There goes the gas milage.
13 to 19 hp ,, is a pretty good jump in power, be careful on those Z corners. You might spin like a top if you sneeze or something ;)

Don't really care about the gas milage... the newer version of this mower all had larger engines. This mower has always taken some finesse since it uses a joystick instead of dual levers. All that being said this engine has pressure lubrication and I think it will do better on my sloped yard. I think mowing on the slopp caused the engine to wear out much sooner.

" I think mowing on the slopp caused the engine to wear out much sooner"

Slopes don't cause engines to wear out sooner, insufficient lubrication does. Check the oil level regularly and keep it right on the full mark and the 19 should do fine.

Your probably correct... however I always kept it toped off and used snapper oil. Dealer talked me into a couple of cases when I bought the mower... I cannot wait to get the new one installed, however I may have a challenge with the muffler. Even if it fits it may not be sized correctly for the 19.

Too small tailpipe and you wear out your oil and rings too, pretty darn quick.

Well i have it installed, I guess I should have asked for advice on removing the lower pulley on the engine shaft... I damaged it using a puller, finally had to use heat to get it to come off. While it looks like my muffler will fit, I am contacting the seller to get a part number for a larger one. Looks Like I also need a 7041822 pulley. Last but not least the engine manual does not have a schematic to wire it up. Also I was startled to find out that after I got the belt off the pulley... the old motor turns over just fine! I guess I will not let the mechanic from the local snapper dealer advise me again. Looks I may have a spare 13 hp motor.

Well it probably doesn't matter, but in checking the IPL for your engine, 31P877-0121, it shows a governor/oil slinger. The presence of this indicates that the engine is not FULL pressure lubed, generally indicates that the oil pump dumps the oil back to the lower crankshaft main bearing only which was never a problem spot anyway.

I have cautioned many times on this list that the presence or absence of an oil filter does not indicate FULL pressure lubrication or lack of it.

There were full pressure lubed engines made that did not have an oil filter, but not recently as far as I know. On the other hand, B&S has recently turned out lots of engine with oil filters that were not full pressure lubed.

You can go to the B&S home site, follow links, parts, engine, model and type number and get the IPL for your engine.

Walt Conner

Walt I appreciate your comments and wisdom. I have learned several things on this project. I only paid about $20 more for the engine with a filter so that should have been a clue. In any case having filtered oil cannot be a bad thing. I ordered a new pulley today and will be removing the eletric pto tomorrow to see what is wrong with it. I found a briggs part number for a muffler although my existing muffler may work. I found a matching part number on the ipl for the 13hp motor and the 19hp motor for the muffler. Even if it will work I would love to find a much quieter muffler.

Well I recieved my pulley, it looks perfect. I also found a correct muffler for the motor I have and bought a takeoff from my snapper dealer where I ordered the pulley. I also found the real issue, the pulley above the pto has a bad bearing. It froze up which kept the engine from starting since it does not have an idler in the path. I then spent the next 4 hours trying to get it out! What a PITA.... More lessons learned, should have pulled the deck before I started, knowing I probably had a bad pulley... I should have tried to get it out before mounting the new engine!
So far I have found a bad snapper dealer, a good snapper dealer... bought a new motor I did not really need... and finally found the real problem.

Frankenmower is alive and well. I had to run a new wire to supply 12volts to the anti-backfire solenoid at the base of the new carb. The engine starts and runs great. I moved the oil drain fixture off the old engine to retain it for future oil changes. I am using the original 14amp hour 190 cca battery and it seems to fire it up just fine. I still have to hang the deck back under it. I thought I would give some tlc to the deck while I had it off. I would love to sandblast it and repaint it. At the very least I will powerwash it and spray some rustoleum on it... the spindle seems to be in great shape. I have always liked this design in that the belt can be replaced without using tools. I guess it is just like the Snapper RER versions with the 28-30 inch decks. I may look for a 38 inch deck to hang under it as this mower came as a 33" or a 38" deck.

I would like to thank everyone on this forum that offered such helpful advice. Also this B&S 19hp seems much smoother... I guess the Anti vibration system works. It now has a new PTO drive belt, however the belts for the hydro and deck are still original. The belt for the hydro's seemed in good shape... as did the deck belt. However if I find a cheap used 38" deck I will still need to replace it.

Well I have one last post for this.... I made the best upgrade on this old snapper so far... the motor runs great, the deck is cutting very well... So I added a high back seat to the replace the old worn out seat. I bought it at Northern Tools. I had to make an adapter to make it fit... but I am telling you it makes it feel like a new mower again!!