TroyBilt 8HP Horse Refurb

[Lefty7]

I wore out the original hard faced tines, then re-hard faced them, and wore those out.
I installed a new set of hard faced, and wore those out.
Last year, I installed a third set of hard faced,, so the tines are now new.

The eBay seller had one more set of hard faced, he was a dealer going out of business, and was only charging half the usual price, delivered.
I went back, and bought the last set he had,, that set will patiently wait on the shelf.

Besides the TroyBilt, I also use a Gravely cultivator,, but, it is a little wide, for some things,
Cultivator on the left, rotary plow on the right,,

I even hard face welded the cultivator tines, and the rotary plow points,,

Wow, you put in a lotta tines, but I applaud your hardened effort. So you either do a large amount of tilling with self-powered units, or have a lotta rocks, or both. Nice pile behind the rotary; I got a few like that around the property from the decades of previous field work.

Yeah, I can see the cultivator might be a bit wide. Good for tending agave. Love the flames on the other; never seen one of those. I'd be interested in what powers these, and what HP rating.

Can'tcha just see the version of Pickers or Antiques Roadshow in 2071?:
"We're unsure, and our reseachers are still trying to determine when Gravely introduced the Flames Model Rotary Plow, and what was its significance. Sign up for insertion of the trans-dermal chip app to find out..." Maybe not.

I know my Kawa-powered Gravely Z-turn is one working mow-sheen.

 

[CADplans]

"FLAMES" started out as a junkyard pick,, it had 61 actual hours on it, and a school simply parked it.

A lot of cleaning, and some paint later,,

The hood had a dent in the side that I just could not get right, so the hood went to a local hot rod guru that makes a living painting,,

I had seen his paint, and his flames before, actually, I had him do a flame paint on my wife's Hobart,,

So, the 12HP Kohler powered Gravely was FLAMED!!

Right above the muffler tip is where the dent had been,,

The machine with the cultivator is a 10HP Kohler,,

I have one other Gravely, an 8HP Kohler powered one, almost identical to the TroyBilt engine, except it is a "K" engine, instead of a "M".

The problem with having a 57 foot long shed,, is finding enough machines to fill it!!

 

[Lefty7]

Beauty job ya did on that Gravely!

...and the mixer: gotta love it! Hope the cakes and cookies don't have flames on 'em.

I hear ya, RE: shed size.

I was putting up a building a few years back, and my elderly friend and neighbor told me, "No matter how big you make it, it won't be big enough."

 

[CADplans]

...and the mixer: gotta love it! Hope the cakes and cookies don't have flames on 'em.

No flames in the cookies,, but, one year, we did find multi-Christmas colored chocolate morsels,,,

That Hobart is for times that only a few of the family is visiting,,

If EVERYONE shows up,, Mom uses the REAL Hobart,,,

We used to make cookie dough, wrap it in wax paper, and freeze it,
WAY before anyone could buy cookie dough in a store.

 

[Lefty7]

Mmmm. Good stuff - I can almost taste it - and a fun post.

My Mom was always coming up with innovative stuff like that. Home Ec teacher, before starting the postwar family - and all us kids got the benefit.

On my screen, that cookie looks like it's about a foot across. I'll take one. Great with milk or coffee, but I bet it goes good with a brewski, too.

P.S. My wife got a kick out of the custom car flames on the mixer...

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

Just completed a planned-for and long-awaited refurb on my TroyBilt tiller. More than just a tiller, it’s become part of an important wintertime lifeline here for heating our old pre-Civil War farmhouse.

I first became acquainted with Grandpa’s TroyBilt, years ago. It was 6 or 7HP, and by then was too unwieldy for him to use, much less my 5’2” Mom, who wanted her garden and raised beds done each Spring. So, as a young one, I’d happily do them, at which time I became familiar with the basics of these machines.

Years later, I bought an 8HP electric start Horse model (with the PTO) for my own home use. It had the Briggs&Stratton, which eventually blew up after years of hard service, which was my fault: it had developed major ring wear, and I rushed to the job without checking the oil. Bango. Traded it in - replaced it with the Kohler-motored version and never looked back.

