# Ariens Repower Questions



## fdb16 (Feb 12, 2013)

I have a 70's mod. 922020 which has a hs50 tecumseh on it. During the Blizzard up here in New England It threw the rod and put a hole in the case. I have been hunting around for some time on various sites for info. on rebuild as I also have my grandfathers 10m6d which I would like to restore to working condition, its in poor shape w/seized engine. Anyway, I want to repower the 922020 on the cheap so I can spend a little more money and get a b&s or tec for the 10m6d. 

Now the questions. I was looking at the HF predator 212 for the repower. My only concern is the lack of second output for the drive & reverse. How difficult is it to convert to a single output. I can't seem to find any detailed information on how to do it, IE different size belts or pully diameters. I am fairly handy but am by no means a mechanic. I am certain with some detailed instruction I could get this done, but I don't have a welder or anything like that to do serious mods. Any input would be appreciated. I know people have done it, I just need the info on how it was done. Thanks in advance!


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

Check out my former post since I have done the swap and my machine had 2 output shafts too. I do not miss my Tecumseh anymore. The Predator 212cc cuts through the snow like its not even there. It starts in 1 pull or 2 of the recoil and it doesn't bog like the Tecumseh did. I have videos of the re-powered MTD 5/22 throwing snow over 50 feet. Check out my posts I dealt with all the problems of changing a dual shaft engine snowblower over to a single shaft engine.


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

There are plenty of 2 shaft engines on Craigslist. Just search for Tecumseh and see what you find. There's a guy near North Reading and another in Hudson that seem to have a lot of blower parts and engines.


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## Fairway (Dec 3, 2011)

fdb16 said:


> I have a 70's mod. 922020 which has a hs50 tecumseh on it. During the Blizzard up here in New England It threw the rod and put a hole in the case. I have been hunting around for some time on various sites for info. on rebuild as I also have my grandfathers 10m6d which I would like to restore to working condition, its in poor shape w/seized engine. Anyway, I want to repower the 922020 on the cheap so I can spend a little more money and get a b&s or tec for the 10m6d.
> 
> Now the questions. I was looking at the HF predator 212 for the repower. My only concern is the lack of second output for the drive & reverse. How difficult is it to convert to a single output. I can't seem to find any detailed information on how to do it, IE different size belts or pully diameters. I am fairly handy but am by no means a mechanic. I am certain with some detailed instruction I could get this done, but I don't have a welder or anything like that to do serious mods. Any input would be appreciated. I know people have done it, I just need the info on how it was done. Thanks in advance!


There are a couple of problems you will likely have to overcome before you can, if possible, convert to a single-shaft motor.

For one, the 922 model appears to use a smaller frame that will probably not be able to accommodate a larger engine. Second, the PTO shaft runs counter-clockwise to the crankshaft, so changing pulley diameters and / or belt lengths will do nothing.


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## fdb16 (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks for the replies. I decided to just go for it and bought the predator. $95 with coupons & sale, so why not give it a go. I took the tec off last night and when I got home this afternoon took the predator out, it fits perfect and the studs will be long enough that I won't have to knock them out. I am not looking to win any contests, just have a functioning blower until I can get the 10m6d fully restored. I can live with having backward gears, after looking at the ariens set up, it involves a bit more mechanics than the mtd and I can't figure a way right now to attack it, I can leave that up to the summer garage tinkering. I did a dry fit and the belts all line up and are good to go, the only thing that concerns my is the pto on the tec was 1/2 speed. Am i going to put this thing in gear and have it take off? I can't put a larger pully on the drive(no room, current one is 4.5") and the smallest that I can find to fit a 3/4 bore is 2" diameter. The auger handle is also in the way, i have seen others put u joints on and was thinking I would do the same. Where do you purchase a u joint for a something that size? I have been searching without much luck, i was assuming you cut the rod and slide the end into the u joint and tighten with a lock screw or something similar or did you guys weld them on?


