Briggs anfd stratton outboard

[dooger]

I have a couple of questions before I buy a new Briggs outboard. I hope Sloopy is out there and will respond because I think he has had one for a while. Here goes the questions for anyone who has answers. Do they hold up well? (still start good,ect) How loud are they? Twice as loud as a same size 2 stroke? No dealers around me have one or I would ask to hear one run. Has anyone priced parts such as a prop, carb, ect. Are parts prices reasonable? Would it run at 1/3 throttle all day without overheating? I sure do like the price and the simplicity of this outboard. Thanks for any input, dooger.

 

[streadway]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

I LIVE IN EAST TN ALSO.THERE ARE A COUPLE OF 5 HP BRIGGS MOTORS PEOPLE USE ON THE CLINCH WHERE I FISH.THEY SEEM TO HAVE GOOD POWER TO THEM,BUT THEY ARE NOT WATER COOLED SOMETHING TO CONSIDER IF YOU TROLL A LOT.THEY SEEM TO BE A LITTLE LOUDER THAN OTHER FOUR STROKES,EXHAUST DOES NOT GO THROUGH THE PROP.I GOT A GOOD DEAL ON A MERC 4 STROKE LAST WEEK.I PRINTED OUT A LIST OF ALL DEALERS WITH IN 100 MILES OF KNOXVILLE AND JUST STARTED CALLING THEM.FINALY FOUND A DEALER THAT HAD WHAT I WANTED.BUT THE BRIGGS HAS IT'S PLACE AND ANY BRIGGS AUTHERIZED DEALER IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO GET PARTS.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

I think the majority of the parts on it are lawnmower parts, and you should be able to find them rather cheaply at any lawnmower repair shop. I'm a certified briggs and stratton mechanic, although I have never seen one of these run, I know their 5-6hp intek engines like this uses are pretty good. They last a pretty long time and get relatively efficient. I highly doubt it would overheat if you ran it for days on end...think about it...has your lawnmower ever overheated?

 

[dooger]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

Thanks for the input from all. Carp king, I live in Andersonville, I could throw a rock from here into the Clinch river. Do you still have the Briggs or did you trade it on the Merc? I would still like to here from others their opinion on the B&S outboard. iboats will ship it now for $25, so I am trying to decide. Thanks, dooger.

 

[chris in va]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

I've had one for 4 months. If you are used to a lawnmower, this is the same exact thing noise-wise. It's like having a Lawn Boy on the back of your jonboat.<br /><br />Completely empty 14' jonboat, it will cruise around 15mph. You may have seen my other recent post, but the first-run motors have a rev limiter that screws up once you hit it, misfiring after that. Mine is in the shop right now for a new limiter (under warranty). You may want to get one locally so you can verify that it has the 'updated' limiter by calling B&S customer service and checking the numbers. Please do this.<br /><br />As for 1/3 trolling, there's no problem with it. Fully air cooled. There's a fan over the flywheel. Any local lawnmower shop can order parts for it too. <br /><br />Oh, and it absolutely SIPS gas. I can run 3 days, 4 hours each day and not use up the 3 gallon tank. Seriously.

 

[sloopy]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

I have had my Briggs and stratton for a while now. It is a great outboard and IS VERY VERY quite at idle and mid throttle. At full throttle it can be a little noisy. The outboard uses very little gasoline but the fuel tank does not have a fuel gauge. The rev limiter that chris is talking about is located on the right side of the engine and is a little black box with a plug into it. If you ever have a problem with it not starting in neutral you can unplug this and start it, but this will disable the rev limiter and you would be able to start it in forward/reverse. Chris's same problem happened to me. Another problem that I had (but they fixed all the outboards now) was the shift levers runs down a shaft that is clamped to another shaft. This clamp can loosen and if it does all you have to do is remove the little rubber plug on the leg of the outboard and readjust it. Finlay for the last problem...... <br /> Since I had this pushing a two ton sailboat it went through a ton of stress pushing against the motor mount and fell into the water. When I returned the engine to a dealer I was given HELL since I did buy it from him. Eventually after a ton of calls to ROBERT KAPSY (414) 259 5333 he replaced my outboard and sent the broken to briggs and stratton so the engineers could look at it. Ever since I got the new one (a 2003) I have not HAD ANY PROBLEMS with it, the outboard that broke was a 2002. <br /> All in all the briggs and stratton outboard is a great outboard and be run out of the water without being concerned about ruining a water pump impeller. I have put my new one threw hell trying to brake it by spinning the boat around (rudder and outboard full right) and reversing for two miles to see if anything could brake. I have not had any problems.

