Finally got some time to work on my "new" 582 this afternoon, and I realized why IH stayed with Kohler engines so long in the Cub Cadets....whoever invented the Briggs carb on a 582 was on dope!!!!
You have to take the manifold off just to remove the carb, fixed main jet, goofy governor, idle jet underneath the fuel pump body, and those diaphragm fuel pumps are fun to re-assemble without dropping the little brass springs!!!
BUT, the good news is the 582 is now running good and strong on a spottless carb, new fuel lines, new plugs, and filter!!! Added 600 rpm as well to get it up to the 3600 no-load spec....(never could quite figure out why people don't take engines all the way up to the rated RPM's...it's just wasted potential at anything less) Clutch seems pretty stout too, as I was able to pull the front wheels off of the ground easily at 1/2 throttle in 3rd gear!!!
There seems to be no good way to drain the oil in those Briggs motors though, at least not that I could find today...everything is a pipe plug ABOVE the mounting plate. I'm hoping that the oil that the oil that dripped off of the mounting plate was just the remenants of a PO's oil change, and not a leak at the rear main seal or block.
In the next few weeks it will get a sleeve hitch, spring assist, some gear shift work, and a set of 8.50 Stones....then it will get a good work out at Plow Day!
All in all it's shaping up to be a nice red tractor!