Troy-Bilt Horse engine swap

[peterc38]

Reading some of the posts on here inspired me to do an engine swap on my Troy-Bilt Horse tiller. Original engine was Tecumseh 6HP (HH60). The last couple years despite constant tinkering, adjusting, cajoling, etc. it hasn't run great. After a little research I went with the chinese Honda clone from Harbor freight, the reviews were great and the price is tough to beat.

New engine bolted right up and starts/runs great. I haven't tilled yet, but I have read some people have had to disable low oil alarm for this. Not sure how to do that yet, but I'll figure it out.

Some posters have stated they weren't able to put bumper back on with this engine swap. I don't know if my tiller is different, but I put mine back on and it does not appear to interfere with operation of the tiller as far as I can see.

I had to get new engine mounting bolts (metric M8-1.25 x 25 vs. the 5/16-24 that were on the Tecumseh. Also, the bolt that goes into the drive shaft was a different size than what was on the Tecumseh.

Now I just have to get a new set of tines and I'll be good to go.

[thetooth]

I had to disconnect the low oil switch on my honda there is a yellow wire near the on/off switch i just unplugged it and taped both ends with electric tape .

Like having a whole new tiller !

I included a photo of my Honda swap you can see the orange electric tape in the photo to give you a idea where the low oil wire is . If you want I can take a close up photo tomorrow just let me know .

[peterc38]

I had to disconnect the low oil switch on my honda there is a yellow wire near the on/off switch i just unplugged it and taped both ends with electric tape .

Like having a whole new tiller !

I included a photo of my Honda swap you can see the orange electric tape in the photo to give you a idea where the low oil wire is . If you want I can take a close up photo tomorrow just let me know .

The tooth,

Yeah, your posts was one of the ones that inspired me. I agree the Honda red looks great and you can't beat the GX series motors, I could not receive approval from the CFO to spend that much so I went with the copy.

If you can PM a closer pic of the low oil wire that would be great, I'd appreciate it, thanks.

[thetooth]

okay . See the plug into the block with the yellow wire coming out with the orange electric tape that is the low oil shut off sensor / switch . Just disconnect that and you will be good to go .

Just a heads up to I sold my old HH60 block on ebay to help offset the cost of the new motor . you could actually make a little more if you part it out , but i didn't want all the trouble of shipping multiply items .

hope the photo helps

[peterc38]

okay . See the plug into the block with the yellow wire coming out with the orange electric tape that is the low oil shut off sensor / switch . Just disconnect that and you will be good to go .

Just a heads up to I sold my old HH60 block on ebay to help offset the cost of the new motor . you could actually make a little more if you part it out , but i didn't want all the trouble of shipping multiply items .

hope the photo helps

Thanks for the pic, it is a big help. I tilled today and didn't have an issue. I was only tilling shallow to remove weeds so I'll see how it goes when I till deeper and the machine will be at a steeper angle.

I sold my Tecumseh HH60 for $50 on craigslist. A guy came right over the first day and bought it. I think I paid $130 for the harbor freight engine so the net total for engine replacement is $80.

[thetooth]

Thanks for the pic, it is a big help. I tilled today and didn't have an issue. I was only tilling shallow to remove weeds so I'll see how it goes when I till deeper and the machine will be at a steeper angle.

I sold my Tecumseh HH60 for $50 on craigslist. A guy came right over the first day and bought it. I think I paid $130 for the harbor freight engine so the net total for engine replacement is $80.

That's awesome . I think a replacement Carb for a HH60 is about $80.00 and you got a whole new motor .

I didn't have a problem with the switch until I did some deep tilling it cut out twice on me and I disconnected it has been fine ever since just keep a eye on the oil level and make sure the motor is close to level when you check it .

I use a 2x4 under the depth gauge to level out the tiller before I check the oil .

[2manyrocks]

If you watch the HF sales ads, they will put that engine on sale for between $99 and $109 every so often.

This conversion really looks good.

[Lloyd_E]

Is it that simple? My friend inherited a troy-built horse form his father. The carb is missing among a few other things. We looked at buying a replacement carb - expensive. So for a few dollars more we can put a new engine on it.

What model honda generic did you buy?

Can you give me closer shots of the engine mounted. I will take pics of his TB and post them before we get started.

Many thanks.

Timely post!

[2manyrocks]

To my knowledge, Harbor Freight sells the 6.5 hp Greyhound engine which is apparently made by Lifan in China. Best I can tell from Google searching, the Lifan made engine is the one you want. Got a sales paper this week, and I think it was $109.00.

[peterc38]

This is the one I got:

6.5 HP Horizontal Shaft Overhead Valve Gas Engine