Troy-Bilt Horse engine swap

[peterc38]

Reading some of the posts on here inspired me to do an engine swap on my Troy-Bilt Horse tiller. Original engine was Tecumseh 6HP (HH60). The last couple years despite constant tinkering, adjusting, cajoling, etc. it hasn't run great. After a little research I went with the chinese Honda clone from Harbor freight, the reviews were great and the price is tough to beat.

New engine bolted right up and starts/runs great. I haven't tilled yet, but I have read some people have had to disable low oil alarm for this. Not sure how to do that yet, but I'll figure it out.

Some posters have stated they weren't able to put bumper back on with this engine swap. I don't know if my tiller is different, but I put mine back on and it does not appear to interfere with operation of the tiller as far as I can see.

I had to get new engine mounting bolts (metric M8-1.25 x 25 vs. the 5/16-24 that were on the Tecumseh. Also, the bolt that goes into the drive shaft was a different size than what was on the Tecumseh.

Now I just have to get a new set of tines and I'll be good to go.

 

[thetooth]

I had to disconnect the low oil switch on my honda there is a yellow wire near the on/off switch i just unplugged it and taped both ends with electric tape .

Like having a whole new tiller !:thumbsup:

I included a photo of my Honda swap you can see the orange electric tape in the photo to give you a idea where the low oil wire is . If you want I can take a close up photo tomorrow just let me know .

 

[peterc38]

I had to disconnect the low oil switch on my honda there is a yellow wire near the on/off switch i just unplugged it and taped both ends with electric tape .

Like having a whole new tiller !:thumbsup:

I included a photo of my Honda swap you can see the orange electric tape in the photo to give you a idea where the low oil wire is . If you want I can take a close up photo tomorrow just let me know .

The tooth,

Yeah, your posts was one of the ones that inspired me. I agree the Honda red looks great and you can't beat the GX series motors, I could not receive approval from the CFO to spend that much so I went with the copy.

If you can PM a closer pic of the low oil wire that would be great, I'd appreciate it, thanks.

 

[thetooth]

okay . See the plug into the block with the yellow wire coming out with the orange electric tape that is the low oil shut off sensor / switch . Just disconnect that and you will be good to go .

Just a heads up to I sold my old HH60 block on ebay to help offset the cost of the new motor . you could actually make a little more if you part it out , but i didn't want all the trouble of shipping multiply items .

hope the photo helps

 

[peterc38]

okay . See the plug into the block with the yellow wire coming out with the orange electric tape that is the low oil shut off sensor / switch . Just disconnect that and you will be good to go .

Just a heads up to I sold my old HH60 block on ebay to help offset the cost of the new motor . you could actually make a little more if you part it out , but i didn't want all the trouble of shipping multiply items .

hope the photo helps

Thanks for the pic, it is a big help. I tilled today and didn't have an issue. I was only tilling shallow to remove weeds so I'll see how it goes when I till deeper and the machine will be at a steeper angle.

I sold my Tecumseh HH60 for $50 on craigslist. A guy came right over the first day and bought it. I think I paid $130 for the harbor freight engine so the net total for engine replacement is $80.

 

[thetooth]

Thanks for the pic, it is a big help. I tilled today and didn't have an issue. I was only tilling shallow to remove weeds so I'll see how it goes when I till deeper and the machine will be at a steeper angle.

I sold my Tecumseh HH60 for $50 on craigslist. A guy came right over the first day and bought it. I think I paid $130 for the harbor freight engine so the net total for engine replacement is $80.

That's awesome . I think a replacement Carb for a HH60 is about $80.00 and you got a whole new motor :thumbsup: .

I didn't have a problem with the switch until I did some deep tilling it cut out twice on me and I disconnected it has been fine ever since just keep a eye on the oil level and make sure the motor is close to level when you check it .

I use a 2x4 under the depth gauge to level out the tiller before I check the oil .

 

[2manyrocks]

If you watch the HF sales ads, they will put that engine on sale for between $99 and $109 every so often.

This conversion really looks good. :thumbsup:

 

[Lloyd_E]

Is it that simple? My friend inherited a troy-built horse form his father. The carb is missing among a few other things. We looked at buying a replacement carb - expensive. So for a few dollars more we can put a new engine on it.

What model honda generic did you buy?

Can you give me closer shots of the engine mounted. I will take pics of his TB and post them before we get started.

Many thanks.

Timely post!

