# Replacement engines for Tecumseh



## sprybry (Feb 23, 2014)

I have a 20 year old Toro 521 with a Tecumseh 5 HP 5SSK50 that just broke down. I would fix it, but the repair cost would probably not be worth it. It blew a hole in the side of the crankcase so I am assuming I blew a rod. So what are my options for a different engine to replace it? I would not even mind finding a snowblower on craigslist that needs a little "carb work". What do you think, is it worth finding a new engine? I am cheep and I also like to fix things. I called Norther tool and they only had one, but is out of stock until April. March is our snowiest month and I just cant shovel from here on out. I just cant see shelling out the money for a new snowblower, they just don't make them like they did 20 years ago. Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Bryan


----------



## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

LCT makes a drop in replacement for a lot of the Tecumseh Snow Kings under the Lawson name. They share the same footprint, crank height, etc. Sometimes you can make another engine fit relatively easily, sometimes you can't. Anything with a 1/2 spacer plate under the engine and no cam PTO is a good candidate for a re-power with something else.


----------



## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

hello sprybry, welcome to *SBF!!* a few members have put the harbor freight 212cc motor on their machines


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

I had a Toro 3521 that should be the same blower, but with a 3.5 HP Tecumseh instead of a 5 HP Tecumseh. I switched to one of the old 196 cc Greyhound 6.5 HP engines and it worked great. The only 2 mods needed were a different bolt for the crank pulley as the new engine had different threads and a 2x4 spacer on the handle to move the chute crank.


----------



## sprybry (Feb 23, 2014)

detdrbuzzard said:


> hello sprybry, welcome to *SBF!!* a few members have put the harbor freight 212cc motor on their machines


 Thanks for the reply. I am very intrigued by this option as it seems economical. I called my local store and they measure the shaft at 3/4, and I am in need of a 1/2 inch shaft as that is the size of my old Toro 521/Tecumseh. I guess I will have to go to the store and see what other options they have.


----------



## sprybry (Feb 23, 2014)

Shryp said:


> I had a Toro 3521 that should be the same blower, but with a 3.5 HP Tecumseh instead of a 5 HP Tecumseh. I switched to one of the old 196 cc Greyhound 6.5 HP engines and it worked great. The only 2 mods needed were a different bolt for the crank pulley as the new engine had different threads and a 2x4 spacer on the handle to move the chute crank.


 Thanks, I love the photo's that helps quite a bit. That mod seems fairly simple. Where would I start to look for a Greyhound engine? I live in A suburb of Minneapolis, MN.

Bryan


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Greyhound is the old engine that Harbor Freight used to sell. The Predator engines replaced them. As for your existing engine having a 1/2" shaft, I suggest you go measure again.


----------



## sprybry (Feb 23, 2014)

Shryp said:


> Greyhound is the old engine that Harbor Freight used to sell. The Predator engines replaced them. As for your existing engine having a 1/2" shaft, I suggest you go measure again.


 Ahem. I don't need to go re-measure. I don't know where I pulled 1/2 inch from that is so small, your are right it is a 3/4 inch. So that should fit perfectly, I am going to go to look at them tomorrow. Can't beet $119.00 to get back blowing snow again.

Thanks again.

Bryan


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Make sure you grab a 25% off coupon and a free item coupon before you go.

Harbor Freight Coupons, Harbor Freight Printable Coupons


----------



## sprybry (Feb 23, 2014)

Thanks for the help detdrbuzzard and Shyrp. The Harbor Freight Predator engine was a perfect fit and a beast if I don't say so. Maybe my Tecumseh must have been a little tired. This thing throws snow much farther than my old engine. Kind of strange that for the price of a tune up, I get a whole new engine. I may spend the money and the time, to rebuild my old engine and put it back in, but that is just the way my Dad raised me.


----------



## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

we are glad it worked for you, is your 521 up and running with the predator motor


----------



## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

sprybry said:


> Thanks for the help detdrbuzzard and Shyrp. The Harbor Freight Predator engine was a perfect fit and a beast if I don't say so. Maybe my Tecumseh must have been a little tired. This thing throws snow much farther than my old engine. Kind of strange that for the price of a tune up, I get a whole new engine. I may spend the money and the time, to rebuild my old engine and put it back in, but that is just the way my Dad raised me.


 Keep that new engine running great with a good quality synthetic oil Like Amsoil or Mobil 1 and don't waste your money on rebuilding the Tecumseh. I gave my old Tecumseh away and I do not miss it at all.


----------



## sprybry (Feb 23, 2014)

detdrbuzzard said:


> we are glad it worked for you, is your 521 up and running with the predator motor


 Yes my 521 is up and running, I just need to make the chute crank mod that Shryp detailed. It started the first pull, cant wait for the next snow fall.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

sprybry said:


> Yes my 521 is up and running, I just need to make the chute crank mod that Shryp detailed. It started the first pull, cant wait for the next snow fall.


