Need more power

I just bought another 52" scag hydro from a guy in town. It's in pretty good shape, the engine has low hours. It';s a 16hp vanguard, i know briggs suck, but anyway it's not running at a high enough RPM and the governer won't lett the throttle go any further. Does anyone know of a way to fix this. I was thinking of taking a grinder and cutting a little notch in the govener so the trottle will go further. Thanks.

 

Check the speed with a handheld or tiny tach,can you pull more cable thru the clamp to get more throw and tension on the spring.The briggs Vanguard is a good engine-at least they have been for me,Id take one over a kohler Command anyday.16hp isnt enough for a hydro 52"Wb,if you want to mow real fast in thick grass,its not the engines fault.Vanguard is the best selling,performing,smoothest 16hp on the market,has been since it came out.a 17hp or 19hp Kawi would be the ticket if it ever goes.

 

I can't pull anymore cable through becauese the piece the cable is attached to will only go so far. I want to cut a notch so that it will pull a little further.

The Vanguard engines are ok but I'm not crazy about them. I have 2, a 14hp and a 16hp. No major problems with either yet but i would take a kawi over them in a second. My back up mower has a kawi and it's the best engine in the world. It'll start on the second pull in the middle of winter. I'd take vanguard over kohler though. The regular and i/c briggs are a diffent story though, they realy are junk. I've had nothing but problems wiht them.

Thanks

 

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THE PROBLEM IS THE ENGINE? COULD SOMETHING BE HOLDING IT BACK? DOES YOUR LACK OF RPMS HAPPEN ALL THE TIME? WITH THE BLADES ENGAGED? OR WITH THE DRIVE ENGAGED?

 

ive used a scag 52 hydro with a 16hp vangurad before. Damb thing runs quiet and smooth i kept checking to make sure the throttle was all the way up. I do agree though that 16 is not enough for a scag hydro.

 

ive not tried that machine, but i would think that 16hp would be way to small for a 52" deck. i have a 48" JD F525, and i think the 17hp is a little to small, but i also ride on it, but i would agree with John DiMartino if you ever need a different engine i would go with a 18 or 19 hp

 

I put on double blades now and it cuts alot better but it still isn't running fast enough. It's not a major problem or anything but it will help. I just need a little extra power, even the guy I bought it from told be to mess with it because it wasn't running high enough. Other than that the machine is working real nice.

I think the 16 hp is enough for that mower, i've used other mowers with that engine and it works fine. I'm gonna buy a rider this winter anyway so the scag won't be the main mower anyway. I have a 12.5 kawi on my 48" bobcat and I've cut 2' high grass with it no problem.

 

LGG,
I might not know anything but lets see. Did you check the throttle cables? Sounds stupid but it happened to me. Couldn't get enough power, checked my cables are there lied my problem. My grandpa was telling me about having dirt in your gas. That will clog your jets in the carb (I think) and cause them to run poorly. I don't know if that was a power issue but just something to check anyway.

 

How do you know it isnt high enough?The Vanguard is so smooth and quiet that you think its set to low,this has happened to me a lot.Without a tach,you really dont know how high it is,and you shouldnt go above 38-3900 no load.On mine there is a spring that can go in any one of 3 holes,on the governor shaft,i moved min from the weakest position,to the center and it picked up 200rpm's.I have a horizontal shaft and its a PITA to get to this without removing the air cleaner housing,but itll be worth your time if its now set to low.I have the vaguard and 2 kohler mag 16's,they are all set within 50 rpm's of each other,but the Vanguard sounds like its loafing along with no strain,and the kohlers are screaming,like they are going to throw a rod,so make sure you get a tachometer to be sure you not overevving it.