Bad Motor on John Deere 111

[jjohnson5150]

I have a 20 - 25 year old john deere model 111 lawn tractor that has an engine I believe has blown out. I turned it off when it started to knock & spit oil. Everything else on the tractor is in good shape, so i'm wondering about getting a replacement engine for it. The shop has given me a rough quote of $500 to put in a new briggs engine. Does anyone know if there is a market for refurbished or used 8-10 hp briggs or kohler engines that would be a cheaper replacement? Does it pay to go used on small engines or would I be better off going with the new one?

[McGurk]

I had the exact same thing happen last year about 2 weeks after I bought mine used, and I swapped in a new briggs motor myself. Getting an old L-block 8hp or 10hp motor for that will be tough (eeebay and the like) and chances are it will be a used motor that will put you in the same spot again in a couple years. I found a 13.5 hp overhead-cam briggs motor at Northern Tool that was a close fit. The motor alone cost about $450, and there was a couple of things that you had to mildly modify to get it in there. It might not look as pretty, but it mows and throws snow like the best of them! Let me know if you want more info.

Look around here: I see now that the engine I bought is going for $700! Man, did I get lucky! I think you may be able to drop one of the 17.5 hp engines in there with the same mods. Good Luck!

Northern Tool's Vertical Shaft Briggs Lineup

edit: I saw that someone had put this engine in their 111 and had no (additional) problems.

17.5 hp briggs