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Eau Claire, WI

Check this out. I have had a BCS tiller for several years (it has been a great tiller) and I was going to till a garden that is about a block behind my house. Normally I load it into my ATV trailer and haul it out there but the trailer was full of junk so I decided to just put it in high gear and drive it out there. Of course when you are driving a rear tine tiller to transport it, the back tines catch on the ground so the natural responce is that you lift the handles up about a foot to get some clearance. I went down the road like this about 50 yards and the engine suddenly quit. I went to restart it and the engine was totally seized up.

It took me awhile to figure out what had happened but what I had done was tilted the engine enough by lifting the handles (again about 1 foot) that the oil shifted enough in the oil pan that it was not lubricating the engine and I burned it out. The oil level was perfect.

It cost me $300 for a new engine and about an hour of time to install it and now it is fine but I still can't believe that this happened. The guy that sold me the new engine said that he sees this occasionally with lawnmowers when people are mowing on steep hills. I learned my lesson the hard way. Don't lift the handles too high.

5/7/2005 12:27:35 PM

Indiana

Dang, that sux

I decided to put mine in neutral, and the tines still spin, and then run with it, its faster, and I guess it keeps me from doing that. I feel pretty lucky that I havent done that. That doesnt seem like it could ruin the engine, thanks for the heads up tho.

Tom

5/7/2005 1:41:44 PM

ohio

Jim:
What kind of an engine was it?
Doc

5/7/2005 1:46:04 PM

Eau Claire, WI

My tiller was a Model 716 with a Briggs and Stratton 5 HP engine ($1400 new - best tiller I have ever owned till now).

Clearly this is a design flaw with this particular tiller and engine combination - the tiller can tilt enough under unusual circumstances to displace the oil level. This particular engine obviously isn't designed to be used in a plane much different than perfectly horizontal. I suspect it wouldn't happen with most other tillers but who knows.

5/7/2005 2:42:41 PM

Key West, FL

lmao, I do the same thing Tom. Or sometime you hit some hard dirt and the thing takes off! haha

5/7/2005 3:56:37 PM

Hermitage, Pa

How do the snowblowers work with these things? Looking into getting one for next year.

5/7/2005 4:30:18 PM

Butler, Ohio

Man that really stinks. Glad you get er fixed. I'll keep that in mind, since ours is the "community tiller" between my in-laws, my wife's sister and myself.

5/7/2005 4:57:03 PM

[email protected]

I hate to admit this, but the answer is to drop $600 on a Honda or $700 for a Kawasaki.

5/7/2005 8:55:00 PM

Hamburg, NY

Gee, my rear tine machine levels out the engine when I lift the handles? I should think this would make oil more available to the engine. Its when I've got it sunk down, tilling deep that the most tilt is on the engine. I did replace the engine to the tune of $700 just last year. I had hundreds (maybe thousands) of hours on it with no problems and finally it was due. Many engines have oil sumps that work when tilted - must not be that big blue one!

5/7/2005 10:20:25 PM

C N Y

i guess i appreciate my Troy-Bilt Horse more than ever now.
i practically pirouette at the end of every row in order to
set 'er back down to dig into the next swath...i'm thinkin' 45 degrees. never had a problem. oops! now i am jinxed!
think i'll give 'er a rinse with the hose tonight, followed by some polishing, lol.....

5/11/2005 6:23:43 PM