am not sure if this is a valid tool to use, but I have used them to install washers in deep holes, they are long and have a center protrusion that help keep the washers/seals/seats centered. An entire set of them is pretty cheap and very useful for their intended purpose. Also, for these northeast light snow events where there is just not enough snow to warrant breaking out the snowblower, I have found that using a leaf blower to blow the snow off the driveways, walks and cars is a quick way to clear light snow. When you do not have wet snow…
Thanks again for a great video. I look forward to your weekly episodes.
Awesome job as always. That leaf blower runs like a new machine. I recently bought a ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight and all I use in it is warm or hot water and a couple squirts of Dawn dish soap. Seems to work well and it's pretty inexpensive.
It's nice to sit for a while and watch someone go into great detail as you do James. Thanks so much for your efforts. Happy new year.
Thanks! Happy New Year to you too!
I learned that if the engine does not start on a couple of short blasts of starter fluid, STOP! There is a bigger issue. Thanks for the video!
I never get tired of your videos.They are very informative. Well done James “..well done!
Loved this video James. Those briggs vanguard engines are popular over in the UK. Arguably better than a Honda. I purchased a job lot of them brand new from a failed business building railways trolleys for servicing the lines. Paid £100 each and had around 50 engines to get working as they had been stored after testing so had fuel in them. So in adapt with these engines! Funnily enough I sold them to another company who also built railway trolleys! Made a good bit of money from them. Solid and impressive little engines. Thanks for another evenings entertainment. all the best.
Another fine diagnosis and Repair job Jim thank you
James, I have watched many of your vids now and went way back to your earliest ones. You have improved so much in your presentation and video quality. I'm addicted to your channel now. I will be using some of your approach in my own channel without trying to duplicate it. You amaze me of your knowledge of not just generators but engines as well. I have learned a lot and look forward to all your content. After doing some of this myself I realize how much time and work it is to put out the videos as often as you do. Do you ever see your wife? Lol
Most likely close to hydro locked when previous owner tried to start it. With the weight of the blower wheel behind the momentum the cylinder pressure blew out the head gasket blowing out raw fuel and starting the fire. Nice job fixing it.
Well, there is your problem, lady. You don’t have a leaf blower. You have a bubble making machine. Great diagnostics awesome job.
The Tecumseh seat tool you pulled out the first time, does work on Briggs as well. I've had that same struggle removing seats, esp on older carbs or slightly crusty ones. I also noticed on the aftermarket seats, i often end up having to use the needles that came with them for some reason. I don't think the seats got fully seated, bc as you mentioned the float should sit parallel to the carb body. I wonder if there wasn't a little schmutz or something that prevented the seat going all the way down the first two times.
You forgot to bolt the motor to the blower housing with 4 bolts great channel , very thorough , every video helped me thank you for all your knowledge and patience fixing equipment.
I noticed there were no bolts there when it was disassembled. 11:53
Nice save, James! suggestion cut the burnt sleeve off the throttle cable and replace with shrink tubing....
At work we got a non working leaf blower something like this. A sister facility was throwing it away. They had it repaired several times but would shortly stop running again. It had a really warped head and a blown head gasket. I replaced the head and gasket.
So the first time out it came back non running. The head got warped again and blew the head gasket??
The screen on the flywheel had been missing when we got it. The engine sucked in leaf debris packed up the cooling fin area.
Got a new screen, flat sanded the head, and installed new head gasket. The engine had been overheating the whole time.
Well that fixed it and we used that blower for some twenty something years without a problem.
Your engine may have also overheated along with the fire. You may have a warped head also. You should have checked it.
I should have recorded it, but did check for flatness before ordering any parts.
When I replace a head gasket, I flat sand the head(s) and block to ensure they are both flat. I use 150 or 220 grit sand paper. For the block I use a long flat file with the sand paper wrapped around it. I put the piston to the bottom fill the cylinder with paper towels and around where the push rods come through. A little extra work, just want to make sure everything is flat.
Whether a wire is solid-cored or stranded isn't really important, so long as it can carry the current for the necessary period of time. The only advantage of using solid core wire is that it can be a slightly smaller gauge for the same current carrying capacity. I wouldn't bother so much for an ignition kill wire since I assume it only needs to carry a relatively low current for a few seconds.
You could tin (apply solder) to stranded wire end of kill wire.
Nice find! Tons of work but worth it. These machines are pricey new.
Nice repair, certainly shows how quickly the repair price can add up.
A couple of things I'd have done, would be to put heat shrink on the old kill wire or the new one to help with heat protection. I'd have also removed all the burnt plastic on the accelerator cable and used heat shrink as a replacement, that would have looked better.
And that was just for parts. Didn't include labor.
Very nice repair. A new Scag Giant Vac is around $1800.00.
That's the one thing I love about the main jet on those old Briggs carbs. Just hit it with the wire wheel and it's good to go. I have had some terrible looking carbs of that style come around and run the engine perfectly with little effort.
