Trash or usefull for something

Curtis B · #1 03/29/10, 09:51 AM

I was tilling up the garden yesterday, when my tiller started smoking, I shut it down, but not soon enough, the connecting rod broke and blew a hole in the block. It is an OLD JD with a techumsie (sp) engine. The gearbox and tines are good, but I don't know if I can justify a new motor for the old thing. Ideas????

farminghandyman · #2 03/29/10, 10:02 AM

you could consider the Honda copy motors and put on in place of the shot one, there reasonable low cost, (they say some of them are very good),

I would hope that northern would have imported a unit that is on the better side of things.

saw a northern ad just recently http://p.p0.com/YesConnect/HtmlMessa...7Ugpg4GpFEITQc

oneokie · #3 03/29/10, 10:03 AM

I bought a new in the box 6hp B&S engine last year for $170~ delivered. Can you find a used tiller for that price range?

Wis Bang 2 · #4 03/29/10, 11:49 AM

Too bad it is a Tecumsah, they have gone out of business. If it was a Briggs & Stratton it would be possible to get a shortblock which is a new block and internal parts to which you add your old external parts perhaps rebuilding the carb and changing the recoil rope to make a brand new power unit. If everything else is in good shape, price a chineese honda copy from harbor freight and decide if it is worth that much VRS shopping for a used unit and possibly buy soneone's headaches...

HermitJohn · #5 03/29/10, 12:55 PM

I used my Honda clone 5.5hp on little tiller for while last year, before taking it off and using it on something else. many of these old front tine tillers had belt tensioner on a bolt that screwed into the block of your B/S or Tec engine. The Honda clone doesnt have this hole. But I just made a bracket that screw to clone block in a different place but let original tensioner thing be in original location.

And look on ebay, Tecumseh engines even unused ones show up and go cheap. Nobody was ever that thrilled with them so demand is low, they are just cheap engine. But so do some Briggs go cheap. just be sure you have any needed holes tapped in right place or be willing to make a custom bracket. Each to their own, but I had good experience with the clone and would rather have it than an old Briggs or Tecumseh. Its as smooth and quiet as genuine Honda. It may not have the metallugical standards or absolute lifespan of a genuine Honda, but it is a fraction of the price and has the very good Honda engineered design. Parts are interchangable.

Curtis B · #6 03/29/10, 02:30 PM

Thanks, I haven't even had time to tear it down enough to see about mounting and shaft size. I haven't ever had a piece of equipment go down this hard with part of it being in good shape, so I didn't even know if it was worth the effort. For 170, I will definatly look into another motor. I swore once the tiller went down I would get a rear tine, but I don't want to shell out that kinda money right now.

**Ross** · #7 03/29/10, 03:13 PM

I paid $100 for my new 6.5 chinese Honda. It sits on a plate tamper. Seems to work OK.

Windy in Kansas · #8 03/29/10, 04:09 PM

Curtis B you just missed your chance---Harbor Freight had a parking lot sale a couple of weeks ago and their 6.5 hp Honda clones were $71.99 +$19.99 for a two year walk in exchange warranty. They were advertised at $89 but with the warranty it comes up a couple of dollars over.

I bought one but haven't installed it on anything yet. It does look nice.

Wis Bang 2 · #9 03/30/10, 08:03 PM

On the other hand, if the block is cracked on the side away from the cam...

We used to get them welded and replace the rod. Rods are cheap, under $10.00. The problem is finding someone who can weld the hole shut...sometimes they just crack and can be hammered back & welded...

**clovis** · #10 03/30/10, 11:31 PM

You might consider parting the JD tiller on ebay if you decide not to fix it. A few years ago, the old JD tillers were bringing a small fortune.

Curtis B · #11 03/31/10, 08:34 AM

Wis band, I wish it had just cracked, it blew a 2" hole in the side of the block.

I may part it out, I haven't even checked the HP of the motor yet.

Wis Bang 2 · #12 03/31/10, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curtis B

Wis band, I wish it had just cracked, it blew a 2" hole in the side of the block.

I may part it out, I haven't even checked the HP of the motor yet.

Yeah, it was spinning fast when it broke. most of the ones we had welded went at low speed and were for people who couldn't afford replacing the units.

Dad used to pick up any old mowers sitting at the curb if they had B & S engines & use the parts to fix mowers 'N stuff...cleaning out his stuff this summer so mom could sell the place, I scrapped a bunch of B & S parts, boxes full of carbs & recoils, etc. and 4 - 5 shortblocked engines of various sizes that were just sitting there waiting to go back to work...it was a shame but Mom was able to use the scrap money for some of the things necessary to sell so it was put to good use.