Governor removal

[wheeler]

Can you remove the governer off of an engine?

[eddieb1965]

Yes,But I and most dont recommend it.Unless you do major work internally on your engine it wont hold up.You can get a little more speed(not power) by setting the governed RPM a little higher.I have mine set at 4250 and have litterally ran 10 years (2003 Argo 18 Vanguard)with no problems.Get a Tiny Tach so you can see what you are doing,the procedure is pretty easy,bending tangs on the 14-16-18 not sure on any others.

[jerseybigfoot]

Briggs Vanguards are easy and are good for about 5K with the stock carb and exhaust. you need to replace the push rods and valve springs. you can get away with shimming the springs also. The throttle is a problem and you will have to rework the linkage when you remove the governor.

[wheeler]

Ok let me ask this. I put a new engine in my wheeler in place of a 18 hp I had it's now a brand new 23 hp briggs. After everything is all said and done and I took it out for test drive I don't seem to have the SPEED that I should. This is after all the checks that needed to be done. Throttle response is slow compared to the 18 hp that I had. I don't quite get it. I couldn't get it to idle down so I had to remove one of the springs off of the governer and then it slowed down to a nice idle. I put the spring back on and the idle speed went way up. I adjusted the idle adjustment screw under the carb which is attached to the governer and that is all the way out, I can't adjust it anymore out. Any ideas on what to do would be appreciated. Thanks

[thebuggyman1]

Ok let me ask this. I put a new engine in my wheeler in place of a 18 hp I had it's now a brand new 23 hp briggs. After everything is all said and done and I took it out for test drive I don't seem to have the SPEED that I should. This is after all the checks that needed to be done. Throttle response is slow compared to the 18 hp that I had. I don't quite get it. I couldn't get it to idle down so I had to remove one of the springs off of the governer and then it slowed down to a nice idle. I put the spring back on and the idle speed went way up. I adjusted the idle adjustment screw under the carb which is attached to the governer and that is all the way out, I can't adjust it anymore out. Any ideas on what to do would be appreciated. Thanks

My idea: take up some light reading.
Briggs Service Manual Vanguard V Twin OHV Part 272144 | eBay

[wheeler]

Been there. Time to take it to a mech. Maybe time to sell this machine!

[msafi65]

use your old governor spring if you still have it. If not order a Briggs #691507 its brown. Then with a tachometer set the goverened speed in reverse with the belt installed to 4050 RPM. You migght have trouble getting a factory briggs shop to set over 3600 rpm. At 3600 they are a dog, its amazing what 450 rpm will do. Keep it up you get it done.

[wheeler]

No governer on the old engine. The new engine has got all the springs on it. One thats about 1 to 2 inches long and the one that goes along the governer rod up to the carb where I can adjust idle speed. I'm not sure what you mean by tach it in reverse. Sorry I'm so ignorant about this stuff.

[Tomo]

hi
Briggs vanny have a governed ...idle... speed also
With out a Tacho & manual u r only guessing

The easiest way is to down load the manual
Check out the links section
Engine link
Then Precise engine repair
Then vanguard twin manual

Depending upon year there are different governor springs and typically 2x different mounting holes [1x hole is for lower rpm eg generator set ]
set the governor shaft to linkage position and tighten bolt
adjust linkages to achieve governed low and high rpm
set up base idle as book suggests

tomo

[msafi65]

you have have a tach. The transmission should be in reverse which is very similar to park in your car,it wont run away. the main gov spring is about 1 inch long andis usually red on these engines. Needle nose pliers help changing it. i think it would be best to get some help setting this up. Any reputable small engine shop will be able to do this.as i said before they may be reluctant to set a governor to over 4000 rpm. itr has to be at least 4050rpm to really perform good. I see these engines with stock gov spring so often I keep the brown springs in my tool box.Good luck

[wheeler]

Thanks msafi65. I going to get that spring and see if that makes the difference.

[thebuggyman1]

No governer on the old engine. The new engine has got all the springs on it. One thats about 1 to 2 inches long and the one that goes along the governer rod up to the carb where I can adjust idle speed. I'm not sure what you mean by tach it in reverse. Sorry I'm so ignorant about this stuff.

With the machine in reverse, and springs still attached to the T-20 "u" channels, the machine essentially is in "park", (brakes on).

Changing the spring when the governor is out of adjustment will do little to no good. Your first step needs to be to put the governor back to where it should be, and adjust your belt to proper tension, then fix your throttle pull/travel. Think of that gov spring as fine tuning.

Changing multiple things at once (shotgun approach) only makes it tougher to diagnose and fix.

[wheeler]

Buggyman
Governer has not been moved yet, it's still at the factory setting. Springs are still on the channels, I fixed the crawling forward. The governor still has same spring still on it, albeit stretched a little. I ordered the new spring msafi65 told me to get. He has a Max dealership in Alaska. Also belt is riding perfect (Already adjusted by adding/removing shims). Throttle pull on the carb is perfect. I'm taking it to a mechanic monday that said he's gonna tach it for me at a higher setting and check everything else out. I have always gone step by step in my approach and to be honest haven't made any major adjustments.

[thebuggyman1]

Is it still lacking power then?

The first thing that always comes to mind when someone says "lacks power" is too loose of a belt.
CVT's 101: The small diameter of the primary(engine clutch) upon starting out combined with the large diameter of the secondary (trans clutch) makes for a low gear ratio.
As rpm's increase the primary squeezes together making the belt ride higher and making for a larger diameter. This causes the belt to move in on the secondary (smaller dia), and increases the ratio....and the machine goes faster.

When the belt is loose the primary can close and increase in effective diameter too far too soon because the secondary isn't holding it back. This gives too high of a ratio too soon and it seems as the machine is a dog.

Let us know how it works out.

[wheeler]

Is it still lacking power then?

The first thing that always comes to mind when someone says "lacks power" is too loose of a belt.
CVT's 101: The small diameter of the primary(engine clutch) upon starting out combined with the large diameter of the secondary (trans clutch) makes for a low gear ratio.
As rpm's increase the primary squeezes together making the belt ride higher and making for a larger diameter. This causes the belt to move in on the secondary (smaller dia), and increases the ratio....and the machine goes faster.

When the belt is loose the primary can close and increase in effective diameter too far too soon because the secondary isn't holding it back. This gives too high of a ratio too soon and it seems as the machine is a dog.

Let us know how it works out.

I agree, but the Belt is running like it should. I decreased the amount of shims under the engine until I got the right setting. The machine doesn't move forward in gear and with a slight touch of the throttle it engages like it should. In fact now the engine doesn't like to start and I have I have to believe it has something to do with the governer setting. I ordered the new spring as Mark (a Max dealer) told me too. I spoke with a small engine mechanic today and he told me to bring it in on Monday and he would take a look at it. He is going to tach it to 4050 rpm. He also said that even the kohler engines are tached to between 3700 and 4000 rpms. He truly believes that the governer setting is off and needs adjustment. I'm a little surprised that the gov would be off coming from the factory but it's worth letting him take a look and tach it for me. I want to believe I am getting close. I have other issues that I got to solve also. I have an electrical drain somewhere. When I come out in the morning it will not even get power to the starter until I charge it for an half an hour. It could be that the battery is bad. I will test the battery and see what happens. I'm learning a lot about this stuff and it's good so when I do get into a pickle I can probably fix it myself. Again, thanks for all the help. I know I've been sort of a pain but thank goodness there is a site like this so I can ask questions that most people that have done this for awhile probably get a good chuckle.