Thanks for another very interesting video, Jim. I still cannot completely wrap my head around what happened to that machine, but the way you fixed it back up made sense. Happy New Year to you and your family. Looking forward to more fascinating videos.
I think he's accurate. Someone spilled fuel while filling the tank. That gasoline soaked the leaves that were already lodged under the tank area. The wire from the coil arced and ignited the gas/leave mixture.
Thank you sir, it be a privilege to own one of your repairs. A old man like you told me. One day leave grinder.. vines and fishing line hard on seals. Sure you agree.
My favorite part of every video is watching the ultrasonic cleaning of the carbs.
When i did commercial kitchen repair we kept rolls of mica high temperature wire its good to 500⁰ you could use that. Its relatively cheap
James , I'm thinking of another scenario for the fire . Potentially the cylinder was flooded because of the carb and could not compress liquid and blew the head gasket , spraying the fuel out under the tank and its own spark ignited the fire .🤷🏼♂🌵
Happy new year James to you and your family. To another year of fixes.You have a great channel. Makes my day.
Thanks James. Love your work, learnt so much over the years. keep up the good work. blessings from Sydney Australia
Happy new year! Well done. I certainly would have managed to melt the new tank while removing the label. 🙃 I'm with the crowd that suspects some kind of liquid lock for the head gasket blowout: fuel or water. The pressure to break out a chunk like that had to be tremendous. nb: The sound of the 4-cycle blower is surely a lot easier on the ears than the back pack style 2-cycles. Yikes those are irritating.
That's a nice machine, with proper care will last a long time and give great performance. I like the way you clean and lap the valves. That Scotch Brite works great. I didn't know you could filter gas with a paper coffee filter. I gotta try that.
Good one James.
A great start to the New Year James. As always, a top quality rebuild. Happy New Year sir, I hope that your channel grows even more in 2025.
Love the diagnosis. Would be interesting to hear from original owner.
I've personally had one of the briggs vertical OHV on a pressure washer have a catastrophic head gasket failure randomly while in use from a factory defect. I could see with this sort of setup that particular failure burning the flames and exhaust blasting right out the side of the head toward the carb & fuel tank burning right through the fuel line and causing the fire.
Another awesome job James. Always learn something watching your videos. Thank you Sir.
Thanks for another great video. It always amazes me how you can keep us engaged for as long as you can, love it 👍
Wire insulation typically uses either PVC or Teflon. The easy way to tell which one you have is apply some nontrivial heat to it. PVC will melt, teflon won't react at all. That "Tecumseh tool" sure bears a strong resemblance to a crochet hook. I wonder if one of those would be useful for removing seats? The come in a lot of different sizes...
Awesome segment, Happy New Year to you and your family
Nice job sir Nice machine Nice show sir 👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏😃
Happy New Year 😊 wishing you and family a wonderful year 😊
Another great video. I just was given for free a Billy Goat 10hp walk behind leaf blower. I needed to clean the carb and re-inflate a tire.
Good job James. I learn something from you on each video.
Nice video and presentation.
The chance of catching fire is quite high with the tank shape design as it is. I can imagine any large or small amount of gas spill while refueling is “funneled” to one side where the kill switch is. It is a fire hazard waiting to happen.
I love your chanel, the way you everything explain perfect. To say how mutch it gone cost was a good idee.
James here's a tip to tidy up the throttle cable use a length of Heat Shrink tubing
Happy new year James 🎉 thanks for sharing 🦘
Very clear explanation of calibrating the governor! Super important to get it right! (Ask me how I know) Thanks Jim.
My first few calibrating attempts way back in the beginning did not go well.
Nice save, a short length of heat shrink tube over the throttle cable would work if you wanted some cosmetic repair on it.
Very well bought, a high quality machine like that is worth far more than you put into it. I’d keep that one for personal use, real leaf blowers like that go for quite a bit and last a very long time.
James. Happy new year to you. Noticed you only used the one drill bit to insert the needle seat. I would use one like you did that fits the seat, and after seat is pushed in I would use a second one that fits the actual seat pocket and tap it down further into the pocket. I would also spray some lube in the pocket before inserting the seat so the edges of the seat go all the way in. Basically what I'm saying is, the hole that the seat fits into is stepped. 😉 OH, and just remove the choke shaft and you can straighten up the spring or replace it with a donor. The control cable you could cut the burnt part of the covering off and put some black heatshrink on it to tidy it up.
That blower is mint! It’s a keeper!
That unit runs like new, nice going, James, happy new year
It didn't sound like you opened the throttle up. I was curious to see how much air it could push. Another great video. Thanks.
Good job. You saved if from the trash pile without too much in to it. I guess it's getting late but I do find it amusing the manufacturer chose to name it 'Giant-Vac' when more appropriately it should be called 'Giant-Blower'. 😊
Happy new year James......
