Briggs Intek 18.5 repeat head gasket failure.

F

Fordiesel69

Joined
Sep 10, 2005
Messages
1,867
Location
Erie, PA
Does anyone know the part# for the gasket with has the wider divider in between the cylinder bore and the push rod cavity?

I got two head gaskets and they blew in like 2 hours.

I re-machined the head surface as it was warped, and am trying it again but do not have much faith it will hold.
 
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Fordiesel69 said:
Does anyone know the part# for the gasket with has the wider divider in between the cylinder bore and the push rod cavity?

I got two head gaskets and they blew in like 2 hours.

I re-machined the head surface as it was warped, and am trying it again but do not have much faith it will hold.
Click to expand...
Wow that sux! Did you take the model number from the side of your motor & visit Briggs parts website? It doesn't show other Head gaskets that might be it? Might have to reach out to Briggs for this one. I hope you figure it out. Are you torquing the heads down in sequence & at the right torque? Just trying to help.
 
Where did machining the surface come into play?

After the two gaskets popped or before?

If it was warped, no head gasket is going to help that situation and I'd hope if it was warped and now it's not, that the next gasket should work.
 
-I typed the motor # into google and bought off ebay, gasket was a direct match to old one. The ones at my dealer look the same.
-I torqued them to 220 inch pounds in 2 step sequence working from center outwards.
-The head was warped but other than the old kohler K series with cast iron heads ive never experianced repeat failures on these little engines. the warpage was on the piston side.
-There is a youtube video that I may not be able to access at work that clearly shows the new gasket yet the author did not give the part# and neither did any of his commenters.
 
@Fordiesel69 check your block as well for warp. When I did the HG in my LT150 (Kohler) I checked both the head and the block. FWIW, I used an OEM gasket from the JD dealer when I did mine. It was more expensive but I haven't had troubles since I did the work last spring. I used the tractor pretty hard this winter a couple times blowing heavy snow...

The other thing to check would be erosion of metal in the area that the gasket blew. Are the head and block compromised?

Just my $0.02
 
Block looked good and I cleaned it but because the labor would outweight the repair I honestly did not check it for straighness. If that got warped its a gonner.

The head did not have any visable bad spot where the gasket blew.
 
Get a new head. Everytime the head is machined, you increase compression putting more stress on the poorly designed gasket..I never had any luck machining a warped head.
 
Unfortunately head gasket failures in that area is very common on the Briggs intek single cylinders.
I've changed a couple myself.
A fire ring around the cylinder would likely help, but Briggs doesn't seem to think so.
The ones I have changed have held up for at least a few years.
I used a Briggs gasket, the cheap off brand ones on eBay might not be up to the quality needed.
I like the copper one Trav has posted above.
I bet one of those with a healthy coating of copper coat spray would hold up better than the stock gasket.
Either way, if you resurfaced the head and use at least a briggs head gasket with proper torque sequence, it should last around 200 hours or more.
 
Lubener said:
Get a new head. Everytime the head is machined, you increase compression putting more stress on the poorly designed gasket..I never had any luck machining a warped head.
Click to expand...

This.
Trav said:
Something is seriously wrong you need to check the head and the block for flatness. The gasket is wide enough in those areas.
You could try a 0.32 copper gasket like this one. this may be the one for your engine.

www.eccarburetors.com

2201 .032 Copper Head Gasket for Briggs Model 31 OHV - EC Carburetors

www.eccarburetors.com
Click to expand...
+1

Are you using a Briggs OEM gasket? I would use that or the copper head gasket, and replace the cylinder head. Also be sure you are going back to re-torque the head bolts after a few heat cycles.
 
The head bolt torque for those engines is 250 in/lbs.It was revised some years ago.The bolts should be torqued in 3 stages.75/150/250.The threads of the bolts should be coated with anti-seize and I like to oil the underside of the bolt head.There is a special bolt pattern for torquing the bolts but an inside out should suffice.My last recommendation is,after the bolts are finally tightened you loosen each bolt in turn and retorque to 250 in/lbs.You will be amazed how much further the bolts move.No need to retorque after this.Never seen the copper gasket in this part of the world,looks interesting.Please use a genuine gasket.
 
Modern day engineers at work. We get to pay and pay to be the testers for their failed engineering.
Everything learned 100 years ago was either forgot or tossed in the garbage can.
I've got many of those engines, very bad design.
 
Exactly the same thing happened to the Briggs Intek on our on demand standby generator. At 120 hours.

I will avoid Briggs in the future.
 
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