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

  well guys i just got word this morning that tecumseh will be closing its doors as of  dec 15.  this means no more rngines as well as no more parts.   a possible 3rd party is in the mix.  more to come

friiy wrote:

Yeah.  Me too.

Out with the Indian in with the Chinaman.

thanks for the info, I'm looking at snowblowers and that does have an impact on what a person should buy.

 

Dear CPD Tecumseh Dealers,

 

 

By now many of you have received letters from Toro and Ariens announcing that Tecumseh Engine Division will no longer build engines after December 2008. This is true. We want you to know that CPD has inventory in our warehouses to keep you servicing and replacing engines for the unforeseeable future. CPD does not anticipate a reduction of services in the immediate future.

 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact John Hedges, Director of Sales and Marketing at (800) 364-7938.

 

We appreciate your years of dedication to CPD and Tecumseh and anticipate many more years to come.

 

Sincerely,

mech12 -- Was 'unforeseeable' a typo on your part or is that what the letter really said? In either case, I find it rather amusing.

mfdufy,   what part is amusing to you.  the word or the fact that a sh@tload of people are going to loose thier jobs???  I have brand new 1400.00 toro snowblowers on my sales floor, which all have tecumseh engines on them.  How can i morally sell one, knowing replacement parts may not be available for them???    why dont you explain your answer a little for me  huh.....

It probably should have read "for the foreseeable future." My thought is that "unforeseeable" was a typo on someone's part. As for the rest of your concern, no one finds the loss of another American manufacturer funny. I was referring to their grammar.

I thought the phrase "unforeseeable future" was a good turn of phrase. If i'm reading the letter correctly CPD is saying they expect to have parts for an indeterminable but long time.

mech12's concern over selling equipment with Tecumseh engines is valid. I would guess that a lot of transplants ( harvest parts from old machine to go in newer one) will be occurring in the future. What about third party suppliers? There are a lot of Tecumseh engines out there and I would think the demand for parts will be good for quite a while.

Considering that a Brigss & Stratten will drop right into most Tecumseh powered equipment, why would anyone be concerned about parts supply?   The old Tecumseh L head is a durable engine provided the oil is kept up.  Chances are that when id does fail, it will probably be unrepairable.   I wouldn't be losing any sleep over parts availability.  If you have a Tecumseh engine.  Cherish it.  It's now a piece of history. 

Sad to see a company that's been a stalwart in American small engine manufacturing go down like this.   It's a God damned shame.   No one to blame but ourselves I guess.  We all want everything for the lowest possible price.   Walmart started the process of dismantling our manufacturing base over ten years ago.  Item by item, piece by piece.   We consumers enjoyed the savings while the remaining manufacturers struggled to survive.  Meanwhile the insidious process of erosion to our manufacturing base was chipping away at jobs, plants then ultimately entire businesses.   Now that the exodus of our manufacturing sectors have gained momentum, we are beginning to see the disappearance of household mainstays such as Tecumseh.   I certainly hope  that this economic crisis will be a wake up call for how we do business.  We cannot expect to compete in a global economy where labour is  thirty five cents an hour on one side of the ocean and thirty five dollars on the other.   I'm not certain what the average consumer thinks regarding this situation.  I however, would be willing to pay a few bucks more for quality products to keep people working in our countries.     Apologize  for another rant...    

I was following this closely last year and knew that there was a good chance this was coming. Knew this before i bought my machine with a tecumseh. Was a big issue for me actually.  Most dealers at that time acted like it wasn't a issue and not to worry. Almost as if they didn't know tecumseh was in trouble. But it was on the forums and private messages that i found comfort in knowing that not likely tecumseh will completely fold and if so parts should be available for long time. Here we are a year later and how it has changed. Tecumseh is closing down, parts will be around for who knows long. Kinda kickin myself in the a$$ a little, cause I saw this coming and still bought a tecumseh based machine.  None the less, the only model around here worth buying with a briggs last year was a craftsman. It was a husky and appear to be a decent model. Tho, i still feel the ariens was a lot better in a few areas. So really i was damned if I do, damned if I don't.. lol 

Hopefully my tecumseh will last long time with proper maintenance. Fingers crossed :)  But just incase some troubles arise, I was wondering if there was a few parts that maybe I should have in the backup. Things that will likely go, that don't cost much to buy.  Things that can be replaced rather they purchasing a new briggs.

Its a really shame to see this manufacture completely shut down. Hopefully somebody sees the value in making the parts.

Cheers
Goofie Newfie



 

I wouldn't sweat the parts issue.  If the engine ever stops, you can pretty much bet that it will be a catastrophic failure and a rebuild would be more expensive than a replacement B&S engine. 

Keep the oil clean & level up, keep your fuel clean, run some Seafoam through it once a year, drain the fuel tank and run the carb dry for indoor storage.   Follow those simple tips and that engine will probably last as long as you'll be able to operate the machine.