From owning 2 of them, I guess I gathered up almost all of the attachments: front bumper/guard, plow, tire chains, V-sweep cultivator, hiller/furrower and, most important of all, Didier hydraulic woodsplitter. This pooch keeps the home fires burning…

It had been going downhill slowly and gradually over the last 4 years or so. The starter stopped starting, (so it was pull cord city), had a slow, steady trans lube leak from the axle on one side, the tires were checked and rim-leaking air whenever the seasons changed, etc., etc.

I studied the available exploded parts diagrams to figure out what this 25+-year-old mechanical equine might need. The effort wasn’t ever at the top of my list, and it ended up taking several years to gather stuff, but before going into firewood processing time in late ‘21, the time had come.

The unit as shown now has new: tires (with tubes, this time!), original-type spirol pins to secure the wheels to the axles (because bolts will eventually shear), starter solenoid, battery, battery cable and key switch, axle seals, (both sides), full synthetic engine oil and tranny oil.

I didn’t do all the work myself – I farmed some of it out to a local power equipment shop, but had made serious in-person inquiry ahead of time to make sure they were up to the task and willing to take it on. As stated elsewhere, these things ain’t rocket science – much less anti-grav – but a lot of places these days can’t cope with a starter that comes apart when you remove it. (They’re not modular like modern automotive stuff.)

It was a cold Nov. day when I brought it home from the shop, and wifey was amused but tolerant when I off-ed it from the pickup and brought it into the house to let it warm up for a wax job. I don’t know who else out there is nutty enough to wax a rototiller, but I did it when it was new, like I do with most of my stuff. Wife said the TroyBilt “looked like it was smiling”. ~Lefty

My brother still used his from the 80s. Has a new motor, but it’s in good shape still. The Tecumseh seemed like we’re either really good or junk.

 

[CADplans]

Mmmm. Good stuff - I can almost taste it - and a fun post.

P.S. My wife got a kick out of the custom car flames on the mixer...

That Hobart was a "retired" US Army mixer, that had a dull battleship gray paint that was pretty beat up..

Both of our daughters received a new N-50 Hobart when they each got married.
Those two mixers cost me right at $4K,, for the two of them,,
Both of our daughters wanted the same mixer that their Mom had,, they grew up using them.

And, both of them use the Hobart often.
Our one daughter has 4 children,, I bought her a "pastry knife" attachment for her Hobart,,
it makes the best pie crust on earth!!

 

[Lefty7]

My brother still used his from the 80s. Has a new motor, but it’s in good shape still. The Tecumseh seemed like we’re either really good or junk.

I've had a couple of Tecumsehs, (but not on tillers). They were both junk.

Did your bro replace it with another Tecumseh - or something else?

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

I've had a couple of Tecumsehs, (but not on tillers). They were both junk.

Did your bro replace it with another Tecumseh - or something else?

Kohler

 

[Lefty7]

Kohler

Good move. I've never had a complaint about my Kohlers, an 8HP on the tiller, a 12.5 on a TroyBilt/Simplicity mower/tractor, and a 25 Husky Suburban tractor. But we now know you can put a Honda on the Horse tiller - with added weight.

 

[stevewarner1957]

For sure. Just keep in mind not any Honda will work. Small Engine Warehouse makes a repower kit for the Horse. The crank is turned down to fit the top pulley. You might or might not need some shims to align both pulleys. Love those Honda engines

 

[Lefty7]

For sure. Just keep in mind not any Honda will work. Small Engine Warehouse makes a repower kit for the Horse. The crank is turned down to fit the top pulley. You might or might not need some shims to align both pulleys. Love those Honda enginesView attachment 725141

Understood - but good to clarity for all. Nice comparison photos.

Looks like someone was yankin' on it...

Me, I'm a happy pooch with my electric starter working again.

