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

I suppose anything is repairable but would it be worth it. I can do the work myself & obviously I'd need to replace the 2 castings & conn rod & bushing, but what else would I expect to replace? crank, crank bushings, valves, piston, rings? Soon it may be up to the same cost as buying a decent used engine.

Opinions would be appreciated.

Cheers

As with most questions a lot depends on your personal idea of "worth".

I've blown a couple of engines and when I checked it out the cost of a short block ( the stuff needed to repair something like that) was very close to getting a new engine so for me it wasn't worth it financially. From a "learning how to do it" point of view I found it very attractive but since I was short on time I decided just to buy a new engine. I still have to two busted engine so I still may go the short block route more as a learning experience than a financial one.

I'd suggest finding out the costs in time and money and then make a decision.

You're kidding right? If not, I'd say NO! Due to the angle of the picture, it's hard to say for sure, bit it looks like a Tecumseh L head. Just curious, is that what it is and was it low on oil before it let go? Obviously, the engine was on it's last legs before it blew. I wouldn't use any of the residual internal engine parts that "appear" undamaged. It's very difficult to determine if bearings and other moving parts are now contaminated with engine grit and after putting a rod through the crank case, the crank might no longer be true. You can keep parts like the electric start, recoil pull start, magneto parts, pulleys etc. However, I'd dump the rest. You can get a new small engines for very good prices here: http://www.smallenginewarehouse.com/enginesearchaction.asp?qs=snow Good luck.

     If you have the model of the engine ..  I would sell some of the parts on Ebay to offset the cost of a new engine...

Fuel tank, carb , magneto , rewind and flywheel, alternator all have value to someone..   The crank is mosty ok,  it may need to be turned at worst...

Post the model number, I will look for a short block and give you a price...It will be about $150 I think,  but is everything you need..   and the you won't have a problem bolting it to your equipment.  

Now there is good Chinese motors on the market,   but bolting them onto your unit may be a pain..... (crank sizes/ keyways and hardware mounting holes for guards)

After buying things too make it fit you could run up the cost of a motor by $75 bucks ....

Godd Luck..

Friiy

  

Thanks guys. I haven't rebuilt any small engines yet, but your comments reflect what I suspected. I don't have the engine, I saw it for sale on the local KIJIJI. I believe it is an L head . Here's a shot of the front.


I haven't called yet, & don't think I will. I am looking at another machine with a working 10 horse tecumseh that I have to check out. still working on replacing my 5 horse with something larger. I did get an 8 but I forgot to check the shaft length before I bought & it may be too short. Still shopping for pulleys.
BY the way, I'm working under the assumption that as I go up in horsepower, I can probably increase the auger pulley size on the motor to speed things up, a little.

Borat, I did talk to that Small Engine place a while ago & from memory, they don't ship to Canada.

Thanks

Yeah. I'm spoiled I guess. I'm only half an hour from the border. I have my US purchased stuff shipped to a handler on the US side and pick it up myself. Clearing Canadian Customs at the border cost nothing and all I normally pay is taxes. It's amazing how much can be saved, particularly with our strong dollar. A ten h.p. B&S engine at a local shop will be close to $1000.00. The same engine from Small Engine Warehouse, shipped to the border, taxes included is less than half of that! We get gouged mercilessly by the dealers up here in the Great White North.......

the only thing good on that engine is the alternator and flywheel.   

Ok I passed on that one, but I did just pick up another whole blower with a 10 Hp but I have a question about compression readings. When I got my 5-24 last year I tested it with a compression gauge. After about 4 or 5 pulls it got up to about 90 which I am told is ok and she ran well last year. I also got an HM80 which I tested & it went up to 120. This latest HM100 only tested at 60. So what should I do, what is  the basic for overhauling one of these, new rings & lap the valves?

Thanks

Sixty psi is pretty low. Not sure what the specifications are for that particular engine but the engines I work on have compression readings of around 120 psi. cold engine. The first thing I'd check is the valve lash to make sure the valves are closing completely. If they're out of spec. adjust them accordingly and check compression again. if it's still low, you'd probably at the minimum need to do a ring and hone job. Depending on how many times you want to take the engine apart, you could do the work incrementally or, do it all in one shot. Top end job will need an over sized piston and rings maybe a new wrist pin & circlips. If the connecting rod is good (no lateral play) that will save work and money. How was the oil in the engine when you got it? Was it up or low?

Oil was ok, about 3/4 the way up and fairly clean.
I am concerned about honing these engines because reading through various postings here, there seems to be some concern about the hardness of the cylinder walls (aluminium) and durability. Also measuring the bore to get the right piston/ring combo seems complicated. I have rebuilt a few car engines back in the stone age (pre-electronics) so I'm not concerned with doing the work, but I'd like to get it right if I'm going to do it at all. How finicky do you need to be there?

Thanks

Are you sure that engine has an aluminum bore? I thought those old Tecumseh engines had cast iron bores? If it's cast iron, you can have it honed and possibly get by with a set of oversized rings (if such thing is available for that engine). If it's aluminum bore, I'd just put in a set of over sized rings. You'll have to make sure that the new rings will fit correctly. That will require an end gap measurement. To do that, you put the ring in the cylinder about 1/2" down from the top. Use the piston to push it down to make sure it's in nice and square. Take out the piston a use a feeler gauge and measure the gap between the ends. If the gap is too tight, you can file down one end a bit to get it right. Rings are very hard. You'll need a good file and only remove a very little at a time.