Now apart from that "nostrils of God" that you resurrected a while back, normally I prefer a genny resurrection, but that said, you sure had a mountain to climb to get this breeze box back on it's feet! Short of un-inflatable tires and some panel beating, there was not much that did not need your TLC on this old girl, but you found a way as you found each obstacle. Your tenaciousness and a shrewd cost savings brought that machine back to former glory.... As always, the journey you take and the things you do and find make your channel one of the best, if not the best 2 and 4 stroke small engine channels around. I adore your can do attitude and I bet there must be getting on for a thousand purring petrol engines that still work because of your skills. I salute you sir and bet many others would do too. Bravo James...keep us hitched and those many machines coming please :)
Thanks. I know 4 strokes well. 2 strokes are still a struggle.
Great job as always. Just noticing how the internet makes finding all these parts possible. It's no wonder we developed a throw away culture. Always relying on a manufacturer for parts gets cost prohibitive.
Well done James. Great job also fixing it within your budget. Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your family.
That Tecumseh seat tool is just a crochet needle with a special handle. You could buy a pack of smaller mixed sized ones to try on other seats.
At 1:04:42
Rope in the cylinder....
I don't know if it would work for locking up the cylinder, but to keep valves from falling down, you can use compressed air.
You have all the makings for it with that leak down tester....
Good investment even if it's only for your own use. Great work James.
looks like the head gasket has no fire ring as part of it? - great work on the repair....
Happy New Year. Hope it turns out to be a good one. Thanks for the video.
I’ve seen where mechanics use a Qtip in a drill to clean the chamber under the seat after pulling the seat out.
Yeah Thursday is James Day! I always use a shot of compressed air via the fuel line nipple to remove a old seat, it will go flying across the garage! Wooohooo
Happy New Year James. I'm looking forward to another year of great videos
I like how they designed that fuel tank around the cap by ramping that area so any spilled fuel will run off and not pool around the cap.
Hello James: Welcom to 2025. A new year for more quality videos. Your commitment showed itself again with a difficult needle & seat. I am old school and agree with you on the float setting Level is a visual aid to proper float bowl fuel capacity adjustment. The functional test of it sealing and opperating with enough fuel in the bowl to let the engine catch up when suddenly loaded or continued running if not on a level surface for extended time. Is the practical necessary float level. Your final product worked flawlessly. So the non level float seems to be a non issue. Maybe the needle length is the discrepant part? Great job looking forward to seeing your future project videos.
Great fix James, if that seat didn't work, could you shave a little off the seat? Just a thought.🐕🐈⬛
Great job! Another one saves from the junk pile.
I have one of those engines on a craftsman tiller. One of the best Brighs engines ive ever had, starts with no more than 2 pulls every time and thisnis after sitting for months at a time
Just like every other engine... You ameritards believe shit just stops working from... not being used. Society in decline.
Any chance the new float seat might have been installed on top of an existing one still in the carburetor?
Or the needle is too long? Don't know if they make different lengths
@@gman3109 maybe someone replaced the needle in the past with a too long one
I was thinking this too. Or perhaps just some gunk under the seat that needs to be cleaned out.
Connect the drill to the back of the valve sticking out the back of the head. Use the power tool!
You know, another great use of blowers are after those 1-2" light snowfalls. Makes faster work of clearing the driveway than the snow throwers and can leave a nice clean surface. 😊
Patience and persistence, these you do have.
Happy New Year James from all of us at Eliminator Performance in Canada. Gonna agree likely excessive explosion internally from using ether as a starting fluid to blow that head gasket to that extent. Just wondering if that ignition coil was still producing spark would you consider using liquid electrical tape to repair the damaged area?
Happy New Year. I did not test the coil but did save it. I am sure it works, just a matter of repairing the insulation. Potentially shrink tubing?
@@jcondon1 I've done that more than once, usually due to mice chewing off chunks. If it's real bad but not to the core I'll split a piece of vacuum hose and double heat shrink over that. Never had an issue. I also often heat shrink the entire kill wire just to be safe.
Yeah they loaded that cylinder up with starting fluid! bet it was one heck of a bang lol!!!
Great restoration. I think you should add to your cost for parts the cost of shop supplies, such as WD-40, carb cleaner, paper towels, oil, etc. Perhaps not a large sum, but a cost nonetheless. Of course the satisfaction of a job well done is priceless.
James I've rebuilt a bunch of those carbs and sometimes the seat isn't fully in or there's something in the hole preventing it from being inserted flush
Excellent video.
Amazing how much work that the Dremel will do.
That's going to be in my morning routine now. "Please don't let there any surprises or fires today..."
Thanks James! Great work of it
A very good lesson for those that spill fuel and not clean it up.
I’d guess the head gasket was the original issue and the person sprayed fuel into the intake.
Wonderful video James. Sensing your frustration with the needle and seat although ultimately making no difference, I was wondering if you ground down the contact point of the needle on a bench grinder 4-5 thousands to get a horizontal float. Kind Regards. Craig
Happy new year, James. Love your videos.
Awesome video, still waiting for one on a Billy Goat vacuum