Wayne0 1,566 #1 Posted 22 hours ago (edited) My Workhorse 1800 seems to have given up the ghost.This is my worker, and it works hard. Hard starting, back fires out the exhaust when trying to start, when it starts. Not into a rebuild. (I do know it ran out of oil once) Thinking of a Vanguard swap. How easy? or not. I know someone here has done it. Edited 22 hours ago by Wayne0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 18,272 #3 Posted 20 hours ago 1 hour ago, Wayne0 said: Thinking of a Vanguard swap. How easy? or not. I know someone here has done it. Several of us have done this swap. And Vanguard 12.5 to 23 hp horizontal shaft engines are all very similar. Electrical- since your WorkHorse had magneto ignition the wiring is easy. Vanguards are magneto ignition so no changes there. Mechanical- check the PTO shaft on your engine. It should be 1 inch diameter and about 3 inches long. Again, exactly the same as a Vanguard. Also the PTO brackets bolt right up on a Vanguard. Engine mounting- This is primarily the part you'll need to do some work. I had to fabricate a mount plate to raise the engine about 1 inch higher and the bolt pattern is not the same. In short you will need to fab up an adapter but it is a simple job. The complexity is really up to you and what you can make up. Flip through the threads below and there are pics of some of mine. Hopefully others will chime in as well. 523-H build Another Fronkenstein 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,566 #4 Posted 20 hours ago (edited) @kpinnc Thanks for that info! Now I have to find one and I don't know the the text is red! Edited 18 hours ago by Wayne0 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 78,901 #5 Posted 5 hours ago 14 hours ago, kpinnc said: Engine mounting- This is primarily the part you'll need to do some work. I had to fabricate a mount plate to raise the engine about 1 inch higher and the bolt pattern is not the same. In short you will need to fab up an adapter but it is a simple job. The complexity is really up to you and what you can make up. The mount needs to be a solid top plate per the Briggs manual. Just a stack of washers or a set of 4 spacers won't support the aluminum block well enough. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 18,272 #6 Posted 1 hour ago 4 hours ago, ebinmaine said: The mount needs to be a solid top plate per the Briggs manual. Just a stack of washers or a set of 4 spacers won't support the aluminum block well enough. This is true. Thanks for the reminder! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
