# Craftsman II 5/23 536.884800 repowered:



## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

I recently got a relatively low hours Craftsman II 5/23 with the "Trac-Drive" to use as a secondary machine. I decided to repower it with a larger 8HP engine from another similar Craftsman. I will post some pictures soon.

Overall the machine is in excellent condition. I did have to go through the entire track system as it was completely bound up but after freeing everything up and removing all the rust from sitting, it operates smoothly again. I'm impressed with the track drive on this unit. I've been using a wheeled unit with large snow tires on it and the tracks definitely feel more stable and easier to keep moving in one direction.

A few more mods I plan to do is a later model taller chute, I'm not a huge fan of the short chute they used on these machines. Hopefully I can find one that's metal. There seems to be a few on eBay. I also may add a cable to raise and lower the deflector. Has anyone done this?

It also seems like I need to overhaul the engine. The 8HP motor I received while running great, it burns oil and I'm afraid to take it apart and figure out why. If it's bad piston rings, I can live with that. I've rehoned cylinders and replaced rings before, but valve guides might be an issue. Are they replaceable on these engine blocks? I may also just look into a replacement block.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the machine. I was worried about the small 10" impeller size but it seems to do the job quite well with the larger engine on it.

Edit: Here are some pictures. Excuse the messy garage. Due for a huge spring cleaning.

The only information I can find on this block is a tag labeled SBH 6277.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Check if your engine is a single shaft or twin on the blower. Though there are a few, most 7-10 hp engines are single shaft.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

HCBPH said:


> Check if your engine is a single shaft or twin on the blower. Though there are a few, most 7-10 hp engines are single shaft.


The engine is definitely a twin shaft. The main crankshaft and then the camshaft for the track drive assembly. The 5HP and 8HP that I swapped around are both dual shaft. I have a very healthy 8HP on my 24" MTD machine but I would hate to pull a motor on a machine with absolutely nothing wrong with it, which is why I hope to find a donor block for the 8HP.


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

The front of the engine can be swapped out with a single shaft to make it a double so If you come across a good engine cheap you can turn it into the duel shaft.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Dauntae said:


> The front of the engine can be swapped out with a single shaft to make it a double so If you come across a good engine cheap you can turn it into the duel shaft.


This is what I intend to do if needed, but my question is, if this engine is burning oil, do you think the crank and cam would have excess wear? I'm assuming that these blocks are all aluminum similar to Briggs so it's probably best to just replace the block/piston/rod with one in better condition. My biggest concern is putting a used rod on a different used crank.


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

There are still a LOT of oem new old stock parts for these engines, Do a ebay search and youll be surprised at how much there is out there.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Dauntae said:


> There are still a LOT of oem new old stock parts for these engines, Do a ebay search and youll be surprised at how much there is out there.


I'm currently on the hunt for a 8HP block. I'm seeing a lot of 10HP blocks but not any NOS 8HP blocks. A couple of used ones but I don't like the way the bore looks on quite a few of them and the price they're asking for one with a scored bore is pretty high. Any recommendations? What are the differences between 8HP and 10HP blocks? I think it's a larger piston?


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

Not really sure on what the differences are, I know they have a 8hp a 8.5hp a 9hp and the 10 hp all using the same block, I have machines with all of the above atm with the 10hp on the shelf and it also has double pulleys. It's not the prettiest engine but runs well but have not had it on a machine to see how well it runs under load. Thinking about it I have machines with the 8 and 8.5 with double pulleys thinking about it. All of these engines would drop right on without mods as they all have the same mounting holes and shaft in same location.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Dauntae said:


> Not really sure on what the differences are, I know they have a 8hp a 8.5hp a 9hp and the 10 hp all using the same block, I have machines with all of the above atm with the 10hp on the shelf and it also has double pulleys. It's not the prettiest engine but runs well but have not had it on a machine to see how well it runs under load. Thinking about it I have machines with the 8 and 8.5 with double pulleys thinking about it. All of these engines would drop right on without mods as they all have the same mounting holes and shaft in same location.


Do you have any spare engines you would part with? I don't want to invest money in a block I won't be able to use if that's the case and I can't find a cure conclusive information on the differences between the 8, 8.5, 9 and 10 horsepower blocks.


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

Only one not on a machine is the 10hp, the rest are on good machines including my tiller, where are you located?


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Dauntae said:


> Only one not on a machine is the 10hp, the rest are on good machines including my tiller, where are you located?


Long Island NY. How much would you ask for the 10HP?


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

before throwing in the towel on the block, pull the head and mic the bore... 

Alot of these HM80's are cast iron sleeve. You may get away going to an oversized piston/rings.

if you're fully disassembling, pull the rings and check the ring gap as well.

When you pull the head, give the valves a little wiggle to see if they're loose; there's usually little/no play in a tec flathead.


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

I would go with Classiccat"s suggestion first, I was only looking for $100 for it as is. Was going to keep as a spare but it seems I get more than I need. I did think about prettying it up and see what I can get for it on Ebay but really would rather sell it to someone I know will use it and not part it out.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Dauntae said:


> I would go with Classiccat"s suggestion first, I was only looking for $100 for it as is. Was going to keep as a spare but it seems I get more than I need. I did think about prettying it up and see what I can get for it on Ebay but really would rather sell it to someone I know will use it and not part it out.


