So brief history. 37 ton huskee log splitter engine was 12.5 Briggs she turned over so hard it would hurt when the cord pulled back. Plus the starter cord was metal mounted to plastic....great thinking. Anyways it was time for a redo. Sent it to boces they mouhnted a tecumseh 13 hp electric start lawnmower engine...simply amazing, till tonight. Was splitting wood heard a weird noise maybe not a noise but a change in the way the machine was running. I looked down am noticed the starter looks like it has wiggled loose the bolt that holds it to the engine. Should I be worried? Just toss another bolt in there? Should I put something like lock tight on it? Any idea what size? Here's the other issue. Bent down to pick up so me wood noticed the exhaust manifold was glowing red. Now it has always been super hot down there where it is. Bit I have never noticed this glowing red before. Any idea why it would be glowing red? Is this a bad thing? Any idea on how to fix it? Should I be concerend with it exploading? Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Check the threads in the starter bolt hole and make sure they look good and if they do see if another bolt will tighten up. Then on the manifold, is the muffler plugged up? If not you could have a vacuum leak.
Red hot exhausts aren't that rare. If you have an adjustable carb richen it up a bit. If you see a pretty blue flame coming out of the muffler when you're under load you are too lean. You could light a cigarette on the exhaust manifold of some old tractors that were set for distillate (crappy WW II low grade gasoline - kerosene - diesel blend straight off the wellhead).
Sounds like maybe some governor linkage is not right. Lean fuel or over-rev are only two things I can think of that would make a red hot muffler. Check the linkage between the governor and the carb. Make sure there are no springs unattached or anything out of place. Edit: Also, Exhaust valve could be out of spec allowing combustion to bypass to muffler.
I should make a rule to never post after bedtime, but at least I didn't lead you down the garden path. Red hot exhausts aren't visible until it's full moon dark or darker, if the engine is operating properly. So there might be nothing wrong with your engine. You set the Marvel Schebler carburetor on the old tractors by running it at high idle, turning the high speed jet screw in until the engine lost a few revs, then backing it out a half to a full turn, depending on how much you were willing to risk burnt valves. Pretty blue flames are a sign you're too lean if you're under load, but probably not if you're at high idle. Pilots flying the old radial engines at night would lean out until they saw blue flames when they reached cruising altitude. Spark plug condition can tell you a lot.
