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

 Blew up my snow blower engine, White Outdoor 31AH6GLF790. Piston arm broke and cracked the block. Been looking online and in the local area for two weeks. The engine, new or used seems to be nonexistent. Since Tecumseh Power is out of business I feel I'm out of luck.

I was wondering if changing the engine to a Briggs is something a novice mechanic could tackle. From what I've read bolt downs are standard. But crankshaft sizes very widely. And with that comes drive and arguer pulleys not matching or lining up. I've thought about taking it to shop but I'm sure by the time an engine could be refitted the cost would be more then a new machine.The blower its self is in great shape. Just seems like a waste to junk it.

Anyway, anybody have some thoughts?  

What you want to do is search for "repower".  A lot of people have done just that.  Some using cheap $100 Chinese engines with good results.  First thing you have to do is pull the cover off your belts and determine if you have 1 shaft or 2 shafts side by side coming out the front of the engine.  If you have only 1 shaft you are in luck and it should be easy to do.  If you have 2 shafts you are going to have substantially more trouble.  It is true that shafts come in different sizes, but most of them are going to be 3/4" or 1" diameter.  Depending on HP and manufacturer you might run into different shaft heights from bottom of engine.  Most of these can be solved by doubling the difference and getting a belt that is that much longer.  (If the shaft sits 1" higher, you will need a belt that is 2" longer.)  The problem with a higher shaft is that you will end up with the pulleys rubbing on the top of the belt cover.  Tecumseh or Briggs should not make a big difference as they both follow similar standards.  At most your trouble might end up being having to knock out the old bolts and drill new holes in the frame for new bolts.  Most of the time similar rated engines will have the same mount and that won't matter.  One other problem you will most likely have is the engine type.  Yours is an LH type engine which is L-Head or Flat head.  These engines mostly stand straight up so they don't stick off much to the side.  Most new engines are OHV or overhead valve.  The valves sit on top of the engine, and the piston sits in the engine at an angle.  This causes the engine to be a little bit wider than the old one.  Because of this, most people have to move the handle to crank the chute.  Some move it out further, some move it down lower, some put U-joints into it to bend it down under the engine then bring it back up in the back.

Anyone with a little common sense and basic hand tools should be able to change the engine if you have a single shaft.  If you have the 2 shaft setup it is more complicated because the 2 shafts turn in opposite directions and at different speeds and that will mix up your transmission.  You will end up with F for R and R for F.  You will also end up with all speeds twice as fast.

   That model has two belts that run off the crankshaft only. 

    A repower for that model will be fussy.

   It has a chute support bracket that will limit engine options.  It mounts to the bolt holes on the front of the engine that are around the crankshaft.  All engines that would be replacements for the LH358SA will have those but they must match the location of an LH358SA holes when bolted to the base of the snowblower.  They would have to match in three directions to have the support match to the back of the chute head. 

   It would be difficult to measure your engine to get the locations of the bolt holes for comparison to other engines.  You'll probably never find prints of other engines with all the measurements you need and not find engines around where you can take physical measurements.  You'll probably have to go with getting a similiar HP LH358SA from NOS or second hand. 

   A possible complication is the engine number is not recognized by a few places but does show on others.  That sometimes means it was a special order for MTD.  I think the crankshaft will be 1 inch stepped to 7/8ths but you can check that yourself.  The crank end is also drilled and threaded.

   Given the chute support mounting and the possibly stepped crank that's drilled you might want to consider calling a small engine place like Jacks and see if they can help you locate a Tecumseh NOS engine.  I have had instances of Jacks online listings saying none available but calling found they did.  A lot depends on the person you get on the phone also.  One time I called and the support person said no replacement possible and later called and found they did as the person dug a bit more.   Just to be clear, you'll probably never find an exact NOS match for your engine number but can find a NOS similar engine.

   There are other engines that may be possibilities besides the 8.5hp.  Some 9.5 through 11hps are a match.   You can find them by googling the number of your chute support bracket.   There are a number of other White, Troy-Bilt, Yardman, MTD and other MTD brands that use that bracket with 8.5 and other power engines.  An engine similar to any of those would work. 

I have an almost brand new 8.5hp Tecumseh that came of an MTD with a broken auger gear box. I believe the crankshaft is as trouts2 described. I will check it out when I get home. What state are you located in?

If you live in the Toronto area I have 3-engines single and dual shaft. Plug and play. email edgenet@hotmail.com

Look on ebay you may find one.What did you do run it low on oil.Or had you run it low on oil in the past? Here is one that may fit on there.Its 8HP but i would bet there is now power differance between 8hp and up to 9hp tecumseh snow kings. But i guess your shaft on the crank may be different from what has been posted here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TECUMSEH-SNOW-KING-8HP-SNOWBLOWER-ENGINE-/230586590491?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b008251b

Martywdx,

    Check your engine plate again.  Your engine is probably an LH318SA.

It doesn't look like he is coming back, but there is always the possibility of switching out the front cover and camshaft if he gets 2 similar engines.

Shryp,

   No need to swap cams.  His is not a dual shaft engine.  His only uses the crankshaft for drive pulleys. 

trouts2 wrote:
Oh yea.  Forgot what we were talking about already :)