The Grim Tiller

I dragged this pathetic abandoned rototiller out of its shed today where it has evidently been on sabbatical for a couple years. The story I got was the research it had been doing had suddenly lost its funding, but no one remembered the tiller was still on the job. Now, penniless and decrepit, the forlorn tiller has been waiting for someone (even as witless as me) to appear and save it.

Much to my dismay, it looked much worse than Bob described it to me. Apparently it had deteriorated during its solitary confinement, which I am betting resulted from its refusal to start one day. The bit about its funding drying up was likely a ruse in hopes the Obama administration will come up with some NEA-HHS stimulus funding package for cases like this one.

I naively thought it only needed an air filter, new spark plug and maybe a little carb cleaner, but when I twisted off the gas cap, the fumes nearly knocked me over. I dumped out a few nasty looking quarts of the old gas (in an approved OHSA container, of course) and realized the tank had about an inch of rust in the bottom. Does that mean the carb is full of rusty old gas too? Could I be so naive to hope that naval jelly will save the day? Where can I buy naval jelly in Wayne County, Utah? Do I really want to tackle this icky job?

With much bravado and false self-esteem I plowed forward with the job. I removed the air filter holder and degreased the engine case and carburetor with a handy bottle of Simple Green. Yes, I used nearly the whole bottle.

But when I started to take the carb and gas tank off I realized I needed Torx wrenches. What the hell was Briggs and Stratton thinking, using Torx screws on this simple engine? That led to a futile search for tools, resulting in a bit of whining, foot stomping and throwing things in Bob's garage. Have I mentioned that he refuses to organize things in the physical world? He does organize his virtual world with outstanding skill, however, this doesn't make me feel any better when I confront the horrifying wasteland he calls "the garage".

In a fit of pique I gathered all the tools I could find (without opening boxes or looking under the scary motorcycle parts stacked everywhere) and dumped them all in an empty toolbox. The, I cleared a swath from the door of the garage to the area where I dumped the tools. This will be completely unhelpful in the long run, but made me feel useful today. Useful in the way a politician feels useful when he or she adds an amendment to a bill which he or she knows won't ever make it out of the committee hearing, but they are proud that now it has a bit of their own handiwork and ego inserted into the morass.

Meanwhile, I need to find a repair and maintenance manual for this engine. I fear that some ciritical parts are missing because I have noticed that a bungee cord is functioning as an aftermarket throttle control or something similar. Maybe the bungee is the governor or part of the safety mechanism?

The engine is a B+S 5.5 hp I/C MOdel #134202.

If anyone has info on this engine, now is the time to share it with me!

Otherwise, I may have to set the whole damn thing on fire tomorrow.