# Electric starter kit



## Cisco007 (Oct 28, 2019)

Hello
I’ve got an older craftsman 4hp snowblower model # C950-5274-6 ( Canadian model )and it has provisions for electric starter kit...I’m looking to add an electric starter kit ;can anyone tell me which starter kit I need ?

Thank you


----------



## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

Welcome to SBF Cisco. Your engine model number, if it is a Tecumseh, will be stamped into the top of the recoil shroud, just in front of the spark plug. The number will probably start with a 143.XXXXXXXX. 
If your flywheel has the teeth on it, usually covered by a small metal plate under the gas tank, the Tecumseh starter part number is 33290 and will have a letter after it that makes no difference in fitment.
Her is an example below-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tecumseh-1...94678859?hash=item3fcb5b024b:g:~FUAAOSwNqRcT0~~


----------



## Cisco007 (Oct 28, 2019)

I’ve attached some pictures of my snowblower with the engine number but can’t make out some of the numbers 

Thanks again !


----------



## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

Your 143.7(?)4032 number could possibly be a 143.764032. If it is, then it is a Tecumseh HS40-55556J model. You could use a small wire brush to remove the rust from the number for positive identification. The serial number starts with a 6, so that probably makes your machine a 1986 model. Looks to new to be a 1976 and to old to be a 1996, to me anyway.


You do have a tooth flywheel, so all you need is the starter.


This is your engine service manual-
http://www.barrettsmallengine.com/manual/tecumsehlheadmanual.pdf


----------



## Cisco007 (Oct 28, 2019)

So does the part # starter kit that you recommend stay the same with this motor #?

Thanks again Grunt


----------



## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

Yes, part #33290 will fit 3 1/2, 4, 5 and 5 1/2.


----------



## Cisco007 (Oct 28, 2019)

Grunt
Does it matter if the starter rotation is ccw or cw ?

Thank you sir !


----------



## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

All starters turn the same way, CCW, so you don't have a choice.


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

He is going to need the blower housing that has the cut-out for the starter unless he cuts his out. I don't remember any of those kits that included the starter pinion cover or a blower housing with the kit.
Surprising that engine has the toothed flywheel on it. It looks like the steel flywheel from the picture, unless somebody put that on his engine.
If that engine came with the toothed flywheel, you would think it would have came with the starter pinion cover or a removable piece to put the starter kit on it without having to change the blower housing or make too many modifications to it for the starter. I remember seeing some old motors with the piece that you could unbolt and take off to put the starter drive gear cover on it, but that's going back like 40 years ago.


----------



## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

I agree ST11,

There is going to be a housing change or conversion.

4HP engine, that should pull by hand very easily? I would think electric start would be overkill, … but hey, go for it.


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

The pinion cover should be part of the starter. There should be an area on the flywheel cover that's punched but not removed that will need to be removed to fit a starter. Bolt the starter up (blue Loctite it up so it doesn't vibrate loose), slide the cover onto the engine and attach the starter button to the top of the flywheel cover and it's done.
Starters for the small engines are not cheap or easy to find. In fact I once bought a blown engine just for it's starter.
The cord to the starter button may or may not be long enough, you might have to extend it or make a mounting bracket for it.


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Only certain ones have the cover on the starter, most do not.
Some of the housings are scribed, but I didn't see that in his picture. The "Scribed" one you had to knock that part out usually with a hammer to open up the hole for the drive gear.
We used to put a lot of those starter kits on Simplicity snowblowers and they weren't cheap.
Some we had to put the toothed flywheel on the engine and change the blower housing to fit the starter, the housing had the pinion gear cover built into it as part of the stamping. You didn't want any gaps in the housing for water, dirt, or ice to get into, that could mess up the starter drive pinion gear and gear teeth.
The housing covers were not too expensive because the pull start mechanism was separate from the housing and bolted on. The replacement covers did not have the engine numbers stamped in them. Back then, the housings were a "Dime a dozen".
Certain housings were "One Piece with the cover stamped into it, some had a removable plate that bolted on with special short bolts and weld-nuts so the bolts wouldn't hit the flywheel. Those types were set up to bolt a pinion gear cover onto them.
We used to have a bunch of those kits in stock but now they are hard to find and can be very expensive if you do find them. We got some from Simplicity and some from Tecumseh.
There were 2 set-ups with the switch box mounting, the longer wired one mounted on top of the engine, on the blower housing, and the shorter wire one mounted on the starter motor with a strap like hose clamp or a small mounting bracket, depending on the engine it went on.


----------



## Cisco007 (Oct 28, 2019)

What kind or type of spark plug do I need for this type of motor?..original one is missing 

Thanks and happy holidays


----------



## 2.137269 (Nov 15, 2019)

second time answer a champion j19lm or a rj19lm


----------



## Cisco007 (Oct 28, 2019)

Thank you ..wasn’t sure if my question would be read if I added it to an older thread 

Happy holiday


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I'm not the small engine guru but on all my Tecumseh engines with electric start there are mounting holes on the top and bottom of the starter. His block doesn't have the top mounting hole(s).
Is there something I'm not seeing ? Wouldn't that be a problem ??
Maybe the smaller HP engines are different ? I don't know. :smiley-confused013:


.


----------



## cpchriste (Jan 19, 2014)

The small engine starters are different. They have three mount points and use the gas tank support bolt to also secure the single top point for the starter. They also "pull" forward the pinion into engagement with the flywheel rather than "pushing" rearward like the larger starters.



Unrelated: The sticker on his pull starter says the engine has provisions for electric start.


----------



## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Is there something I'm not seeing ? Wouldn't that be a problem ??
> Maybe the smaller HP engines are different ? I don't know. :smiley-confused013:


 The smaller engines use a three bolt mount, the top mount uses the single gas tank mounting bolt and the bottom uses the engine block bolt holes.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

:icon-bow: Live and learn. I guess I don't have anything that small (hp) with a starter on it to know.


.


----------



## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

Update...

Disregard what I typed earlier, I see the 2 mounting holes on the bottom.

You just have to cut out the flywheel cover a bit like shown in the attached photo below.


----------

