# Phyisical differences to ID an 8 hp vs 6 hp



## bwright1818 (Dec 2, 2014)

I have an early 60s Ariens 24 inch blower. (Round chute, not rectangular and front half of augers are exposed on the sides.) I got it in two pieces, from the dump. I have had it for years and always assumed it was an 8 hp. Even though it burns some oil, it still is a very powerful machine, it seems to me. I just noticed the ARIENS tag ID ends with "60." The stampings on the Tecumseh blower housing, if they were ever there, are long since disintegrated. What can I measure, or observe, about my engine, to tell whether it's a 6 or 8? Thanks

Bill


----------



## ELaw (Feb 4, 2015)

You may be able to tell by the style of carburetor... the 7HP and below Tecumsehs used one style of carb and the 8+ HP ones used one slightly different.

Take a look at this PDF: http://www.barrettsmallengine.com/manual/tecumsehcarburetormanual.pdf. Look at the "series 1" and "series 3 and series 4" photos and note that the series 3/4 have bosses on the side for screws to go into whereas the series 1 don't. If your carb has those bosses it would indicate your engine is 7+ horsepower.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

The 8s use an updraft intake manifold and the 6s have the carb bolted directly to the block I think. If you post a picture someone should be able to tell you pretty easily.


----------



## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

We may be able to tell by the muffler style if you post a picture of your engine. 
The H60 motor holds 19 ounces of oil and the engine bore is 2.625 inches
The Hm80 motor holds 26 ounces of oil and the engine bore is 3.125 inches


----------



## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Assuming its the original engine on the snowblower, there is an easy way to tell if its a 6hp or an 8hp on an Ariens "first series" with (Round chute, not rectangular and front half of augers are exposed on the sides.)

Its a 6hp..because 8hp never existed for that series! 

6hp was the largest engine ever applied to the "first series", which ran 1960 to 1964. There was no Ariens 8hp snowblower until 1972. (and the timeframe was the same for nearly all snowblower brands.)

So if its the original engine, its definitely a 6hp..
and the Ariens model number, probably 10M-L60, also means 6hp.

Scot


----------



## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Mufflers are also a good way to identify Tecumseh engines..

6HP, with a rounded "button" muffler:









7hp, with a square muffler sticking out the side of the heater box:









8hp, with a square muffler sticking out the top of the heater box:









there are some other variants too: 4hp, 5.5hp, that have slightly different mufflers..
(a 1970's 4hp muffler looks similar a 7hp, although the engine is physically smaller..so muffler shape alone isnt 100% definitive for HP identification.)

but 6, 7 and 8hp are the most common ones from the 60's and 70's.

Scot


----------



## ELaw (Feb 4, 2015)

Interesting! Do you know if that info is Ariens-specific?

The reason I say that is way back when (late 1970s) I had a Hahn-Eclipse snowblower with a Tec engine that had a muffler like the 7HP one you show above. But I'm 99% sure it was a 6 horse motor.


----------



## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

I have seen some instances where other brands seemed to change Tecumseh muffler styles at slightly different times..so the changes are close, but not universal. Different snowblower manufacturers had slightly different engine specs, and could order them with different features..

Ariens might have kept the "button" muffler longer, for example, because of their heat sheild design..So Tecumsh could have offered two different muffler types, on the same engine, at the same time, and sold the two different types to different snowblower makers..

Its probably 90% the same between manufacturers, but not 100% the same..

scot


----------



## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

sscotsman I love the pics of the old machines, that 1969 model is a beauty, hate to sound like an old timer but they don't make em like they used to. The auger housing seemed a lot more previous gen Honda on the older Ariens machines, a piece of history restored to its full glory gotta love it. The one shortcoming in addition to modern safety interlocks were the tires they seem like they would be more at home on a lawn mower/tractor than a snow blower.


----------



## bwright1818 (Dec 2, 2014)

Thanks everyone, for the replies! Darn, I thought mine was an eight, but it looks like it's turning out to be a six. I would say that it is the original engine. It has the carb bolted directly to the block and has the "button", down-turned muffler. Man, it has some guts, for a six, though. I had another six/round chute, that didn't seem to be as strong, although it seemed to run very well. Anyway, this was all very useful info! Thanks a lot!


----------

