# Governor Repair - Vintage Tecumseh



## Sign216 (Feb 14, 2017)

What's the procedure for removing/replacing the governor?

Getting ready, I find my old tecumseh is over-revving, and the lever for the governor is loose, flopping about.
So....I guess I have to dig into the engine and adjust the governor mechanism or replace it.

Am I right, that I remove the engine as a unit, then drop the oil pan and access the governor unit from the bottom?

This is a 1994 Yard Machines with a Tecumsh HSSK 50 engine (horizontal shaft, 200cc, flat head (L head)). 

Joe


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## vinnycom (Nov 6, 2017)

its not that vintage. old? yes
is the set screw "screwed" down? theres a vid by donyboy and others on adjusting the governor.
no oil pan, u would need to dismantle motor to get to it, again, utube vids will show u how,
get a cheap tach/hour digital meter from fleabay to see what its actually revving at, in my sig theres a video of me installing one, its easy and cheap


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

There is no oil pan on these, You will open the case. The cover the engine shaft comes out of comes off and the governor is in there driven by a gear on the shaft, I also have a spare engine that needs that done. You may get away with using the old gasket but there pretty cheap on eBay and my feeling is if I have it apart I may as well put new gaskets to avoid any leaks later. This is a pic of the governor and the part of the case you need to remove, The gear that drives it is on the crank shaft still inside the engine.
https://goo.gl/images/USoFuT


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## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

I have replaced governors without removing the engine; Remove Pulleys and engine case can be split, and governor replaced. You will have to Get the Auger "split" from the chassis to provide clearance.


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## Sign216 (Feb 14, 2017)

Good news (I hope). At closer inspection I see that the lever became detached, i.e. lost the tiny clamp within the lever's end. The governor's rod coming out of the engine is just a stub, barely enough to grab onto.


What fits into the lever's end, to hold onto the small governor's stub?




Can I make this part myself, or get it from a local hardware store?



Joe


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

I thinkn you can find the part numbers here: https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/part/hssk50 Click on one of the engine models (your s/n if you have). I think the part is this or is close by. https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/part/tecumseh/31335

You can zoom in on the engine assembly diagram, its very busy, but you can find things if you know what to look for. Click on the item number in the drawing, and it will pull up that part. I doubt the hardware store has any of this, but any small engine shop can order, or just order from Jacks. I have had good service from them.


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## Sign216 (Feb 14, 2017)

paulm12 said:


> I thinkn you can find the part numbers here: https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/part/hssk50 Click on one of the engine models (your s/n if you have). I think the part is this or is close by. https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/part/tecumseh/31335
> 
> You can zoom in on the engine assembly diagram, its very busy, but you can find things if you know what to look for. Click on the item number in the drawing, and it will pull up that part. I doubt the hardware store has any of this, but any small engine shop can order, or just order from Jacks. I have had good service from them.



PaulM,
That's the right part, but look at my picture. That part is still attached to my lever! 

What keeps that fixed tight to the governor stub? As it is now, it fits onto the stub, but there's nothing to keep it tight.



Joe


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

from the pic, it looks like a weld broke ?


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## Sign216 (Feb 14, 2017)

nwcove said:


> from the pic, it looks like a weld broke ?



These parts are all sheet metal, no welding. I'm guessing a set screw or something fell out, that holds the "clamp" tight against governor stub.


Is it a screw that's missing, or what?


I suppose it's possible that it's friction-fit, but that seems like a poor choice for such an important linkage.


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## Waterlooboy2hp (Nov 29, 2011)

I just looked at a parts engine I have. Like another poster said, it was welded to the shaft. Many of the older engines did have a system with a clamp. You could remove the linkage and leave the shaft in place. ---- John


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## Sign216 (Feb 14, 2017)

Nwcove, my apologies, I didn't know Tecumseh used welds here.


I looked closely at the shaft, it's really just a stub. No weld residue, but the shaft does have "bite marks" like something was gripping it. 



John, the lever is already off, it was just flopping around anyway. I can't leave it off, as without it the governor doesn't work.


The stubb/shaft is so short, and keeps retracting, that I can't fit the lever on.


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## vinnycom (Nov 6, 2017)

its usually clamped in , it could be yours broke off the shaft leaving u just a small stub.
in this video it shows what it looks like, warning, beginning of vid is a very dorky spoofing skit, just skip over that, but at about 8.50 it shows the linkage, other vids will show u how take front cover off to get to the governor







getting to governor


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## Sign216 (Feb 14, 2017)

Success! I gently got the lever back onto the governor shaft/stub, and then soldered the stub end to prevent the lever from "walking" off. Machine started and ran fine, 3,400 rpm! We'll see if this repair lasts. 



Thanks Nwcove and Waterloo for letting me know that some linkages were welded on. I don't think mine was originally welded, but your info gave me the idea to solder it, which solved the problem.



Vinny, thanks for the videos. My Tecumseh is a different model than those, which use the no. 29916 clamp. That clamp looks better than the clamp I have, no. 31335. The 31335 clamp doesn't seem as secure, which is what got me in this mess. Perhaps I shouldn't complain; the orig. clamp lasted 25 yrs.


Joe


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## Jmartin555 (11 h ago)

Sign216 said:


> Good news (I hope). At closer inspection I see that the lever became detached, i.e. lost the tiny clamp within the lever's end. The governor's rod coming out of the engine is just a stub, barely enough to grab onto.
> 
> 
> What fits into the lever's end, to hold onto the small governor's stub?
> ...


Working on Tecumseh HSSK50. I need to replace the governor clamp shown earlier in this post as the screw hole is stripped out. Does anyone know how to remove this clamp? There is no backing nut. I feel as though it probably just presses on but want to be sure before I try to remove it.


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