OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Robin Subaru Engines Victa 5/26 Replacement Engine

Hi All, Have been given a 5hp Victa 5/26 with a broken conrod and damaged crank.

Looking around I have found a Quantum 5hp. I asked a local mower repairer and he said that new Briggs engines are way over rated in hp and that even a 6hp is only good enough for a push mower.

He said to get the same power as the old engine I would have to go for at least an 8hp.

Is this correct? any suggestions would be great got this thing to give to the brother inlaw as a christmas gift. If I have to spend too much on it I wont bother. Thanks, Graham.

I just did a quick ask around, I couldnt chase up an original motor for you

Why not buy a new conrod and repair the motor. They are not that expensive in the online store.

Bruce, I have been quoted approx $230 for a crank.

- as the journal is chewed, without paying for a machine up first there is no way of telling if the crank can be saved.

So Approx $275 for crank, conrod, valves and guides - as the guides are worn. Thats with no gaskets, piston/rings or seating new valves.

The Quantum 5hp I seen is only $290 delivered.

Thought the way to go was to just replace the engine. That was until I was told about B & S over rating the hp of their engines.

Btw is this correct? Im sure they would end up with quite a bad name if this is so.

Hi Grahamm, You're right there mate, the new stuff has already got a bad name, most of the stuff coming out of asia is just rubbish compared to the old Briggs....even some late model Honda engines are not real brilliant

So far as power ratings are concerned, I would be surprised if B&S are telling any outright lies - partly because of their reputation and partly because of US legal issues. What people can do of course is avoid making claims and allow the buyer to make assumptions. If I sell an engine as a 'Bloggs 5' there may be the occasional gullible person who thinks that means it is 5 hp. In my limited experience, when B&S sell a 5 hp engine they put '5 hp' on it; numbers alone (like '375') only mean 3.75 hp to the buyer - they certainly don't to the seller.
I make no comment on the quality of the Chinese-made engines compared with the American-made ones, since I haven't ever owned one (neither am I in any hurry to).

I asked a guy on fleabay if a 6hp briggs he is selling would be suitable to replace the 5hp his reply-

quote "hi there....no ....the flywheel is not heavy enough,,,,you could make a heavier pulley or use the Honda GXV160 ...which we have for $495+ frt."

Spoke to a mate last night, years ago I gave hime an old briggs 8hp horizontal, he still has it and said I could have it back.

The thing is I need a vertical. Is it possible to run a horizontal engine vertical? or would there be a problem with lubrication?

This is quickly becoming a pain in the ... !

Cant rally run a 8hp horizontal vertically, not only will you have trouble with the oiling system you will also have dramas with the carby, mounts, etc.

Have talked to my mate who has the old 8hp, He said how about putting the 8 crank in the 5 crankcase.

Had a laugh build a briggs stroker!!

There is a 5hp to suit on ebay at the moment, all you would need to do is organise the courier

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BRIGGS-STRAT..._Gardening_Equipment?hash=item4149f8cb83

You guys know what the journal size is on these? looked everywhere cant seem to find the size. It is a 130902 0439 01.
Never know might be lucky and be able to have it machined but it looks pretty bad.

You can get an undersize conrod for a crank thats been machined

Joe yes you can.

But what size? still need to know if the crank has been machined in the past. And that the journal can be machined to the available rod size. All the spares places including here only list .020� undersize rods.

Hi all,
I have a victa 5/26 'trans-a-matic' as well. Mine originally had a 5hp Briggs that literally had the chrome cylinder sleeve pealing off! I replaced it with a quantum engine and it seems to run ok accept it�s a bit jerky to start (kickback). Im sure eventually the vibrations will cause it to spit some nice hot conrod out the block or something, but it does the job! By the way I haven�t had a cutting deck on it as it didn�t have one on it (but I found one on the rubbish collection) so I don�t know wether it would have enough guts to power the deck threw long grass. It is also relatively slow, around 5kmh, but very nimble (im plan to use it between and behind hedges ect where the other ride on doesn�t go) so it would be appropriate for a relatively big garden but would take some time in a bigish area.
Hope this is of some assistance
Regards jay

Jay, Maybe the solution is to do what the guy form fleabay said-
quote "hi there....no ....the flywheel is not heavy enough,,,,you could make a heavier pulley"
Maybe that would help with the kickback, as the blade holder that's on a push mower adds to the mass of the flywheel. Havn't looked yet but if there is enough room you could bolt/weld one to the pully maybe on top. Would have to be centered very well or you will introduce a vibration that if bad enough would destroy the engine. Just a thought.