The one downside is that bracket now stuck out past the bucket side slightly and had a tendency to catch on things so be careful.


----------



## FutureE9 (Feb 11, 2017)

I realize this is an old post, but I'm in the same boat. I have a Toro 521 that decided to quit on me today. I thought it just stalled, but when I went to give it a tug at the end of the driveway, it was impossible. I live really close to a Harbor Freight, so this option is fantastic....and priced right. the question is, how difficult is this engine swap? I am not a great wrencher by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm a little nervous I may be getting in over my head. Any thoughts, or words of wisdom would be apprecated.

Ed (the newbie)


----------



## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

Shryp said:


> Make sure you grab a 25% off coupon and a free item coupon before you go.
> 
> Harbor Freight Coupons, Harbor Freight Printable Coupons


Not sure exactly when they stopped it, but 25% coupons are not valid for predator. However, They are on sale this month for $99 using coupon code 60662891 valid until 2-28-17


----------



## FutureE9 (Feb 11, 2017)

@Jackmels TY

Can you tell me how easy, or hard, a swap would be? Thanks in advance.

Ed


----------



## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

sprybry said:


> Thanks for the help detdrbuzzard and Shyrp. The Harbor Freight Predator engine was a perfect fit and a beast if I don't say so. Maybe my Tecumseh must have been a little tired. This thing throws snow much farther than my old engine. Kind of strange that for the price of a tune up, I get a whole new engine. I may spend the money and the time, to rebuild my old engine and put it back in, but that is just the way my Dad raised me.


Yes, The Harbor Freight 212cc engine is a beast and it runs at 3800rpms instead of the 3600rpms of the Old 5hp Tecumseh. Plus it is rated conservatively at 6.5hp which is over 1.5 hp more than the old engine you have. Even with a rebuild the old 5hp tecumseh would be no match for the HF Predator 212cc. The Predator 212cc engine has been shown to replace 8hp Tecumsehs with no loss of performance. I replaced a Briggs & Stratton 8hp on my Montgomery Ward made Gilson and it is a beast too. Here is a video of my repowered 1995 MTD 5/22 throwing snow 40+ feet. and the repowered Gilson


----------



## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

FutureE9 said:


> I realize this is an old post, but I'm in the same boat. I have a Toro 521 that decided to quit on me today. I thought it just stalled, but when I went to give it a tug at the end of the driveway, it was impossible. I live really close to a Harbor Freight, so this option is fantastic....and priced right. the question is, how difficult is this engine swap? I am not a great wrencher by any stretch of the imagination, so I'm a little nervous I may be getting in over my head. Any thoughts, or words of wisdom would be apprecated.
> 
> Ed (the newbie)


 
Very easy swap especially if the original engine is a single shaft design then it is plug it in and throw snow. Mine was a twinshaft 5hp Tecumseh but I flipped the transmission and got a larger friction wheel drive pully to slow it down and It works great.


Check out the repower section lots of great advice and ideas here on the forum on how to swap an engine even the dreaded dual shaft engine which what my MTD was originally equipped with.


----------



## FutureE9 (Feb 11, 2017)

Ty GustoGuy.... I'm going to give it a whirl. I guess I can't break it any more than it already is.
I'll definitely check out the suggested forum too!

Ed


----------



## FutureE9 (Feb 11, 2017)

I want to thank EVERYONE who contributed to this post! Like I said before, I am not a great wrencher, by any stretch of the imagination; and I was going to give this a whirl..... 
I went to my local HF, who had the engine on sale for $100, stopped by Walmart to get some synthetic engine oil, and went home to begin the swap. (I did have to run back out to get the shaft bolt) ...... And I am very happy to report back that I have successfully completed the engine swap and my 1989 Toro 521 (38052) is working better than ever before!
Thanks again!

Ed


----------



## GregNL (Jan 9, 2017)

GustoGuy said:


> Here is a video of my repowered 1995 MTD 5/22 throwing snow 40+ feet.
> 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONdFik8kges


:goodjob:
That's how a snowblower should work! Nicely done!

I bet that puts a smile on your face every time you get to use it.:icon_smile_big:


----------



## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

GregNL said:


> :goodjob:
> That's how a snowblower should work! Nicely done!
> 
> I bet that puts a smile on your face every time you get to use it.:icon_smile_big:




Yes, It is kind of fun having overkill amounts of power for a 22 inch bucket. Sadly however I only got to use it twice this winter. We hardly seem to get any snow anymore. I heard that it could be in the mid to upper 40's by tomorrow and possibly 50 degrees by Wednesday. I also put a bigger 3 inch auger top pulley on the Predator engine and that also helped with it's snow throwing ability along with the air tight impeller kit. When you engage the auger you can actually feel air being blown out of the chute of the snow blower by it's impeller. Back a few years ago in March we had a puddle in the driveway about and inch deep and I charged into it and the blower was even throwing water and slush out of the chute almost 2 feet


----------