 

[2manyrocks]

To my knowledge, Harbor Freight sells the 6.5 hp Greyhound engine which is apparently made by Lifan in China. Best I can tell from Google searching, the Lifan made engine is the one you want. Got a sales paper this week, and I think it was $109.00.

 

[peterc38]

This is the one I got:

6.5 HP Horizontal Shaft Overhead Valve Gas Engine

 

[kbache]

I'm new to this forum but hope I've found the right place for some help. I'm trying to find a new or used connecting rod for my father-in-laws Troy Bilt tiller. It's a 6 HP Tecumseh engine, Model # HH60105126J, Serial # 51720 that he bought around 1986. His friend took it apart to see what was wrong, said if he could get a replacement connecting rod that he'd put it in for him. Not sure he's willing to go the 'replacement engine' route ("chinese Honda clone from Harbor freight"), but how much would that be if he is?

I told him I would get on the 'net (not available for him) and see what I could come up with. Please help; he's the best father-in-law a guy could hope to have. Thanks for any help/referrals on this.

 

[2manyrocks]

I think they are on sale now for $109.99 in the latest sales paper. For the hassle of trying to buy parts and get an old engine going, hard to beat. Sometimes they will put them as low as $99--watch the sales ads and the catalogs. Not uncommon for them to run different prices in the store/catalog/internet and sales paper at the same time, but the local store here will honor the lowest price.

 

[Lloyd_E]

6.5 hp $207 with taxes in.
Need to adopt a new throttle cable and sharpen tines.
Tires need air plus I have an extra reversing wheel that I may install.
The old engine was a 7hp kohler.

TIA

 

[peterc38]

6.5 hp $207 with taxes in.
Need to adopt a new throttle cable and sharpen tines.
Tires need air plus I have an extra reversing wheel that I may install.
The old engine was a 7hp kohler.

TIA

Looks good!!! :thumbsup:

 

[heehaw]

i have two 8hp kohlers that won't start: so i plan on doing this same swap before next garden season: cheaper than having the kohlers worked on.
heehaw

 

[Shmudda]

Well....I went and did the engine swap too and purchased (2) of those Greyhound engines from Harbor Freight. They cost me $225.50 shipped to the house, can't beat that! Was really surprised to see the many good reviews on those engines, so that should be good.

I disassembled (2) Troy-Bilt Horse tillers today, a 6HP and 8 HP Horse models. Just something to mention to all the owners of the older Horse models like mine (1970's Vintage). The one tiller which was my fathers had the wheel axle seals and the tine seals shot in the machine. To my amazement I drained the transmission lube and only got about a cup out of it. When I refilled it that thing leaked like a sieve from all four seals. They hold almost a gallon of lube in the transmission! Needless to say I had to drain the thing again and start over! Tore it all apart (looks like a starved dog) and noticed some wear on the worm and shaft gears for the tines and also the tine gear shaft. The gear shaft actually had a ring groove worn into it where the seal was riding, it was about 3/32" deep, no wonder it was leaking. Fixed that with some JB weld, we'll see how that holds up! It will still last another 20 - 30 years I bet! Poor thing was running for quite a lone time without any lube. My father wasn't one for any type of maintenance, he just ran his equipment to failure!

My grandfathers tiller is still in excellent condition with no seals leaking and a full belly of new transmission lube. It will get the new engine first.

At this point I'm awaiting my seals from eBay and (2) engines from Harbor Freight and then I can put them both back together again.

Craig

 

[D40]

I checked out that motor at Harbor Freight and it states that the blot holes are 3-5/8 inches on center. My old Horse that has the 6HP Tecumseh HH60 has a bolt pattern 2-1/2 inches on center. Did you have to drill and tap holes on the shaft side of the engine to use it for this application?
Thanks

 

[BATTY54]

That is a different measurement in their info. I think someone said it was a 3-5/8 circle measure they printed. The actual measure is the correct 2-9/16 square that the troybilt needs.
Check out the troybilt club on yahoo for loads of info specific to these machines as well as lots of pics.

 

[old tiller]

have 1977 horse with hh60 but harbor freight 6.5 engine mount
spacing is to wide for my horse. does hb have more than one 6.5
or is there a mod i can do. P38s engine swap looks real good.

 

[D40]

Do you actually have the HB motor and it will not fit? The ad at their website gives the circular bolt measurement, but the square measurement is exactly right on my old Horse.