Need 4.75hp tecumseh motor - where should I look ?

[Angel]

Hey guys,
Yeah, I don't want this to be a WTB thread, but, if you happen to have a tecumsed TVL115 4.75hp vertical 25mm shaft with 3/8-24 threading, pm me =)

What I really want to know is - where can I get small engines like this ? Harbor freight is one place, but I don't want to pay new prices. They have junkyards for cars (and I know where those are) but not sure if they have junkyards for mowers.

I can buy the parts online from any number of brick-and-mortal (spelling error kept) shops in places other than Cincinnati, but I'd rather spend local if possible, and buying parts doesnt let me try before I buy.

Oh. and tecumseh stopped making small engines in 2008 - joy =)


so my questions

1) any other brand of motor direct swap ? is there a table or hookup somewhere ?

2) What keywords to use when trying to find a mower junkyard (mower salvage ?) Do they exist ? Anyone do this before ?


-John - (Eastside of Cincinnati Ohio)

[tbomachines]

I would imagine almost any vertical shaft motor would work, perhaps just a different mounting bolt pattern. I always see some at our town dump, I know more than two of our good running motors have gone that way since we needed to free up some garage space. In cincinatti I have no idea how the dump system works though, you might be able to find them at a scrap metal yard.

[TX76513]

Lawn mower JUNK yard of course - HERE
Also - I would think the entire rebuild kit for your engine is probably about $60 and there not much to doing one of those motors.

[Phil]

You might try looking in pawn shops. They sometimes have a lot of garden equipment even if you buy something just for the motor. Check in the phone book for small engine repair and ask them if there is somewhere to buy used motors.

[Angel]

thanks for the tips, I knew they were out there....

found a place near my house, we'll see what they got.

and yes, the rebuild kit is $60 or less, but that doesnt include a new connecting rod (broken into 3 pieces) or piston (has a chunk taken out of the skirt).

My parts total is near $100 without shipping, which is the budget for this project.

-John

[lutzTD]

these small motors never respond well to rebuilding. the factory just must have the touch. I wouldnt spend $60 for a rebuild kit when plenty of good donors are on Craigslist everyday for usually half that

[KarTek]

Weird, I just MAY have that exact engine sitting up at the shop! I'm going up there this evening so I can check.

It's new, in the box, never removed except for a quick look.

[Antony]

Jacks smallengines has a lot of engines, great service, and very competitive pricing.

http://www.jackssmallengines.com/index.html

[jplinville]

Originally Posted by lutzTD

these small motors never respond well to rebuilding. the factory just must have the touch. I wouldnt spend $60 for a rebuild kit when plenty of good donors are on Craigslist everyday for usually half that

I'd have to key in here and disagree with you. I've kept my parent's mower running for over 20 years with 2 rebuilds.

I guess that small engines class in Jr. High really taught me something.

[lutzTD]

Originally Posted by jplinville

I'd have to key in here and disagree with you. I've kept my parent's mower running for over 20 years with 2 rebuilds.

I guess that small engines class in Jr. High really taught me something.

I dont know too many people who have been successful, generally the rebuilds last about a year for some reason. I guess if you replace everything maybe, but the cylinders just dont seem to support rebuild tolerance piston ring combinations. Ive rebuilt larger engines with great success, but Ive never had a briggs or tecumsah last long enough after to justify the time and cost of a rebuild, specially when there are so many donors out there cheaply available... AND you have to admit they made them a lot different 20 years ago, the new ones have plastic in all the wrong places, they are designed to be disposable unfortunately

[mpolli]

My experience with Tecumseh is they are crap. Were they ever good? Briggs is good.

[pawoSD]

Yeah, why not look for a Briggs engine with the same bolt pattern/setup. I am quite sure it'd not be hard to find.

[Angel]

I would look for another manuf's engine with the same bolt pattern but I can't find anything (online) that even tells me what my current bolt pattern is, let alone one from another manuf. My current set up has 3 bolts that are about equidistant from the crank CL but not at even 120* angles to each other...
yeah, I could measure it and take a ruler to a B&S store...oh wait, we don't have those either =)
if it were an electric motor frame size, I could do it, but I've never seen such continuity in small engines.
That and I am kinda hazy on the size of my shaft (let the jokes fly !) its either 7/8" or 25mm - and I'm not sure I trust my steel ruler measuring something like that and ordering sight-unseen. if I had a B&S store, I could just bring the impeller with me and test-fit it =)

As for tecumseh reliability - I can't comment. Looking at the inside - the engineering in this one looks as sleazy as the one in the 11hp B&S I had apart in my basement last year. no big differences to my eye other than teh displacement. I can't see metallurgy though.

If I cant find a new to me motor, I'm just buying parts and bolting it back together, measuring bores and machining stuff would push this past the cost of a **new** chipper/vac so fast it'd be funny.

Any ideas about where to find bolt patterns ? (I couldn't find them in the Tecumseh service manual either)

-John

[kmaysob]

Originally Posted by mpolli

My experience with Tecumseh is they are crap. Were they ever good? Briggs is good.

tecumseh is a good motor. much better built than a briggs and scrap iron in my opinion. they are temperamental. id have to agree, i have rebuilt several successfully.

[mpolli]

To be fair, I think their carb is their weak point.