OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Stripped Spark Plug Thread - Victa Power Torque

Hi guys, new here as I have just been given a Victa Vantage by my father in law as he is upgrading to something with auto drive to help with his back. Anyway, the thing is a pain in the arse to start and judging by the external condition (looked after but a mess) I figured it could do with some new parts so I bought the usual, new blades, air filter and spark plug.

So I have removed the spark plug, the thing was a mess and I am surprised it sparked at all. Now I have gone to insert the replacement to find it won't screw in, it goes in all the way but it won't tension. I check the old plug and found small strips of metal inside it's thread WTF? So I decided to remove the head to have a better look, upon removing it I can now see that it has no thread at all, just the faintest lines of where one used to exist, great!

After speaking to my father in law it turns out since buying it he has never serviced it since new which I guess is about 1997? He really is the prime candidate for a 4 stroke...

So what are my options? I have the head off ready to go to a mower shop to get rethreaded I guess? or perhaps to just buy an old head that still has thread in tact? If the mower shop does rethread the hole does that mean I have to move to a wider plug to accommodate? I assume they can supply one if that is the case.

If someone can convince me to buy a tap and die kit and do it myself I could give it a go but I figured for the expense on purchasing the gear I might only ever use a handful of times it might just be worthwhile and save time getting it done by those that do it for a living.

Thanks in advance!

you could get a helicoil fitted which will renew the thread, but if its a powertorque engine i would just grab another head and fit to it. it wouldbe a lot less trouble

if its a vantage it may be a 4 stroke tecumseh, not sure

Either a helicoil (buy a kit or get a local mechanic to do it) or a replacement cylinder head if that's cheaper. A properly fitted helicoil is way stronger than a new aluminium head, so a replacement head would need to be cheaper to be worthwhile. If it's a Victa 2 stroke or a B&S, there is probably a scrap head within walking distance of you on some nature strip waiting for the hard waste collectors.

I keep a couple of heads on my shelf for that reason alone, if I were going to sell one to somone I would only ask $5-10 as I end up throwing most of them into the scrap metal bin.

Sorry it's a 2-stroke model, I didn't realize the power torque engine came in a 4 stroke as well? Although it probably didn't in 1997.

There is a stamp serial on the head of EN72515A

My first thought was to just buy a replacement head but I couldn't find any on line? Perhaps the mower shop, like a few of you seem to have, will just have old heads lying around for a cheap price at which point it would be the easiest option. Then I'll just need a gasket to put it back together. Also if I get a replacement head is the decompressor easy to swap over assuming it doesn't come with one still attached?

The Victa Powertorque is specifically a 2-stroke. I think most of us saw your reference to Victa Vantage, which was either 2 or 4 stroke, rather than relying on the heading.

Powertorque parts, including cylinder heads, should be cheap and plentiful since a lot of them were made years ago and many are currently being thrown away. Some members prefer to scrounge spare parts for such mowers by finding one that has been thrown away, and salvaging what they need. Alternatively many mower shops wreck them and sell the parts, and some members here sell second-hand parts from the copious stocks they have scrounged. Hence you should have a range of options available. I gather Joe Carroll can help you out, and he has indicated a price. If you talk to mower shop people, you can do so in the knowledge of what a reliable person (Joe) would ask for the same part.

Ok so I have found an old mower shop near me that is still operating like the mower shops of old and the owner reckons he could dig one up for me at a cost of $15 So I am pretty happy with that as I was quoted $40 to have a new thread inserted and it would cost me about $50 to buy the thread kit to do it myself.

One other thing, I asked this up top but it might of been missed, how hard is it to transfer the decompressor if the replacement head doesn't have one? Is there any O rings involved that would need to be replaced?

You may want to check the various O rings anyway while you are tidying up the Powertorque, since they are a traditional weakness of the design, but I seem to recall Bruce says let sleeping dogs lie: if the mower runs properly, leave the O rings alone. The decompressor just screws in with a 14 mm (i.e. standard spark plug) thread.

Thanks grumpy and everyone else with your replies, I am new to working on mowers but I am familiar with 2-strokes after working on bikes although they don't have decompressors

I'll let you know how I go with the replacement head after I have put everything back together. Hopefully I end up with a clean mower that doesn't require you to tire yourself trying to start the bastard before you even attempt to mow the lawn

Unless there is something wrong with it, Powertorques are normally easy to start. If it doesn't turn out that way, there are several Victa 2 stroke enthusiasts here who can help you fix it. That doesn't include me - I don't much care for 2 strokes, and if they have cantilevered crankshafts and plastic carburetors (as Powertorques do), I just walk right past them with my eyes averted, holding my nose.

i have been buying complete mowers from the local dumd for $5 or ratting bits for $1
i got a hurricane with a vsx for $5 and it cost me $8 to fix it.
so local dump or scrap metal joints are worth a shot to.

Minor Update

Picked up my parts this morning. For anyone living in Canberra I got the parts (replacement used alloy head, new spark plug and gasket) for $25 from "Scullin Mower Repairs" in Scullin. I'm not sure who it was I dealt with but I would guess the owner. He was very helpful and although I might of been able to source the parts cheaper individually elsewhere, I like supporting local business

As expected the head came minus decompressor so I will have to swap that over first. I'll also clean the replacement head (even though it is not as dirty as the original) with some degreaser before putting it back together, given the heatsink design much easier to do whilst off the mower.

Good stuff,hope all goes well...ken

Ok so replacement head is on, I didn't spend too much time cleaning, just made sure the surface where the gasket fits on the head and the block was clean. New spark plug in and what do you know, the thing started first time!! I didn't even pull the cord very hard

So I am very happy with that. My only issue after doing this is that pulling the throttle back to stop doesn't stop the engine cold like it used to... it actually struggles to stay alive, could I of bumped something?

I also fitted new blades, the old ones were fused out (no swing) and judging from the edge on them I think they were beating the grass into submission rather than cutting it.

Well done banjo, you've got it working as it is supposed to.

It sounds as if the ignition kill wire is not being grounded when you put the speed control into the stop position. Most likely either the speed control cable needs adjustment, or one of the two wires is not properly fitted to the carburetor. One, from the magneto, is the kill wire and the other is the ground wire. To stop the engine, the kill and ground wires have to be brought into contact with each other. This happens inside the carburetor.

I usually do it this way.

Remove the carb and air cleaner assembly as one and take it to the bench. Pull it all apart clean and back together. Once im done Hold the carb down in near where its meant to be and plug the wires in, using a new stop rubber, reusing the cover if its ok.
With the spark plug out and wire on and the plug earthed to the head (Small vice grips and a bit of creativity needed) pull the starter cord and check for spark. Move the throttle to off and pull again checking for no spark. Repeat a few times.

If its all good, then put the carby onto the motor plumb up some fuel and get into it.
If its not curse and swear.

Cheers, Bob.