I don't plan to write the block off just yet and will definitely at the minimum, do a tear down to see what's up. My biggest concern is the valve guides being worn contributing to oil consumption. I've had this happen on other engines and they did not have replaceable bushings. Having a spare engine couldn't hurt though so if you're willing to part with it, I'm definitely interested.


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

It's not going anyplace fast LOL Only issue I see is how do we get it to you, Shipping cost would be a bit up there


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Dauntae said:


> It's not going anyplace fast LOL Only issue I see is how do we get it to you, Shipping cost would be a bit up there


I work for FedEx so I get a pretty hefty discount when it comes to shipping.


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

FlamingSpaghetti said:


> I work for FedEx so I get a pretty hefty discount when it comes to shipping.


LOL Now THAT is handy.
Been pretty busy lately but I'll try to get a video of it running for you. Just got a compression tester also so I give that a go and see what it has, Tough on these Tec engines though with the compression release but with the elec start I think it gives a good reading.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Dauntae said:


> LOL Now THAT is handy.
> Been pretty busy lately but I'll try to get a video of it running for you. Just got a compression tester also so I give that a go and see what it has, Tough on these Tec engines though with the compression release but with the elec start I think it gives a good reading.


Sounds good! Just keep me updated. If you want, I could PM you my contact info to make it easier.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Did some research and I found out that the block on my Craftsman branded Tecumseh is a replacement block with a tag number of SBH 6277. Block model number is 35385 which seems to be pretty common. Still unsure if it's a cast iron bore or not, haven't had the time to tear it open. The description I'm getting on Partstree claims it is not a cast iron bore and I don't have aluminum honing stones.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

FlamingSpaghetti said:


> Did some research and I found out that the block on my Craftsman branded Tecumseh is a replacement block with a tag number of SBH 6277. Block model number is 35385 which seems to be pretty common. Still unsure if it's a cast iron bore or not, haven't had the time to tear it open. The description I'm getting on Partstree claims it is not a cast iron bore and I don't have aluminum honing stones.


I think I see the edges of the sleeve in this ebay ad.

if you look closely in high-mag at the upper portion...I see two tones of metal (aside from the carbon/coke):


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

Well I figured I would post a small update on what's going on with this machine. I received not one, but two donor engines for this machine. One of them is in very good shape so I may just leave well enough alone and transplant that engine onto my machine and then begin the tear down and rebuild on the original engine. The other is a 10HP engine that I pulled off a TB I got for $75. The TB body needs a lot of work but I will probably end up putting a B&S 13 horsepower engine on that one. This machine will be going to a friend of mine. The 10HP is a single shaft so I can't use this motor unless/until I swap the crank, cam and cover. I'm considering putting this motor on my MTD since that's a slightly larger machine compared to my Craftsman. All three of my blowers will run hopefully by the end of next weekend. I still have a 71 Ariens to work on. The carburetor needs to go through the ultrasonic.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

So I decided to do a taller chute mod to this machine. Found a later model Craftsman metal chute that's quite a bit taller than the original. Here are the before and after pictures of the machine's current state with the new 8HP engine mounted and hooked up. Now I just wait for the snow.

Before:









After:


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Congrats on finishing your conversion.

If you were close and didn't want to keep the 10HP, i'd offer. I lost the 10 HP on the Searsasaurus last week. I'm looking at putting a OHV on it only because I've not found another 10 HP locally that doesn't cost and arm and a leg.

Let us know how the machine works with the next snow.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

Hey Rob here are pics of the tracks from my wheel conversion on the 1032


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

cranman said:


> Hey Rob here are pics of the tracks from my wheel conversion on the 1032


Awesome! PM sent.


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## FlamingSpaghetti (Jan 8, 2018)

So I FINALLY got to use this machine and test it's full potential today. Been waiting anxiously, but patiently, for the first use.

I have had to do a few things to it before I was able to use it reliably. I attempted to use the machine prior to this snow storm and ended up snapping the auger belt. Replaced both auger and drive belts and found out that the main auger bearing had failed and needed to be replaced. What a job that was! You would think something like this would be a simple 30 minute job. Split the machine, pull the pulley off the shaft, slide the bearing out and replace, then reassemble. Nope, not the case here. The pulley was easily the worst case of cold welded I've ever seen in my life. No amount of heat, hammering, pulling or swearing was getting this one off. Broke two pullers in the process. Ended up having to break out the air hammer and go at it for a constant 10 minutes before she finally gave in. It was all smooth sailing from there.

Now for the actual experience. This machine is heavy, it's got a lot of weight behind it and handles nothing like my 1996 MTD 824. This makes turning a bit more difficult but it does straight very well and not much stops this machine. It goes through packed snow banks like a knife through butter and the traction over snow is a gigantic improvement. I was skeptical at first about tracked machines but this one is almost unstoppable. Upgrading to a larger motor was definitely worth it as this thing will easily throw snow 20 feet, with a rusted chute. The only thing I don't like about this machine is how slow it is. The 6th forward speed which states is for transport feels too slow and I find myself wanting to push the machine forward, but that's no big deal. A simple pulley diameter change could fix that. I originally thought the 10" impeller size was going to be an issue when compared to my MTD's 12" impeller but it seems to make no difference at all. The machine eats just as much snow and is a lot easier to handle on straight aways or digging into packed snow left by plows. Overall, I would give this machine an 8.5 or 9 out of 10 for performance.

Things I plan to do:
Smaller driven pulley for the tracks to get a little bit more speed out of the gears
Painting the inside of the metal chute to improve throwing distance


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