Troy Bilt Horse

Hi. I"ve got a 1980 Troy Bilt Horse. HH60 Tecumseh Engine. The carb is shot. The factory replacement costs a fortune. Does anyone know if I can use one with a separate choke lever that costs half as much?
I"ll put a Honda motor on it before I spend $100 for a carb.

Two things need to be looked at before a carb can be substituted. Does the mounting flange match with the original, and does the governor attach in an identical manner? if it will fit, go for it. Jim

A Tecumseh that old that is still running is kind of a miracle. Rather than spend anything more on it, if the rest of the tiller is in good shape, I think I'd go right to the Honda. I'm afraid the carb is just the first of many problems to come.

Thanks. I'll take a good look tomorrow and maybe post some pics.

I found a B&S that is a direct fit, runs much better.

(quoted from post at 20:35:31 05/26/14) A Tecumseh that old that is still running is kind of a miracle. Rather than spend anything more on it, if the rest of the tiller is in good shape, I think I'd go right to the Honda. I'm afraid the carb is just the first of many problems to come.

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I have a 72 Horse with an HH60. Still runs great, no smoke.

I've got one close to that age. My Dad used it in his garden. Last Dad used it was in around 1999. He died in 2002

I finally brought it out of the 'old' garden last year. It has been sitting from 1999 to 2014...15 years. The piston still moves freely.

It too, is a Tecumseh engine.. I hope I can fix it!

Greg

Tecumseh? That sure looks like a Briggs and Stratton logo on it- and as I recall, in that era the 8 HP version was a B & S, 7 was a Kohler, and 5 was a Tecumseh.

I put a Predator engine from Harbor Freight on my Horse.
Cost not much over $100 on sale. Bolted right up, starts good, runs great, plenty of power.

I have one of those with the B&S 8 hp engine. It finally "broke" after 35 years. After pricing rebuilding, and after pricing new engines I took a chance and got one of those Harbor Freight $99 engines. The horsepower was rated just a bit less but it bolted up exactly without any mods. I have only used it one season since then but I'm impressed so far. My old engine was tired several years ago and still performed well. I'm happy with my $99 purchase.

It's a 6hp Tecumseh HH60

I've thought about that, too.

(quoted from post at 19:12:57 05/26/14)
I've got one close to that age. My Dad used it in his garden. Last Dad used it was in around 1999. He died in 2002

I finally brought it out of the 'old' garden last year. It has been sitting from 1999 to 2014...15 years. The piston still moves freely.

It too, is a Tecumseh engine.. I hope I can fix it!

Greg

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That looks like a Briggs, not a Techumseh. Can't imagine leaving a tiller setting out for 15 years.

I paid $100.00 for this Horse tiller in 2005. In 2006 I installed new seals under the tine holders, new tines and a new 10hp B&S engine with electric start. I sold the Tecumseh engine for $65.00. I call it my Big Red. It doesn't have all those interlocks and I like that. Hal
PS: It has electric start.

That's a B&S engine. I think they only used 6hp Tecumseh engines on their tillers. Hal

My tiller has not sat out for 15 years. It's always been inside.

You must be looking at the other poster's machine. Mine IS a Tecumseh.

Good looking machine. I need to put up some pics. Personally, I'm a Honda fan. I'm in the construction business and have them on my power trowels, compactors, concrete saws, power screeds, etc. They always start. Even after a long, cold winter. The only issue I can foresee would be the low oil alert. Probably would have to wire it hot.
The tiller also needs seals on each axle.
I'm hoping to get to it in a few weeks.

It appears you may have an option with these listings on Ebay. Not sure what OEM replacement you were quoted, but these look reasonable. The other thing was, unless the carb was left outside or who knows what, why won't a rebuild kit work for it, personally, I've installed rebuild kits in many small engine carbs since I was a kid, rebuilt plenty of automobile carbs too, I've never seen one that trashed, maybe I'm missing something here?
Ebay

Here is the axle seal part number from MTD, was something like $22.00 shipped, they're easy to change out, make sure to clean each axle with fine sandpaper, or whatever you prefer, especially over the roll pin hole, the book suggests then wrapping a fine paper over the axle, I find it bunches up, I think a tiny bit of gear lube would suffice, once no burrs or rust is present, it could damage the new seal when sliding it on the axle. Take non hardening, Permatex form a gasket and coat the outside of the new seal, slide it on, close to the bore, and you can use the wheel to seat it, use a rubber mallet to tap it into place and leave it projecting 1/16" or so, makes it easier to change the next time. Mine did not have the thin flat washers/shims behind the seal, its been mentioned that the snap ring can damage the seal, the washer/shim covers that. I'll know if that is a concern, as I just did mine, no leak at all so far. I am not sure if there is a part number valid for those washers/shims, from MTD, but the center hole should be just under 1.5", not sure what the bore measures in the axle housing.

When you remove the old seal, don't pry against the axle, gently pry against the cast housing. The tool I prefer for this is an old flat screwdriver, with the end slightly curved, and sharpened a bit, like a small pry bar, I have one I use for scraping, for cleaning when installing new gaskets, it will penetrate the old seal and you can gently pry it out, 2 would seem to work better, one each side.

Incidentally, I can suggest SAE 140 gear oil, GL3/GL4, by Sta-Lube, sold at Napa, its $30 something per gallon, and you'll need most of one gallon for a horse, this is what the factory provided with that tiller, and is safe for yellow metal, ie; the bronze worm gear etc. You can flush the compartment with kerosene, used a little gasoline to wash the small amount of sludge out of the bottom, my tiller only had one owner before me, the oil was not all that bad, but after all this time, over 30 years, never been outside or in the cold, no water condensation, even the book says its not that critical to change it, but I disagree, it was time, and the book states to change the engine oil more often than regular service intervals, that makes a lot of sense for a splash lube engine like these are. The books on these were comprehensive with tips and maintenance, these were built not far from where I live and a lot of good people took pride in their manufacture. I had a friend that worked on their test farm/proving grounds, soils around here are tough, rocks etc, clay, these were well built and designed to last.

Where are you located? I have a complete HH60 from my "Horse" that runs pretty good but is low on power I'd sell you for parts. $45 complete with throttle cable.

I was replying to Greg, who posted pics.

I'm in Michigan. I'm leaning towards a Honda re-power.

Honda is a good engine. In 2009 our daughter bought new CR-V suv. One of her co-worker's told her she had 300000 miles on her CR-V and it still runs good & that was the reason she bought one. Both are nurse practitioner's. Hal

I'm in Kansas - just a "liitle ways" to ship a cast iron parts engine.

When I took this engine off last year(just seemed to weak) I put one of the "Predator" engines from Harbor Freight on on mine - 7 HP and it was on sale for $89. Easy bolt up - but it does make the tiller lighter because of the aluminum engine.

I didn't want to "up power" it too much with 30+ year old gears and bearings.

Found a NEW carb for mine on E-bay for $25. Everest Parts Supply item # 141235517265. Started on the second pull. Fits 5hp,6hp,H50,H60, HH60

What a shame!!!! The machine in the weeds is a commercial machine. That is why it has a starter, a full "bumper or guard frame", and a Briggs IC engine. These machines were every bit of $150.oo or $200.oo more to buy back then. I wouldn't go more than 8hp on a horse. Fix up that old machine??? Jeffcat

I have the carb off of my old engine... It was a new replacement I will take $25.00 for it... I think every time I loaned it out it came back with the carb broke off... I made a guard for it then the engine blew up so I re-powered with a 6.5 B&S that was on sale from from the small engine warehouse...