# craftsman 88100 with predator 6.5hp engine



## RGTorque (Sep 9, 2019)

purchased a used snow thrower, a craftsman 8hp 27" unit and it was cheap $100... but the original engine ( 8hp with electric start) was dead so owner installed a harbor freight predator 212cc 6.5p pull start. machine works but has the following issues.

1) reverse is faster than forward.
2) does not throw snow as far as the original engine.

is there a way to get the predator engine to give out higher rpms to toss the snow farther?


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## barney (Nov 21, 2017)

A lot of guys do the impeller mod to improve snow throw distance. They cut out rubber flaps and attach them to the impeller. Have a check around on the forum as it's covered frequently.


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## Pauleastend63 (Nov 23, 2020)

Yes like Barney said.....try the impeller mod.....that 6 /12 Predator is virtually equal power wise to the 8 hp Tecumseh....it may even be more powerful when it goes into it's powerband.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Turn up the RPMs and it will throw snow further but use a rpm gauge.

Reverse should never be faster than forward. You need to the linkage and adjustments. Tilt it and remove the bottom pan.


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## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

RGTorque said:


> purchased a used snow thrower, a craftsman 8hp 27" unit and it was cheap $100... but the original engine ( 8hp with electric start) was dead so owner installed a harbor freight predator 212cc 6.5p pull start. machine works but has the following issues.
> 
> 1) reverse is faster than forward.
> 2) does not throw snow as far as the original engine.
> ...


Very odd reverse is usually pretty slow
The factory rpm of the predator should be fast enough to toss snow close to what it was doing prior.
Can you send us pictures of the belts and pulleys.. The reverse being faster that forward is very odd

Sent from my moto e6 using Tapatalk


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## Pauleastend63 (Nov 23, 2020)

Some of the older blowers had the two output shafts like my old Craftsman 8/25 from the early 90's......when people change out the old two output shaft engines to the single outputs like the Predator they usually have to fiddle, spin around and adjust the transmission lever system to make them work right.....in many cases if you don't fiddle with that your reverse is now forward and your forward is reverse.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Assuming the old Tecumseh and the HF engines are both single shaft units, IMO the likely reason the machine goes faster in reverse is the shift linkage is misadjusted. Flip the unit up into the service position and assuming this unit is a friction disk unit, see how far the disk moves when it's shifted from reverse to the various forward gears. Linkage could be bent or out of adjustment.
Just some thoughts.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Mechanical ability goes a long way in making life easier ...


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

Look up your Craftsman model number and see what engine came on it. Sometimes the users manual can give you that just from some pictures alone. You should be able to download from the Sears parts direct web page or manualslib.com That might be the first things to do to determine if in fact it was a 2 or single shaft engine.a

There are a number of threads on the Preditor upgrade here. Look under the repower forum. The Predictor upgrade on a 2 shaft engine is discussed with details and can get a bit complicated. Just the fact that you said reverse is too fast, I am suspicous your Craftsman originally had a two shaft engine. It is likely you have 3 or more things to address to solve the issues. Everyone is sending you in the right direction. You may also want to consider changing the pulley sizes to slow down the tractor drive and to speed up on the impeller speed. It is easeir to change the pulleys on the PTO but I also changed the friction plate going with a larger pulley to slow it down. Also keep in mind you are going from an 8 hp to a 6.5 hp. In theory It should not perform as well as designed. Although some on here say the preditor will put out 8HP after a few simple mods but I am not going to even go there. Fix the big problems first. All solvable but you will have to invest some time and likely some money. Good luck.


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