# Repowering with an OHV Predator engine is cost effective way Vrs buying a new machine



## GustoGuy

*Repowering with an OHV Predator engine is cost effective Vrs buying a new machine*

My wife was skeptical at first when I told her that I am going to replace the engine on my 1996 MTD 5/22 Snowblower. Despite good care (Amsoil synthetic being used and a new spark plug every year) the Tecumseh engine was the thing I hated most about this snow blower. Even when it was new it was underpowered and would bog constantly when hitting the deep packed snowplow pushed up snow at the end of the driveway. Also it could be very difficult to start and I ended up breaking the recoil in it a few times and that was no fun to fix either. As the years gone by it became harder and harder to start. I called a repair shop this fall and spoke to a mechanic and he told me that the valves would most likely need to be replaced and lapped since these engines were known to have problems with this. He said that the valves tend to get junked up with carbon and the seats/ valves tend to get pitted too and won't seal well and that causes the compression to drop significantly and makes for hard starting. Also the Carburetor on the MTD needed constant adjustments to keep it running well despite using sea-foam and cleaning it several times throughout the years. 
I have a Doodle bug minibike and I replaced the gutless 2.8hp engine this fall with a Harbor Freight Predator 212cc OHV engine and I was amazed at the power it has and how well it runs. The doodle Beast now goes 35 mph with the 12T max torque clutch and it will jump out from under you if you are not careful when taking off. I then decided to get rid of the underpowered problematic hard to keep running well Tecumseh. 
I Disassembled the snowblower and painted it with Ford engine red high temp enamel spray paint so it looks like a new machine now. I also painted the wheels too with highgloss white enamal spray paint and they look like new as well.

The You tube video speaks for itself.


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## bwdbrn1

Give yourself a big ol' pat on the back for that one GustoGuy. Sweet job.

Makes me want to find an old machine someplace and throw one of those Predators on it myself.


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## HCBPH

*Reengined*

Nice!


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## Bain

man cant wait to get snow in Ottawa. My repower is just itching to get used.


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## bwdbrn1

Just got an email from Harbor Freight. That 212cc can be had for $99.00 with the coupon. That seems like one heck of a deal, and it made me think about the application of that engine to a snow blower. I figured you'd be the best person I could think of to answer the question I have, GustoGuy, since you've done such a sweet job putting one on your MTD.

What did you do with the air cleaner on the Predator? Can't say as I know of any snowblower that has an air cleaner on it, but I'm guessing the Predator engine came with one. I know my Honda has a deeper air box on it with a longer intake tube on the inside that probably works much like a velocity stack.  I was just wondering how you tackled that on your re-power?


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## GustoGuy

I just left the air cleaner foam inside of the air cleaner. I did however fashion a metal shield out of aluminum sheet to cover the area between the gas tank and the engine to keep snow and ice out of the governor linkages. I have a heated garage and I clean off my snowblower as good as I can with the broom and put it inside were all the snow melts off it. If you are handy with sheet metal you could most likely build a heater box for the predator 212cc or get the necessary parts off a Honda snowblower engine since they may fit the clone since they are similar in design. I was running it at 6 below zero the other day and it was running real good. Since the engine is jetted lean for emission reasons and summer use I did however enlarge the jets on the motor with super floss and polishing compound for the main jet and thread and polishing compound on the primary jet. It just slightly enlarged them and now the engine runs great even without the choke on. Before I needed to add a small amount of choke when it was about 25 degrees out or it surged a bit.


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## bwdbrn1

Thanks for that information. Should come in handy for anybody else thinking of doing one of these re-powers.

Wonder if Honda jets would fit?

Dang, that thing sure is shinny!


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## GustoGuy

bwdbrn1 said:


> Thanks for that information. Should come in handy for anybody else thinking of doing one of these re-powers.
> 
> Wonder if Honda jets would fit?
> 
> Dang, that thing sure is shinny!


Yes, Honda jets do fit the Predator 212cc. I used Duplicolor Ford High temp engine enamel red. It is a high gloss paint and it has a nice shine to it. I figured I might as well make it look nice too.


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## Shryp

I have one I put on an old Ariens and I too left the air cleaner in it and had to enlarge the main jet just a bit to keep it from surging. Didn't have much snow last year so my only test runs where from snow I shoveled into a pile just to throw it around.

I had an older 6.5HP Greyhound on a Toro 3521 and that worked well in the winter a few years back. That one I also left stock.


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