 

[OldPaint]

I have a Horse (with PTO) that my mother bought in 1978 and then gave to me when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer about 6 years ago. At the time, the PTO version was supposed to be only available in Canada (according to the Troybilt site), but she got one. She and my stepdad were still keeping a garden after I left for college in 1976, but not one so big as needing the 8N or the Cub Farmall anymore. The old plow horse was sold along with all of the cattle when my step-grandfather got too old to be out amongst them (but you couldn't tell him that), so they didn't have her to work the garden with either. So, my mother bought the Troybilt 6HP Horse with hiller and furrower so my stepdad could still work the garden. The plow attachment had never been used until I did after I got it, mostly out of curiosity and while prepping a new garden plot. It had the 6 HP Tecumseh on it, cast iron block and that was probably one of the quietest air-cooled engines I've ever been around. Unfortunately, parts for it simply aren't available now, so I wound up repowering it with one of Harbor Freight's Predator engines, which looks very much like a Briggs & Stratton. That thing is even quieter, and a lot stronger than I remember the Tecumseh being. Probably the overhead valve thing, dunno. I didn't have to do a thing to the shaft or any shims or anything. It bolted right on, the pulley (which I should have replaced) fit like a glove, and it went on so fast I kept thinking I'd missed something. I still need to refit the throttle cable, but it really isn't that big a deal because the Predator came with a throttle lever on it as well as a cut-off switch, and best of all, a fuel cut-off valve. When I get ready to store it for the winter, I just shut the fuel valve off before I pull it into the shop, and let it run out of fuel to drain the carb and keep the ethanol from screwing it up. I liked that so much, I've added fuel cut-offs to ALL of my small engines. I haven't replaced a carburetor in a long time now. The Predator is a good bit lighter than the Tecumseh too, cast aluminum versus cast iron, etc. That really didn't seem to affect the performance much, albeit it's a little heavier in transport holding the tines off the ground. Not a problem if I put the depth gauge all the way down, though. If anything, it makes it work better in the clay and rocks I have here versus the nice soil I grew up on. I've used it to clean up and flatten a few places in my yard but getting grass to grow back on this deadpan makes me hesitate to do that anymore. Now, I use it when me and the missus build a new flower bed and need to mangle small roots and chew up the clay some and mix in chips and stuff to loosen it up.

I need to give the Horse a complete overhaul/restoration. Tranny sounds/feels good, no noise from the PTO, but axle and PTO are both leaking, so I figure seals and fresh dif grease should do the trick. It could use a set of tines as well. I would LOVE to sandblast and powder coat it, which would be a better paint job than it had originally, but I'm not sure if I want it out of service that long. Most of the decals have peeled off because it was left sitting in a lean-to next to our storage shed, (and then under my deck for about 6 years) so not really inside any part of it's life. I found out the decals are still available from Troybilt, though. I put tubes in the original tires, and it's working like a champ. It has the original turf tires on it, but I'm thinking bar-lug if I restore it. My folks' place had really nice sandy soil, easy to work, and the turfies were fine for that, but this sticky clay fills them up QUICK.

I managed to get the old Tecumseh to start when I first got it up here from the home farm, but it was using more oil than fuel because the piston rings are stuck. It was blowing oil out the muffler, but still, it ran (poorly). The blow-by was so bad it started pushing oil through the PCV into the breather housing. Needless to say, I knew it was done-for without a major overhaul. Those were TOUGH engines. I tried to find a new carb for it because it STILL had some sludge in the fuel tank which says it just got parked with a full tank and never used again. In the mean time, I just took it off, disassembled, soaked it in some Seafoam for a couple weeks. Put it back together, and it fired up. I was impressed that it wasn't completely seized up. I was going to break it down and see if I could salvage it, but HF had a sale on the 6.5 HP Predators for $100 about the same time I was researching parts for a 50-year-old Tecumseh. Nearly every major component in the engine shows up as "No Longer Available" on the Tecumseh site. That made the decision to repower a no-brainer. I was going to wind up spending that much in parts to resuscitate the old Tecumseh, and still have no guarantee it would run any better. I wanted to keep it original through and through, but it just wasn't in the cards.

