What did I get??

[mjohansson]

Hello all, first post here. I just bought a older Troy bilt tiller, I have no idea how old it is or nothing other than it is the Horse model with Electric start. I think is is fairly older, has a cast iron engine, that they took the head off and let some rain get in, but I think that will clean up ok. I have it soaking in some oil and other cleaners now to try and free up the piston. Where do I find out when it was made, and what engine I have? Looks like it has been painted over a few times, paint is good, but no decals are long gone. I paid $100 for it has good tires and I think it would make a "fun" summer project.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks and God bless.

 

[sixdogs]

You can sort-of look up serial numbers on line and I believe at the Troy Bilt site. While they all look almost the same, post some pics and I could take a guess when I see engine and setup. A wild guess is the mid 1970's.

 

[oosik]

Like six dogs says - they sort of all look the same. I have an OLD - 1982 - Troybilt Horse - CI cylinder and as I remember 8 hp I bought it brand new in '82 with electric start - but that became a PITA - so I removed it. Last time I tried, it started right up. Don't use it anymore - don't garden.

 

[sixdogs]

I've owned a number of TroyBilts over the years and the best of them all has a Kohler engine. I shut the fuel off and let mine run drive every time---ethanol--and when I turn the fuel on and wait a few seconds, it will start on the first pull almost every time. These are great tillers and I believe someday will be afforded cult status among collectors and gardeners.

 

[mjohansson]

Hey guys thanks for the info, I found a casting on the right side with the numbers 12-5-77 so 1977? boy I was still in High School then....it has a Tecumseh engin on it don't know how good those are, but I will test the starter and I hope to get the motor unseized as It is soaking in PB blaster now.

 

[sixdogs]

Hey guys thanks for the info, I found a casting on the right side with the numbers 12-5-77 so 1977? boy I was still in High School then....it has a Tecumseh engin on it don't know how good those are, but I will test the starter and I hope to get the motor unseized as It is soaking in PB blaster now.

Sounds logical but need some pictures.

 

[mjohansson]

Well, I took the engine completely apart tonight, I even got the piston out...but found governor parts in the crankcase. and the cam shaft was sheared off! bummer. Other than that all look well, there is even a cross hatch patern still visable in the cylinder! and no ridge! So I hope to be able to acquire a replacement cam and governor and rebuild the carb. That should do it for a while.

 

[LD1]

Not worth the investment IMO.

The tecumseh motor was a pretty good one. Dads lasted ~30 years+. Just recently gave up the ghost.

Forget trying to rebuild what you have. $120 buys you a harbor freight predator motor. Bolt it on and go.

 

[coolreinfarm]

If you could find a donor motor for parts that would work, but a harbor freight 6.5 hp motor would be the least expensive way to go. I have the same tiller I bought new in 1982, used it every year with the same tecumseh hh60 engine. I replaced the carburetor this spring with one from eBay for $13.00 works great wasn't worth rebuilding the old one. Its been a good motor don't know how long the harbor freight would last and the availability of parts. My 2 cents.

 

[mjohansson]

From the local repair shops in town I have asked about the Harbor Freight motors and they said they can not get parts for them, when customers come in with a predator motor they have to send them away, as they can not get parts.
I found a replacement cam, but need a new governor that goes in the case. Any Ideas where is the best place to get one of those?
Thanks and God bless.

 

[sixdogs]

From the local repair shops in town I have asked about the Harbor Freight motors and they said they can not get parts for them, when customers come in with a predator motor they have to send them away, as they can not get parts.
I found a replacement cam, but need a new governor that goes in the case. Any Ideas where is the best place to get one of those?
Thanks and God bless.

You can also get a Honda engine that will fit and there are threads here on how to do it. Looked easy.
The Tecumseh was the weaker sister to the Koehler engine. I get the feeling you would rather rebuild what you have, regardless of inconvenience, effort or time. That's OK and I understand. If that's not the case, buy a Honda engine. Still could use some pics.

 

[Turbys_1700]

What LD1 said...
Re-power with a replacement engine...
Easy to do...
I've got a tired 16 HP V-Twin Briggs on a Toro Workman that will get the same thing...
I bought a Horse model with the Kohler and electric start in 86...
Used it for 4 or 5 years and actually replaced the tines...
Quit using the tiller and later sold it...
Sat in the shed for several years and had to replace a solenoid...
Took it to Godley's Auction in Charlotte...
Darn thing brought what I paid for it...
They were great tillers...

 

[LD1]

May be true that you cannot get parts for the predator? Never had to look.

But for a $120 motor, its not worth putting much money in parts anyway. Its designed to be a disposable motor and not rebuilt.

You can buy a honda at about 3x the cost. Possibly have a easier time finding parts when needed. But when you start tinkering on a small engine, its easy to get a $100 bill wrapped up in parts. And with the cost of the predator motors, it makes me wonder why anyone would want to fool around with an old engine. That is still likely gonna be an old and tired engine (with a few new parts) when you are done.

Alot of good reading online about the HF pedator motors. Very little issues with them at all. They just work and do what they are supposed to do.

 

[Toyboy]

Try eBay, darn near everything shows up there

 

[enazle]

I re-powered with a Harbor Freight 6.5 hp 4 years ago for $99. Great little engines and I found that competitive go-carters use this engine extensively. Had a problem with the carburetor and found the solution on a carting forum. Now on the flip side, I bought a horse off craigslist for $50. Had a rusted out wheel and hood. This one came with a electric start 8hp Kohler. I ended up spending $400 reworking the engine and new tires/wheels. Still not bad for what I have now. The 8hp Kohler has a deep rhythmic rumble about it that is pretty cool. If you watch the adds you can still catch the 6.5 Predator for $110. Be aware with the new predators you have to defeat the oil level warning system, which will shut down the engine when deep tilling.

And I almost failed to mention, the Predator has about 1/3 more torque over the hh60 for what it is worth.

 

[3Ts]

On the old Troy Built tillers - I believe they have bronze gears and require GL-4 grease. It's my understanding that the GL-5 grease that's now available contains phosphorus which will eat the bronze gears. At some point Troy Built changed to steel gears so the GL-5 grease was no longer a concern. Anyone have any info or corrections on this?

 

[sixdogs]

On the old Troy Built tillers - I believe they have bronze gears and require GL-4 grease. It's my understanding that the GL-5 grease that's now available contains phosphorus which will eat the bronze gears. At some point Troy Built changed to steel gears so the GL-5 grease was no longer a concern. Anyone have any info or corrections on this?

I called the company a few years ago and got the info.

GL1 is what mine calls for --1977--and that's available in many farm stores. You can also use any modern synthetic gear oil as well as GL5 that was made AFTER the formula was changed to be OK for bronze gears. I think that was a few years back but I don't know how to know for sure so I use the GL1.