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## woodtick007 (Apr 9, 2011)

fdb16 said:


> Thanks for the replies. I decided to just go for it and bought the predator. $95 with coupons & sale, so why not give it a go. I took the tec off last night and when I got home this afternoon took the predator out, it fits perfect and the studs will be long enough that I won't have to knock them out. I am not looking to win any contests, just have a functioning blower until I can get the 10m6d fully restored. I can live with having backward gears, after looking at the ariens set up, it involves a bit more mechanics than the mtd and I can't figure a way right now to attack it, I can leave that up to the summer garage tinkering. I did a dry fit and the belts all line up and are good to go, the only thing that concerns my is the pto on the tec was 1/2 speed. Am i going to put this thing in gear and have it take off? I can't put a larger pully on the drive(no room, current one is 4.5") and the smallest that I can find to fit a 3/4 bore is 2" diameter. The auger handle is also in the way, i have seen others put u joints on and was thinking I would do the same. Where do you purchase a u joint for a something that size? I have been searching without much luck, i was assuming you cut the rod and slide the end into the u joint and tighten with a lock screw or something similar or did you guys weld them on?


There are no "plans" or specific instructions when it comes to repowering a snowthrower. If you post some pics of what you have is possible people can help


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## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

On the ariens u joints they have holes in them. On my rebuild i used some rod that i had in my garage. Ran the new rod to u joint, cut the crank handle to length to my liking, drilled holes in the new rod and handle and connected rod/handle to u joints with cotter pins. Or you could just move your control handle down / over with a longer eye bolt and drill a new hole in handle bars.


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

I used a 2 inch steel Phoenix pulley and a 3 inch steel Phoenix pulley 3/4th inch bore for my drive pulley and auger pulley. Do not use fractional HP pulley's they could break since they are not made to handle 7 hp. I also flipped the lower auger pulley since it had an offset design and and that reduce the need to extend my PTO shaft since flipping the pulley brings it back nearly 3/4th of an inch. I then got a larger friction disk from a 2007 MTD 31 inch with LCT Honda clone. I have the part number in my older write ups. I bought it from Jack's small engines. Since the camshaft of the Tecumseh only turns at 1/2 the rate and in an opposite direction I got the larger pulley to slow it down. I also cut and flipped the linkage bracket and welded the linkage bracket to the rod and flipped the gearbox and moved the drive gear to the other side of the blower. As to the linkage Bain used a stack of washers to extend enough along with long bolt to replace the stock metal pin so the friction drive wheel would not make contact with the linkage. Right now it is just a tad faster than it was before but I was blowing wet 2 inch deep slushy snow tonight and it was clearing my 8 foot dwarf lilac hedge and going over my Crabapple tree which is over 10 feet tall. I really like the Predator 212cc since it is so easy to start and makes real good power and does not bog or stall like the Tecumseh did. It also has better fuel economy and a full gas tank last a long long time I blew out my drive 3 times my neighbors once compared to running out of gas on the Tecumseh before I could finish.


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## fdb16 (Feb 12, 2013)

OK, I got into the garage tonight and was able to get everything lined up and running. I am more than happy with the predator. I really thought I would be disappointed but am not in the least. I didn't have to make to many mods, and the backwardness isn't terrible, I can work with it until I figure out an alternative. It was much easier than fiddling with the tecumseh every time I had to start up and during operation. I really wanted to keep the tec running and keep the machine original but must admit I am much happier with this engine, for now. I have been taking pics of the process and will start a new thread with a walkthrough of the repower/rebuild. I am glad I grabbed the engine as I had some apprehension. I gave it a test run on some compacted, rain soaked drifts and it performed beautifully! I will also grab some quality video. Thanks for all the input!