I still have EVERY piece of the original documentation on that thing, Owner's manual, all the marketing pamphlets, bill of sale, even the freight bill where she signed for it when it was delivered. She even put a copy of the cancelled check in the file with it. Now I know why I'm such a packrat. I added the receipt for the Predator engine to the file.

 

[stevewarner1957]

If you have a powder coater in your area you might check on turn around time. Since you will have it tore down to do the necessary seal replacements and other repairs it would be a perfect time to take the sheet metal to them for sandblasting and coating. The cast iron parts can be wire brushed and painted by you, International red rattle can. Decals can be purchased online and maybe consider new tires, easier to paint the wheels prior to mounting the tires. You will have a like new 1978 Troy Bilt.
Here’s a 1964 Lincoln Idealarc250 I restored for a customer that his Grandfather bought new. He wanted to give it to his grandson. Powder coat is a wonderful process. This old welder still welds as good if not better than new ones

 

[arto98607]

I bought this 1976 Horse with 6 hp Tecumseh little over two years ago for $200

Replaced a drive belt, wheel shaft & tine shaft oil seals, also added fuel shutoff valve & proper fuel filter and $10 carburetor from eBay, but other than that it's all original.

The engine starts easy and does not burn oil so the plan is to use it as is.


In other words:
The guy (math teacher) who sold it for $200 made the right decision to sell it because he was not interested (capable or willing who knows?) in doing the needed repairs and it would not have made sense to hire someone to do the work.

Cheers,

 

[stevewarner1957]

I agree, run her until the rod leaves the block. Keep the oil changed and tip top full at all times. It will last a long time.

 

[OldPaint]

I bought this 1976 Horse with 6 hp Tecumseh little over two years ago for $200

Replaced a drive belt, wheel shaft & tine shaft oil seals, also added fuel shutoff valve & proper fuel filter and $10 carburetor from eBay, but other than that it's all original.

The engine starts easy and does not burn oil so the plan is to use it as is.


In other words:
The guy (math teacher) who sold it for $200 made the right decision to sell it because he was not interested (capable or willing who knows?) in doing the needed repairs and it would not have made sense to hire someone to do the work.

Same Tecumseh as mine with some very minor differences in 76 model and 78. In 78, Tecumseh changed the carb/intake to put a larger air filter on it with vertical orientation. The muffler on mine is quite different too. It's about half the size of a 1 lb coffee can and mounted with standard pipe fittings (the exhaust port is 3/4 NPT) instead of the little flat mufflers with a spark arrester. My folks paid $1000 for the Horse in '78, so you got a pretty good deal at $200, especially in that condition. IMHO, if folks don't want to take the time to learn how to fix their equipment, someone who does deserves a good deal. Just know when that Tecumseh gives up, you're not going to get parts from Tecumseh. It's a discontinued engine. I spent HOURS trying to find an alternate source. I didn't want to open it up and risk breaking something without recourse for replacements. But, as I said, the Predator 6HP engine from HF bolts right on. I like the nerf bars. That's about the only option my mother didn't get when she ordered it. Electric Start was available with the 8HP Kohler, but not the 6HP Tecumseh. I never considered anything under 10 HP to be worthy of an electric starter anyway. As I get older, though ....

 

[arto98607]

I agree, run her until the rod leaves the block. Keep the oil changed and tip top full at all times. It will last a long time.

Yes, with proper oil change interval it should.

I have a good spare Tecumseh 6 hp engine with electric start & larger vertical air filter, just in case my rotator cuff issue ever comes back....
It's about the same engine, axcept cast aluminum block & ignition.

 

[Lefty7]

Enjoyed OldPaint's account of that machine's history, and his family's engrams imprinted on it, and now its future.

Recognize the '76 shown by art98607 as the model my Gramps had, and the first one I used.

I run full synthetic oil in everything, and the high octane no-ethanol fuel which is available here. Each 5 gal. can gets a dollop of StarTron. Since establishing that some years ago, I've had no carb problems in anything.