Bad to run a new engine with no load?

[BioHazard]

I bought a cheap HF gas engine that will one day be a charger. That "one day" could be any time between tomarrow and 27 years from now. 

Given that the engine only has a 90 day warranty, I want to run it a few hours at least before that time runs out, so I can make sure it's not going to fall apart. What I'm wondering is, is it bad to run a brand new gas engine with no load for several hours during it's break in period? Or can I just fill the tank and let it run at varying speeds...?

[hal]

At the risk of not being able to seat the rings.  I would either not purchase the engine or keep it in the crate till you use it.   If you just want to test fire it, for a few minutes to bring it up to temp-keep it off idle > that would be "one" heat cycle.   Shut it down and change the oil.

That is the only "run" option.   If it was really a cheap engine, I would just keep it in the crate, and make sure that it was ready for long term storage.

[Carlb]

I have bought several of the harbor freight 6.5hp engines on sale for 70 dollars and still have a few that I haven't gotten to use yet.  I normally will start them up for a few minutes to make sure there are no strange noises or other things then change the oil fog the cylinder put it at TDC, Drain the gas and let it sit in the sun for several hours with the gas cap off to make sure all of the fuel has evaporated, put it back in its box and put it down the basement for future use.  I have never had a problem with this method.

Carl

[BioHazard]

Hmmm...I already ran it for about 15 minutes to get the stanky chinese oil out of there and see how it sounds...I guess I'll leave it at that for now. I'll probably pop the head off just to take a look...

Not so much worried about my investment, but the fact that a replacement in a few years will probably cost much more!

[Carlb]

I have run 5 or 6 of these motors on various lawn equipment, splitters and snow blowers with no problems what so ever for a few years now.  If the engine sounded good when you ran it I would just change the oil and drain all of the gas out and put it away.  I don't think you will find anything when you pull the head off but you can probably re-use the head gasket if you decide to.

Carl

[rcavictim]

I would not pull the head.  These motors are made with the cheapest poasible fasteners and castings.  My guess is the first time the head bolts are torqued is the only time a best seal can be obtained. Any loosening and re-torqueing after that will likely result in less strength at the fastener.

[BioHazard]

I would not pull the head.  These motors are made with the cheapest poasible fasteners and castings.  My guess is the first time the head bolts are torqued is the only time a best seal can be obtained. Any loosening and re-torqueing after that will likely result in less strength at the fastener.

Interesting thoughts. Do you think it would be worth the trouble to use new head bolts? I think curiosity is going to kill this cat.  Last time I bought a HF engine the head gasket was leaking from the factory. I like to take it off after about 5 hours but I guess I shouldnt without a load. I'm thinking I should be able to use a Briggs head gasket if need be and follow the torque info from their service manual.

This engine is a copy of a (Japanese) B&S Vanguard engine, different than the normal "Chonda". As a Briggs and Stratton collector I'm very interested in how the build quality inside compares to the "real" thing...

[Carlb]

interesting that is a copy of a B&S engine.  I have only purchased the Chonda Clones and have been very pleased with them.  What hp is the B&S clone and what did it sell for?

[BioHazard]

interesting that is a copy of a B&S engine.  I have only purchased the Chonda Clones and have been very pleased with them.  What hp is the B&S clone and what did it sell for?

I'm pretty sure it's a copy of the Briggs "Vanguard" (Daihatsu - Toyota) 2.4hp engine, same 79cc bore and stroke, many other shared features. I think HF cleared them out for a new 99cc replacement though, that's why it was only $59. I wish I would have gotten more...

It looks like HF is replacing the entire line of "Blue" engines with "Predator" engines...they all look more Briggs-like than-Honda like to me.

[rcavictim]

I bought one of these OHV clone engines from China attached to a 3.5 kW gen head as an incomplete dismantled power generator from Princess Auto at a large discount.  I bought it to repurpose the gen head which I have successfully separated from the engine and am planning to power it now from a 6 HP Launtop diesel via belt drive.  In the separation process I was able to use the side of the crankcase as the bearing endplate for the now stand alone gen head. I was amazed to discover the engine has an aluminum con rod!  With my lathe I was able to modify the steel crankshaft to become the new straight shaft for the belt pulley with the proper mating taper section that fits the input of the generator armature.

[Carlb]

they currently have the 6.5hp blue engines on sale for 74 dollars.  with a 20% discount coupon it comes out to 60 dollars for the engine.  I think i will pick up a few to have around.

[rcavictim]

they currently have the 6.5hp blue engines on sale for 74 dollars.  with a 20% discount coupon it comes out to 60 dollars for the engine.  I think i will pick up a few to have around.

With the discount that is crazy cheap!  I would have given my left nut for one of those for my minibike when I was a kid.

[rl71459]

That's crazy cheap b 4 the coupon! I remember when I was a kid I had to salvage engines off of old reel lawn mowers. I had a couple old REO engines on some of my stuff.

I was in the city the other day (Doc's Appointment) and I was early so I stopped in @ HF and they had a pallet full of those engines on sale! I looked them over... They looked really good. What a deal!

Rob

[BioHazard]

I was amazed to discover the engine has an aluminum con rod! 

What's wrong with that? Briggs has been using them since at least the 60s. They use "billet" aluminum rods in go kart motors that spin up past 10k RPMs...

With the discount that is crazy cheap!  I would have given my left nut for one of those for my minibike when I was a kid.

Sure is a great time to be a kid. If I coulda put a new engine on my go kart for $59 I would have been a happy kid. (then again I probably wouldn't know how to fix one, no need to learn!) Damn kids today probably don't even care, they drive virtual go karts. 

Can you believe there was a day when Harbor Freight sold genuine Briggs and Stratton engines?  I wonder just how much the "chinese engine revolution" has effected profits at Briggs and Honda. It's amazing Briggs can still compete at all...

[Carlb]

I think that most of the Briggs engines are now made in china anyway, at least that is what I have been told,  but I have no real experience with them.