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DarylJ

Drain plug location on 800 Special stinks, need advice

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DarylJ

Am looking for some good ideas on how to fix an annoying problem on my 800 Special.  There are two oil drain plugs on the Briggs 8 hp engine.  One faces forward and the other faces backward.  None on either side.  Short of pulling the engine and drill/tap a new plug site on the side, has anyone here found a way to avoid the godawful mess of draining oil, only to have it follow the frame or steering linkage before running all over the floor rather than into a large drain pan?  

 

Maybe my tractor in unique in not having a side drain plug (perhaps a previoius owner switched out the engine and didn’t notice the location of the drain plug would be a problem), but it not, there has to be a quick solution to the oily floor mess.  For now, I am looking for an ingenious solution to keep the mess to a minimum.  Maybe jamming a 2’ long flexible tube into the drain hole immediately on removing the drain plug, with the end of the tube inserted into a jug?  Even after finding a way to drain the oil, there is not enough room to insert a street elbow, as it will be too wide to thread into the hole.  Can do that later maybe, but not with engine still bolted onto the frame.  Any good suggestions you can offer?

Edited by DarylJ
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The Tuul Crib

Be nothin short of putting an elbow on it and drain it out the side. Kohlers are the same. Mine all drain with a 90 on the back.

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wfrpalm

Yep, an elbow would be the way to go.

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gwest_ca

Here is a picture of how it was done on the Kohler engines. The cap is hexagon so wrench fits. Use a thread sealer and the cap does not need to be tight. That way the other threads being sealed and tighter won't back out on you. Hard part is getting the elbow to tighten in the correct spot so the nipple is close to the frame.

https://www.partstree.com/parts/toro/mowers-lawn-garden-tractor/71-12k801-c-120-toro-c-120-8-speed-tractor-1977/engines/

 

Garry

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DarylJ

There is no room to put in an elbow on the Briggs 8 hp, otherwise I would have done it already.   Has anyone here with a Briggs faced the same problem?

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520hC-120

I had an 800 Special and just used the holes my drain pan was big enough to catch all oil and have room to spare.

 

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Sarge

There is the option of going to a drain hose instead of the plug or an elbow/extension. Figure out the thread size, have a hydraulic shop make up a cheap hose with a cap on the outer end and you have yourself a remote drain. There are outfits that make them specifically for different equipment and engines - due to how these newer box-store lawn tractors are built - the hose is a necessity. 

 

Sarge

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DarylJ

The longer term solution is in plain sight...remove the engine to provide working room, then install an elbow with an extension nipple having an end cap. Relatively easy fix.  My C81’s have this and it works well.  

 

Until that time, my current question was to learn if anyone had a genius way of draining one of these engines that only has a simple plug in a location that assures the drain oil will run and drip all over the place, covering everything beneath it in used oil, making for a time consuming cleanup pushing and poking rags or other absorbent material around and into the oil filled and covered nooks and crannies.  Some would say, “don’t worry about it, let it be, it’s only oil”, but cleaning up the shed/garage floor of oil that drips overnight isn’t something I enjoy each time the tractor’s oil is changed, not to mention the caked on oily dirt that accumulates on the tractor’s underside over time. 

 

The short term problem is what to do until the long term solution is implemented, when the engine gets pulled to install proper drain pipes.   For now, my short term solution to minimizing the mess is to:  Carefully loosen the plug, remove it and quickly stick my thumb over the drain hole to contain the oil, then in another quick move insert a snug rubber hose into the drain hole.  The other end of the hose is clamped off until being inserted into a drain bucket or jug.  A few drops of oil will spill during this switcheroo maneuver, but it’s better than wiping up a whole lot more that has followed every downsloping metal surface until it drips onto the floor somewhere beneath the tractor.  A 1/2” rubber hose should do it, as it fits into a 3/8 NPT coupling nice and snug.  Will be giving it a try soon to see if it works as hoped or not. 

 

 

 

Edited by DarylJ

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