belt

well i put a new motor in my 1988 i thought i got the new motor in the right spot but i must have screwed up when i start the engine the primary clutch engages just a little bit but enough to contact the belt and turn it i cant shift the tranny unless it is shut off is there anything i can try doing before i cut the motor mount and move it ahead.
the factory belt is 52" if i had one that was a bit longer it would probably work but i cant find one longer would a narrower belt help or would that cause a power problem


PLEASE HELP

have you cut your idle as far as you can before it quits? Mine is just a putt putt at idle and will still grind sometimes but if I shift with authority it works or sometimes when it's cold and not idleing low enough i will pull the choke just enough to slow it down and shift while shoving choke back in. good luck. PS is the motor the same as old one?

What mike said plus shift it to reverse first then quick to high or low.

There was a problem and I think even an Argo recall on certain older briggs 16hp because when they where idled that low the oil pump wasn't pumping enough oil and the pto side bearing would fail. This is something I never seen but heard of. If you put some shims in the front of the motor it would tip slightly and maybe loosen the belt some. Or start it in gear and shift ranges/directions after its completely idled down and shift fast. I know a guy who had to shut the engine off to shift too, but that would just get old. To bad there wasn't a clutch brake or something.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jerseybigfoot

What mike said plus shift it to reverse first then quick to high or low.

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This works well for me too when the machine is idling a bit high.

Is the clutch actually engaging, or is the belt turning from friction against the clutch shaft? If it's engaging, you could just shim the Primary clutch a bit to increase the engagement RPM.

Also, I just replaced the motor in my Conquest. The new engine would idle too high even when adjusted down as low as it could go. I carefully marked how the governor linkage was set, then loosened the Bolt (LH Thread). Of course, as soon as I did that, the linkage shifted. Just to see, I put it back where it was when I started and.................................Hmmmm, it started idling so low that I couldn't keep it running. Adjusted the idle up a bit and now it's perfect.


RD

yes it is idling as low as it will go it is a 18 hp briggs i'm not sure how to shim the clutch if some one could explain that that would be great i think the belt is just touching the side of the primary clutch and thats enough for it to start turning

This shows the shim I have in my Conquest Clutch. It's just a piece of welding rod rolled in a circle, the same diameter as the spring. Mine is also made out of rod the same thickness as the spring material.
If your clutch is old, and has never had the Primary Spring replaced, you might just want to do that first. If that's not enough, you could try to shim it.
NEVER INSTALL MORE THAN ONE SHIM

YouTube - Argo Primary Clutch

Another way to do this is to lighten the Primary weights

RD

Damn Larry your killing me here with this bit of info. I got a hunch my PTO bearing is on the way out and it happened shortly after I dropped the idle for this exact reason. Do you have any info on the recall?