Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

hi everyone

l have a 1981 toro 824 with a 8 hp tecumsech on it , the 8 hp ran not to bad considering its age but seemed a little tired, so the other day l was standing in the shop  looking at my go cart l built it has 5.5 honda on it,  and l began to think of how hard it would be to put the honda on the toro,  well today l put it on and  wow it wasnt very much work at all, l had to drill new holes in the motor plate to move the motor foward but amazingly it had the same height as the 8hp tecumsech, and l had to buy two new pulleys at tsc for 10.00/each  that would fit the 3/4 crank (honda) the old pulley on the tecumsech was 1in, the idler bracket and pulley for the drive belt bolted to the tecumsech oil pan which the honda bolt holes where a direct fit unbeliable, so all l did was weld the new pulleys from tsc together and thats it put the belts back on and the cover and fired it up works better than the old 8hp and if you ask me its close to the same power. l live in ontario canada and we  just got a $#%* load of snow about 30-40cm, and l took it outside and started blowing snowbanks that where over top of the shute in second gear and it didn't even bog down very impressed!

l bought the toro as is not running for $75, and the honda motor is what people say a nock off but in my opinon its a honda without stickers, anyway l bought it new for $128 on sale at princess auto, so for about 250 dollaurs and about 3 hours of work l have well working machine, an idea for someone thats thinking of a repower something to consider?

Good going bud.  It's nice when things fall into place.    For the price you paid, I say that engine is probably a Chinese copy of a Honda.  Some are good, others not so good.  I have a Mitsubishi six horse power on a pressure washer.  For the life of me, it does not show where it's manufactured.  I bought the pressure washer for $250.00 new from CTC.  I have strong suspicions that it's also Chinese.  However, when I looked the engine over, I was impressed with it's build quality.  Lots of gussets on the crank case for rigidity and probably helps cooling as well.  Engine runs great too.   So, if it is Chinese, we'll have to see how well it holds up also.    

borat,

yeah its the chinese model, but when you compare parts there the same, like the carb, tank, intake/exhuast valves, crank, crankshaft lenght, hp incraments. l think there defects or reconditioned but they advertise them as new, doesn't make sense why would they let somebody else copy there design exactly dont sound right me, like a said before its a honda without the stickers on it, l've heard bad things about them like they  like drop valves and have carb problems apearntly, but l have had my motor for 2.5 years now and have havent touched a thing on it, and till this day its starts first or second pull every time now that sounds like a honda if u ask me.

just my opinion

Niper99:

It's not as though Honda authorized the Chinese to reproduce their products without their consent.  Occasionally, an engine manufacturer will license a foreign company to build their  products.   Usually the foreign country will have laws that will force their business to adhere to contract drawn up with companies looking to do business with them.  As you are probably aware, China is a world leader in counterfeiting and copying successful designs and selling them on the market to resemble the original product without actually using the original manufacturers name (i.e. Honda).    When a customer looks at the Chinese knock off, they see exactly the same engine without the original brand name logos on them.  The customer then thinks that the product is an original (Honda) just without the logos.  The Honda Cub engine is a classic example of Chinese copying a successful design.  Look at the cheap little motorcycles and atvs being sold at Chinadian Tire.  They all have the Cub engine copy  in them.  Unfortunately, there IS a difference in quality between the original Honda and the knock offs.  It's more of an issue of consistency in quality.  You buy a real Honda and you're 99.9% certain to have a rock solid durable engine.  With the Chinese knock off engines, it's  any body's guess.  I would like to clarify that I'm speaking of the knock offs.  Not the legitimate Chinese built engines under contract with main stream manufacturers.  I would say that a Honda built under license in China would still be a good engine.  As good a the same engine built in Japan?  Not sure about that.   Here's a picture of my Mitsubishi that I suspect is of Chinese manufacture.  Not certain but fairly sure. 

 

borat

all that could be true, l'm just not realy buying it, anyway l've seen your engine before but mine looks just like the orginal honda. l guess well have to wait and see how are engines do over time with durabilty and reliablity, good luck with yours