kogafortwo
12-24-2008, 09:39 AM
The old Troy-Bilt finally was treated to a complete engine rebuild by yours truly, including conn rod, rings, a lifter for the intake side, gaskets, seals, a bunch of nickel-and-dime stuff, and quite a few hours of my labor.
This is a 10 hp Tecumseh HM100 horziontal shaft motor. The chipper is an old belt drive with 3 inch branch chute and a big hopper for small stuff.
Result: it starts, runs, and chips. BUT: it vibrates like crazy and is hard to get to run a stable rpm.
When I torqued down the new conn rod the clearance seemed bigger than it should be. I never measured the big end journal. Since Tecumseh offers several part numbers for conn rods on this engine, I double- and triple-checked that I was getting the right one.
I did not do a complete carb rebuild, but I did clean out the bowl, blow out all the passages, re-set the float height, and use a new bowl gasket.
When I was running it today, the long stud that runs up through the intake casting and through the air cleaner broke. I can fix it with some 1/4 x 20 threaded rod no problem. I can also try a complete carb rebuild or new carb.
The thing is, every online thread I read about these engines talks about vibration, carburetion problems, and broken rods. Same thing I heard from the guys at the small engine shop where I bought some parts.
Question: should I put in the carb rebuild and try to run it some more, or should I cut my losses, part out the Tecumseh motor on Ebay and buy something from Northern that will start and run with no problems for years to come? Northern has an LCT brand engine that would fit nicely and looks pretty high-tech for around $300.
Rebuild pix will follow in another thread.
This is a 10 hp Tecumseh HM100 horziontal shaft motor. The chipper is an old belt drive with 3 inch branch chute and a big hopper for small stuff.
Result: it starts, runs, and chips. BUT: it vibrates like crazy and is hard to get to run a stable rpm.
When I torqued down the new conn rod the clearance seemed bigger than it should be. I never measured the big end journal. Since Tecumseh offers several part numbers for conn rods on this engine, I double- and triple-checked that I was getting the right one.
I did not do a complete carb rebuild, but I did clean out the bowl, blow out all the passages, re-set the float height, and use a new bowl gasket.
When I was running it today, the long stud that runs up through the intake casting and through the air cleaner broke. I can fix it with some 1/4 x 20 threaded rod no problem. I can also try a complete carb rebuild or new carb.
The thing is, every online thread I read about these engines talks about vibration, carburetion problems, and broken rods. Same thing I heard from the guys at the small engine shop where I bought some parts.
Question: should I put in the carb rebuild and try to run it some more, or should I cut my losses, part out the Tecumseh motor on Ebay and buy something from Northern that will start and run with no problems for years to come? Northern has an LCT brand engine that would fit nicely and looks pretty high-tech for around $300.
Rebuild pix will follow in another thread.