Replacement engine for gravely 36” walk behind.

[Wreckster23]

Hoping someone here knows something I don’t. I got a used gravely walk behind a year ago, cuts great, ran like a top. Till it seized. Turns out it leaked oil pretty bad the last few cuts. Tried to save it and it’s toasted, so I need a replacement engine.

The original is a Kawasaki fs481v. 14.5hp I think?

I’d happily place a harbor freight motor in it if I thought 5.5hp was enough. Maybe closer to 10hp would be ideal.

Anyone know of cheap engines or something I can get this going again with? If I had the means I would just buy myself a new walk behind. Alas, mowers are expensive these days. I do have a smaller walk behind for now, that takes a while.

 

[PWC Repair]

Why not place an ad on Facebook? I'm sure there's a guy around you close that messes with mowers as a hobby.

 

[Byrdnyrd]

Wreckster,

I had a BUNCH of Gravelys in my past, they are incredible machines!! I do recall that there was a suitable replacement engine but I can’t remember the details.

This is a great forum for all things tractor and I know it has a separate section just for walk behind tractors. Check it out!

www.tractorbynet.com

Good luck

Cheers,
BN

 

[Byrdnyrd]

^^^^^^ This!

At one point I had 6 Gravely machines and I never paid more that $200 for them!

 

[Wrench97]

You can still buy the FS481V engine.

 

[Wreckster23]

Yeah. For $1000 or so right? I didn’t pay that for the whole mower. I’d contemplate it but that’s near not worth restoring a 20yo mower.

 

[The Cobbler]

I doubt a 5 HP engine would be a viable replacement for a 14HP engine . A 10 might do if you were a real baby on it .

 

[nadogail]

Right off the top off my head, I would consider a 13 horse engine if the dimensions come close to matching.

 

[Byrdnyrd]

The original Gravely Model L was 5.5 HP. I ran tbat machine with a 30” Brush hog for 10 years! It was unstoppable! It was 5.5 REAL HP, not Craftsman theoretical HP measured at 61,000 RPM

BN

 

[Cjb1979]

You could smallenginewarehouse.com.

 

[Firebrick43]

The original Gravely Model L was 5.5 HP. I ran tbat machine with a 30” Brush hog for 10 years! It was unstoppable! It was 5.5 REAL HP, not Craftsman theoretical HP measured at 61,000 RPM

BN

He isn't talking about the L/C series gravely two wheel tractors. He is talking about a zero turn walk behind commercial mower. Nothing is remotely similar except the walk behind part. I don't know if this is the exact model but it is something like this.

Hoping someone here knows something I don’t. I got a used gravely walk behind a year ago, cuts great, ran like a top. Till it seized. Turns out it leaked oil pretty bad the last few cuts. Tried to save it and it’s toasted, so I need a replacement engine.

The original is a Kawasaki fs481v. 14.5hp I think?

I’d happily place a harbor freight motor in it if I thought 5.5hp was enough. Maybe closer to 10hp would be ideal.

Anyone know of cheap engines or something I can get this going again with? If I had the means I would just buy myself a new walk behind. Alas, mowers are expensive these days. I do have a smaller walk behind for now, that takes a while.

A 10 hp engine would choke on it. All the sheaves are sized for the high blade tip speed. 10 hp may work if you resize the sheaves to slow down the blades but then it would not have the air flow thru the deck and cut that you have come to like.

Is your gravely a belt tension machine or a hydro?

 

[Skooterj]

There is a 16 HP vertical shaft on Ebay for $540 ish.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[gregs]

At this point probably best to recycle it. You dont want to spend anything on it and trying to find and adapt something else on the cheap usually doesnt work out. Should have fixed the leak or at least kept the oil full.

 

[Byrdnyrd]

As Rosanna-Danna would say……….Never Mind……

 

[Wreckster23]

Belt machine.

Bet bet might just be to find another used I guess. Can be had for under $1000, just not something I had budgeted for.

 

[Davefr]

Didn't Studebaker make engines for Gravely? These are cool machines especially with the sulky.

 

[gregs]

Didn't Studebaker make engines for Gravely? These are cool machines especially with the sulky.

Studebaker owned Gravely for a period of time (did not make or design anything) along with a number of other companies over the years.

 

[Firebrick43]

Didn't Studebaker make engines for Gravely? These are cool machines especially with the sulky.

You wouldn’t like the standard sulky much after it crushed one of your testicles. The were guilty of it if you turned at the same time driving through a ditch/depression. My 526 almost did it to me twice, once caught my leg pretty bad and another time brushed my testicle but got the seat mostly. Stopped using the sulky after that.

The steering sulky didn’t pivot to the side so it was safe but the were a little more involved to attach/detach and didn’t work very well on an L or C model unless you had the governor attachment. Too much going on but your hands were on the steering wheel instead of the handle bars.

They were ok on a Kohler 500/5000 series tractor.

@gregs had it right about Studebaker having no involvement in engine design.

The L motor came out in 1937 well before studebaker bought them in 1960. The 6.6hp motor came out in 1955. The 7.6 motor introduced in 1966 was just a jug with a little more metal to prevent cracking and a different flat head to raise compression along with a slightly larger carb Venturi. All parts that will bolt onto a 6.6 motor.

Studebaker may have encouraged gravely to stop making their own engine and switch over entirely to the Kohler in 1976? They sold to Ariens in 1982

 

[gregs]

McGraw -Edison owned them for a short period as well. The factory in Clemons NC was impressive for the times. When you look at the equipment they produced it had lots of cast and machined parts. They really made just about everything less the engine and tires.