i realy hate tecumseh!

[B man]

i got a tecumseh power sport 5.5hp thats been nothin but trouble since i got it. needed new carb and lines and repair the tank. the the pull start breaks. all to find out it runs realy bad on a humid day. and it has a bad vibration in the engine. parts are freaking expensive. sry for the rant.

yeah....Briggs time!

 

[Russ2251]

I'll take Tecumseh over B&S. It is well known that HP/LB is higher in Tecumseh engines.
Any engine that is not properly maintained will necessarily be a problem.
Tecumseh carbs usually get a bad rap because fuel was not properly drained when stored.
If you purchased this engine new...then any problems can only be traced back to a single source.
If purchased used...then you took a gamble. Do you know it's history? Probably not.
I never had a Tecumseh throw a rod. Briggs is a different story.

 

[B man]

dont get me wrong it runs strong and fast on a nice warm day. i love it....when it runs right. but briggs never and i mean NEVER let me down. few years behind a shed and some fresh gas and it runs great and with some good torque idles nice on any day.

also briggs parts are cheap and they are easy to fix(if a problem ever happens).

 

[B man]

oh yeah history sat behind a house for 2years. home to squirrels and other things. i was impressed when it fired up though. so its not that i dont respect them. there just so frustrating!

 

[B man]

why would it vibrate so bad? and i mean to the point the gas tank falls off. i ran the engine pretty hard since i got it. no boom yet. only dose it at 1/2-full throttle.

 

[Russ2251]

why would it vibrate so bad?

Check for debris behind flywheel (out of balance) and flywheel key for damage. Also, check valve lash. Crankshaft could be bent or camshaft may be worn.
If it were mine...I would run it 'till it fails completely, then disassemble to see why/where it went south.

 

[Rustydog2010]

why would it vibrate so bad? and i mean to the point the gas tank falls off. i ran the engine pretty hard since i got it. no boom yet. only dose it at 1/2-full throttle.

Any fuel tank would fall off a running engine if it is not properly secured.

Virtually any engine will run fine and consistently with the correct maintenance and run in period. I had a chinese MB engine, it went fine and never missed a beat. Anyone I ask says that they are pieces of c***. If you treat things properly they will treat you right.

Jeremy.

 

[sexyvicta]

engine will vibrate like crazy if ya crank is bent or possibly if your flywheel is waaaay out of balance.

i like tecumseh. Too bad they're out of business. Been trying to find a govenor spring for an old engine i have on a reel mower. Nobody has anything and the spring is much longer than anything on a b/s or newer tecumseh engine

 

[SmallEngineDave]

I hate tecumseh too
I bought one from a guy who had it in the alley beside his house for $20. I thought it was seized, but it was just the mower mechanism it was connected to
The thing had a diaghpragm carby. It would only run when the mixture screw was soo far out it was leaking gas out the carb. Then it would run for 5 minutes, die, then you couldnt start it again for a day.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

90+% of carb issues are due to neglect. Have a look thru this thread: http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10957

This info applies to ALL carb systems- these abuses will ultimately foul ANY carb, Tec or not.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i like tecumseh. i got a HM80 in a trade for a briggs pull start and electric start. the pull start was broken, (already fixed), so i plugged it in, hit the button, and it was running great. also a suuupppeerrrr low idle. great motor, tons of power, not too heavy at all.

just gotta get my crankshaft machined and then i can put it into my warrior.

 

[dave1701]

I like tecumseh. A good motor

 

[oscaryu1]

Have had 2 tec. mowers... one from 2000, one since 2008. Both metal carb'd. Ran terrific... never drained the gas from the bowl, would sit for 4-6 months at a time.

 

[kendelrk]

ive had bad luck with techumseh, its stopped many times, siezed up and everything, one day i baught all the parts, got it back running, it smoked like craazy and died to never to be started again

 

[dave1701]

I have a tecumseh 5hp that I got from northern 2 years ago. It's a great little motor. Very light. Took everything I gave to it. Left it all winter with gas sitting in it and she is still running like a champ. The only problem I had was during the first few hours I ran it, it wouldn't start warm, a brand new engine. I didn't solve that mystery, it solved it's self. It is the perfect motor now. Runs better than my dad's honda 5 hp.

 

[newrider3]

I like Tecumseh...I make a crapton of money fixing them, Briggs never need any work .
I've rebuilt at least 6 tec carbs within the last 6 weeks. Yesterday I had one running for about 15 sec after rebuilding the carb for a guy, heard one clunk and it died. The fantastic plastic cam must've cut loose, because the valves don't open now.
Quality pieces of engineering.

 

[B man]

well i have had a change of mind. i just removed my recoil from the shroud and tossed it aside for fixin later. so i tried cranking on it fired but wouldnt run.(didnt have enough gas)so i filled it up and it fired right up. ran good. revved great and ran with no problems what so ever.

runs better than any engine i have seen in a while. guess som problems do fix themselves.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

I like Tecumseh...I make a crapton of money fixing them, Briggs never need any work .
I've rebuilt at least 6 tec carbs within the last 6 weeks. Yesterday I had one running for about 15 sec after rebuilding the carb for a guy, heard one clunk and it died. The fantastic plastic cam must've cut loose, because the valves don't open now.
Quality pieces of engineering.

they must have been desperate to stay in business. plastic cam? you gotta be kidding me.

 

[newrider3]

Some Briggs and clones use plastic lobes and gear, too.

 

[B man]

well i really am starting to like this thing. just listen to it!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_GR8oFEevY