 

[sloopy]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

I have had my Briggs and stratton for a while now. It is a great outboard and IS VERY VERY quite at idle and mid throttle. At full throttle it can be a little noisy. The outboard uses very little gasoline but the fuel tank does not have a fuel gauge. The rev limiter that chris is talking about is located on the right side of the engine and is a little black box with a plug into it. If you ever have a problem with it not starting in nuetral you can unplug this and start it, but this will disable the rev limiter and you would be able to start it in forward/reverse. Chris's same problem happened to me. Another problem that I had (but they fixed all the outboards now) was the shift levers runs down a shaft that is clamped to another shaft. This clamp can loosen and if it does all you have to do is remove the little rubber plug on the leg of the outboard and readjust it. Finaly for the last problem...... <br /> Since I had this pushing a two ton sailboat it went through a ton of stress pushing againts the moter and fell into the water. When I returned the engine to a dealer I was given HELL since I did buy it from him. Eventualy after a ton of calls to ROBERT KAPSY (414) 259 5333 he replaced my outboard and sent the broken to briggs and stratton so the engineers could look at it. Ever since I got the new one (a 2003) I have not HAD ANY PROBLEMS with it, the outboard that broke was a 2002. <br /> All in all the briggs and stratton outboard is a great outboard and be run out of the water without being concerned about ruining a water pump impellor. I have put my new one threw hell trying to brake it by spinning the boat around (rudder and outboard full right) and reversing for two miles to see if anything could brake. I have not had any problems.

 

[dooger]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

sloopy,<br /> Thanks for the info. I think i'm going to order one because I like the simplicity of the motor and the price. I just know what my lawn mowers go through and they go for years. Thanks again, dooger.

 

[chris in va]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

Sloopy, your limiter went out too?

 

[sloopy]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

Yes my Governor went out too. I unplugged it and used my goodly tiny tack to monitor the rpms and by the way the tiny tack will not work when the thing is pluged in. The eventualy replaced the whole outboard.

 

[dooger]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

Sloopy or Chris in VA,<br /> I ordered my B&S motor on monday from i-boats and got it today. I couldn't believe it came so quick. The manual said not to leave the motor tilted on the boat. Whats up with that? I thought I might secure it in the tilted position when pulled into the bank in shallow water. That's better than letting it beat the bottom with the waves other boats make. Also, what oil do you use? Synthetic? Mobil one? Thanks for your thoughts, dooger.

 

[chris in va]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

That's weird, my manual makes no mention of storing it tilted on the boat. Maybe it's something new. Doesn't make any sense though, as it can be laid down with the prop facing up. <br /><br />As for oil, regular 30 weight is what mine calls for. Nothing fancy. <br /><br />PS...the mechanic said the only repairs (other than mine) he's done have been because people have tilted the motor on its side, causing the oil to slosh into places it's not supposed to be.

 

[lakeman1999]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

The manual said not to leave the motor tilted on the boat

Was it possibly worded, so it meant not to leave it tilted while in transit (pressure on the transom)???

 

[BillP]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

The crankcase oil may drain out or into the combustion chamber if tilted the right way. Maybe that is what the Briggs folks are concerned about. I know my Briggs lawnmower engine has this problem when I tilt it over to clear the blade. You can tell by the coughing and smoking at start up.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

I don't know what way the engine faces on that thing, but if you tilt it with the spark plug pointed up, you should be just fine. Maybe give it a minute before you start it to let the oil drain to where it should be, and check the oil level the first few times after doing it to make sure it's not leaking out somewhere.

 

[chris in va]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

Picked up the outboard today. On my 'test stand' (front porch railing) it seems to run just fine now. I even bumped it off the limiter. <br /><br />The mechanic told me they dropped the limiter activation from 4000 to 3200rpm, apparently due to issues with the lower unit. The new limiter has a little sticker on it that says "v. 3". He said take it out and see how it works...maybe they'll swap in a higher limiter if this one doesn't work right.

 

[dooger]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

I took the new B&S outboard out today. Trailered it tilted half-way with a motor toter (bar from trailer to foot of motor), seemed to work just fine. Tilted to launch with a short piece of 2x2 between motor and clamp, worked good. Started great. The motor seemed to shake more than I'm use to. Maybe the motor isn't isolated from the mount as good as a Merc. or Johnson. Have you other B&S owners noticed this or do you think I might have something out of balance? This vibration may have got better after running a couple of hours, or I just got use to it. Ran 2 hours straight and could not tell I had used any gas. Good motor, just different. dooger.

 

[dooger]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

I also wanted to mention that it seems to "clunk" in gear harder than my other outboards. I adjusted the idle about as low as it would go and not die in gear. Do you other owners think it shifts hard? Don't get me wrong, I still like it. dooger.

 

[DJ]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

dooger,<br /><br />I'll throw in my $.02 here. I don't own one but I do know a thing or two about little four strokes.<br /><br />Shifting. This is probably normal. Remember, you have 75% less power strokes than a similar sized 2-stroke, 2-cylinder engine. It's a little rougher running engine-by nature. Not bad, just different.<br /><br />Tilting. This is a lawnmower engine. I agree that it being tilted with the spark plug up is probably OK.<br /><br />Oil. Most little fourstrokes (lawnmower) specify a non detergent straight weight oil (30). Since many of the crankshafts are splash lubed, multi weight high detergent oils tend to foam. Buy the oil (four cycle) from a Briggs dealer.<br /><br />Enjoy!

 

[dooger]

Re: Briggs anfd stratton outboard

djohns19,<br /> Thanks for your two cents worth, mostly because I don't know of anyone around here that knows anything about these motors. I do think they will sell and become more common. Until then I think I will use mine often and if it tears up through no fault of mine, I'll let them (B&S) fix it. Thanks again, dooger.