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

I have a Honda 13-hp GX390 engine I want to build a monster SnowBlower. What deck should I be looking for that can handle this engine??????

The 45" MTD blowers are big enough to challenge that engine. In fact they come stock with 420cc motors.

JimmyM wrote:
How large are the MTD Impellers in Diameter ?  How big is the MTD Auger in Diameter ?  How much larger is the 48" MTD's Friction Wheel drive than its 26" machines. 

Ok guys here is a picture I just placed the engine on the Body of course non of the mounting holes line-up. 1st I will have to drill 4 new holes and then play around with the pulleys. So far it looks like it will work

I am trying to figure out how to post a picture

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/Rolm/MonsterSnowblower001.jpg[/IMG]

Looks great.

Did you see the guy that repowered the Deere 1032 last year?  Not sure how similar your engine is to the one he used, but this series is worth a look.
http://www.youtube.com/user/31pockets#p/u/56/4YvyMSgQXXI

Bill_H wrote:

Great video series. Well worth watching.

After the inserted picture shows up the curser should be at the lower right of the picture.  If you hit enter the curser will go down a line and to the left margin.  The next inserted picture will go below the first.  Inserting in a row blows the thread out to the right.

It looks like your second picture did not show up.  The http you enter is has to be exactly correct.  Sometimes download software makes the name tag .jpg, jpeg, JPG or JPEG.  The Abbys server is case sensitive so possibly there's a mismatch.

Thank you for the youtube link I did review a few of his videos very informative. I did not want to do what he did I do not have a shop nor do I weld. I basically wanted a plug and play project. This why I looked for a new body I was lucky to find a 2 year old Murray body unfortunately the engine was gone I would have liked the engine for a reference such as the size of the original pulleys. I wanted  to install the same drive pulley and increase the auger pulley by 25% that will spin the auger faster and throw the snow further and faster. I was also lucky where the original belt cover will fit.

The challenges are 1) find out the original size auger pulley 2) buy a bunch of belts and find the proper size. 3) find a way to install a belt tensioner  for the drive belt, it must have been bolt it on the original engine.  4) Raise the Shute crank by ˝”  note it is on top of the engine. 5) test and adjust as required.

I did repower a 24 inch  with a 12 impeller with a 6.5-hp engine the original was a 5-Hp Tec engine and everything was plug and play it took less than 1 hour to complete the job and you would not believe the difference in performance. I think it was the best snowblower for the average size drive-way I regret selling it.

You can estimate the auger pulley size.  3600 x diameter / diameter of bigger pulley.  You were probably around 1200-1400 RPM, but you might be able to find it somewhere.

If you can get some specs off the model and serial numbers, you can probably look up the original part numbers and get the descriptions for belt length and original crank height.

"3) find a way to install a belt tensioner  for the drive belt, it must have been bolt it on the original engine."
 From what I've seen, the drive belt idler (tensioner) pulley is mounted on the body of the blower, not the engine. You should get a copy of the manual/parts list from the manufacturer or on line to see what you are missing. Usually the model/sn are on a tag or plate attached to the rear of the traction section.

Cheers