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

fdb16 said:


> OK, I got into the garage tonight and was able to get everything lined up and running. I am more than happy with the predator. I really thought I would be disappointed but am not in the least. I didn't have to make to many mods, and the backwardness isn't terrible, I can work with it until I figure out an alternative. It was much easier than fiddling with the tecumseh every time I had to start up and during operation. I really wanted to keep the tec running and keep the machine original but must admit I am much happier with this engine, for now. I have been taking pics of the process and will start a new thread with a walkthrough of the repower/rebuild. I am glad I grabbed the engine as I had some apprehension. I gave it a test run on some compacted, rain soaked drifts and it performed beautifully! I will also grab some quality video. Thanks for all the input!


Exactly. I do not miss putzing with the Tecumseh just to get it started or running well anymore. It's 1 pull start let it run for about 30 seconds to warm up and go out and blow the driveway. It used to take me as much time just to get the Tecumseh to run right as it does now to actually blow my driveway. I do not miss the Tecumseh at all.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

GustoGuy said:


> Exactly. I do not miss putzing with the Tecumseh just to get it started or running well anymore. It's 1 pull start let it run for about 30 seconds to warm up and go out and blow the driveway. It used to take me as much time just to get the Tecumseh to run right as it does now to actually blow my driveway. I do not miss the Tecumseh at all.


Gusto,
I absolutely believe you that your old Tecumseh ran badly, and the new predator runs great! of course that is totally logical..

but..

does that mean that Predator engines, in general, are better than Tecumseh engines, in general? of course not..(im not saying that you said that!  im just using your experience as an example of why someone else should not draw any such conclusions from such a small sample..)

Lets use automobiles as an analogy.
Most people will agree that the Yugo was one of the worst vehicles of all time..Most ran less than 5 years before they were junked.

And the Honda Accord is generally accepted to be one of the highest quality and most reliable vehicles of all time.

It's 1985. a guy has an older used Honda accord..its near the end of its useful life, and it isnt running well.
He buys a brand-new Yugo, and says to himself:
"hmmm..That old Honda doesn't start well, and when it does start, it runs rough and stalls out a lot..But my new Yugo starts up great every time! it runs flawlessly! I have owned the Yugo for 3 whole days now, and it hasn't given me any trouble whatever! Conclusion: Yugo cars are better than Honda cars."..

you get the point! 
Comparisons of *two* individual cars, or two engines, by one owner, is essentially meaningless..I still stand by my opinion that a used Tecumseh is still WAY better than a new Harbor Freight engine..time will tell the tale. but comparing "brand-new" to "old and worn out" tells us nothing..we need a sample size of thousands of engines, and a comparision timeframe of at least a decade, preferably two or three decades..no such study will probably be ever done unfortunately, so really all we have to fall back is peoples personal experiences, which again, is flawed...but even so, 10 years from now we will probably have an idea of how the Harbor Freight engines have fared overall..

Scot


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## Simplicity Solid 22 (Nov 27, 2012)

AS stated previous...I do think think both types of engines suit a purpose. 

I do agree with sscotsman 100% that the chinese engines are too new to call them great. Right now ok they run awesome...but lets see.

Also I do believe that they are a today type of product where they are disposable engines...so as sscotsman said right now this is a unfair argument against tecumseh or briggs because there are so many more tec's and briggs of course there will be more failures... but they have been tested over time. I bet in ten years all the Chinese engine lovers might be very unhappy...I do not believe they are built for long term use(last for over twenty+ years usage). The CE's are Designed as throw away and replace that is why they are so cheap...designed for quick fix and low cost to replace and that is how everything is being made today...We just bought all new appliances and the salesman said first thing.....remember things today are made disposable they wont last like your 40 yr old Hotpoint refrigerator did back in the day. that is just the way everything is made these days....so this discussion is not even worth sweating about. 

This is really like comparing apples and oranges fellas because these engines are completely different types....Older style were meant to be repaired and worked on and new style(throw away engine)...see you in the junk pile in ten years and hopefully can still replace you cheaply if manufacturing cost in China have not sky rocketed. 

TIME WILL TELL!!!!


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