Ransomes 24 with villiers engine

[miker]

Mate has bought an old ransomes 24 mower, he was told it was running last year ?? it tries to start but wont,would it need some lead additive in the petrol ?as plate says use 2 star petrol, lol, anything i need to know/take with me when i have a gander?

cheers mike

:lol:

[Agi-Smash]

Any idea what model villiers is it? Clean the points, villiers are favourite for it. I wouldnt bother with any fuel additive, the compression ratio and rotational speed just wouldnt warrant it.

[miker]

ok mate, not sure what model it is, are the points behind flywheel like the old webbs ?

[Agi-Smash]

Depending on which model it it, you probably wont need to remove flywheel. Probably three spokes on flywheel so work between them, should be a round ali pot inside about inch and half round by inch deep. Flip the swivel bar out way, flip cover off and you are in.

[miker]

nice one, thanks, will let you know how i get on

[Agi-Smash]

Good stuff. Should be a plate that says model eg. Mk15hs.

Some pictures would be good too

[miker]

not down there until monday, ill take some pics either way

[spudulike]

Its a two stroke - same as any saw really:lol:

 

Take an expansion chamber andthe dremmel - you must be able to get a few extra HP out of it - stick a chair on it and let it rip:001_rolleyes:

[hedgesparrow]

some of the old engines had a inspection plate which you can take off to see points to adjust and clean without taken flywheel off. nail file is ideal for this job used it on the old moggie cars to clean points.

plus check gap on points. trying to think believe they should be 15thou gap but do not quote me long time since i worked on one.

[agg221]

Several things to check.

 

Firstly, check whether it is 2-stroke or 4-stroke (Villiers built both). Is it fuelling properly through to the carb? If there is a tickler button, can you get fuel to come right through? If it has been standing then bits settle out and block the system. Settings on choke etc will also be completely different depending on whether it has lost its air filter or not, and if it has one, whether it is single or double height (one or two sets of sliders), or something non-original that happens to fit. Can be worth taking the air filter right up, pouring a bit of fuel straight in the inlet, giving it very little choke and seeing if that is enough for it to fire up - if so you know it's the fuel system.

 

Secondly, check for decent spark. If there isn't one, points as above but also the condensor and coil can both pack up (50yr old lacquered brown paper has a finite lifetime!), although I have been lucky and this hasn't happened on any of mine yet. Another thing that can be a problem if they stand for too long is that they de-magnetise. If this is the case, you can take the cowling off to get at the nut on the flywheel, stick a socket on it, on a bar that will fit in an electric drill chuck. I cut the flat bit off the top of a coach bolt to get a half inch square at one end but you could file down any old bolt head. You then take the plug out to stop compression and spin it over on the drill for about 10mins (very boring!) but that is enough to re-magnetise it.

 

Finally, check the timing. The timing on the Villiers engines is adjusted by rotating the flywheel on the crankshaft - there is no keyway. It is held in place by what is euphemistically known as a 'hammer tight fitting', ie you have to do it up that hard. This means the timing can slip. I check this by putting a pencil down the plug hole, turning the engine to tdc (you can feel this through the pencil) and then picking something to line a mark up with on the pot, and putting a mark on the pencil at this point. You then need another mark 3/16" above it. Drop the pencil back in and line up the lower sight mark, then rotate the engine backwards to line up the upper sight mark. This should be the location where the points just start to open - if not then timing is simple to adjust by positioning the engine at 3/16" before tdc, undoing the flywheel nut (very tight), rotating the flywheel so that the points are just starting to open and then doing up the nut again.

 

Even when properly set up, they can still be a pain to start if you don't get them on the first go. The plug can oil up very easily, which means taking it out and cleaning it, and the right setting on the throttle can be tricky to find - I tend to aim for about 1/3 open.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Alec

Edited June 21, 2014 by agg221