Old troy bilt horse, Should I replace the old hh60?

[eddie48]

We're not talking about a 65 mustang original nor a pristine 32 Ford coupe. I guess to each his own and I will just back away I think. This is almost laughable. Yes, they can be rebuilt; but at what cost and who will you get to do it? In making the decision on what to do with my engine I asked several small engine mechanics that have been in business, BUSINESS, not just in the back yard, and they all advised that they would NOT touch it. Finding parts for the engine, hourly shop rates, and just tearing in and replacing worn parts does not make a dependable/last forever engine.
So, yes, I researched out about re-building my engine. Yes, I have experience at overhauling and keeping my fleet of small engines working and am not afraid of doing the work. lol......again, to each his own.........Golly sakes.......a "collector" troy built of museum quality..............God bless......Dennis

Well Scuse me. I've only got 50 years experience with small engines -- 20 of them with my own business. I used to sell Troy Bilt.

 

[TomSeller]

Well Scuse me. I've only got 50 years experience with small engines -- 20 of them with my own business. I used to sell Troy Bilt.

Right. Who needs a 65 mustang original or a pristine 32 Ford coupe when you can have a Troybilt Tecumseh? I love my Troybilt.

 

[Richard1942]

Could it be that when you reach a certain depth, the engine is tipped back to such an angle that it would cause the float valve to restrict the gas flow to the point of bogging down? Just a thought.

 

[DennisArrow]

Well Scuse me. I've only got 50 years experience with small engines -- 20 of them with my own business. I used to sell Troy Bilt.

Well pardon me SIR......Surely not to offend YOU, your capabilities, your knowledge, your experience, nor the fact I guess that you are offering to overhaul the op's engine?...........Give us a competent bid on:
A top end overhaul on his type of engine
A complete overhaul on his type of engine
Please include parts costs, shop hours, where you get the parts, part numbers, and any other tips that your YEARS of experience would benefit the general knowledge base here............THANKS in advance.........God bless...........Dennis

 

[TomSeller]

Well pardon me SIR......Surely not to offend YOU, your capabilities, your knowledge, your experience, nor the fact I guess that you are offering to overhaul the op's engine?...........Give us a competent bid on:
A top end overhaul on his type of engine
A complete overhaul on his type of engine
Please include parts costs, shop hours, where you get the parts, part numbers, and any other tips that your YEARS of experience would benefit the general knowledge base here............THANKS in advance.........God bless...........Dennis

From the OP's initial posting

"I have become almost obsessed with this old tiller. Its probably a 1974, it has the hh60 engine. I love the idea of being able to take this 39 year old tiller and keep it running."

Replacing the 39 year old engine with something made in china (b&s mostly are) would not be consistent with his comments. I have 3 old tillers in that vintage with Tecumseh engines on them and they run fine with a little repair from time to time.

After spending a an hour jury rigging around a design flaw in a chinese junk lawnmower for a neighbor so they could finish their lawn, I would much rather keep the old iron running. Parts are not hard to find with a few Internet searches.

 

[cheeto]

I have discovered today that as I tilled, I am able to get a lot more power out of the tiller when I manually move the governor arm. Looks like it may be a matter of just getting a new spring.

 

[TomSeller]

I have discovered as I tilled today that as I tilled. I am able to get a lot more power out of the tiller when I manually move the govenor arm. Looks like it may be a matter of just getting a new spring.

Excellent. If you are able to adjust it, that is much better than putting Chinese junk on a good old Troybilt. Keep good oil in it and check the oil fill WHEN THE ENGINE IS LEVEL, not when the engine is slanted back towards the fill point. Good luck.

 

[Jackspaw]

I also think carb. My old horse is only half as old as yours but probably
has twice the hours on it. Her,in s. Louisiana we garden
year round. When i was younger i had 24,100' rows working. Only had the horse.
If you cant get the carb.to respond to adjustment,throw it away and get a new one. Sans gets in 'em and eats them up kits wont help because its the metal thats gone. I'm on my sixth,i think. Lots of sand here. luck.

 

[eddie48]

I have discovered today that as I tilled, I am able to get a lot more power out of the tiller when I manually move the governor arm. Looks like it may be a matter of just getting a new spring.

When you move the governor arm, you open the throttle which, if the engine is any good, gives you more power. Perfectly logical. If changing the spring doesn't work or instead of changing the spring, make sure the governor is adjusted properly. Easy to do - not so easy to explain. Google it.

 

[cheeto]

I have tinkerd with the governor arm and spring that interacts with the carb. I'm really just kind of stumped. Yes, I get more power when I manually move the governor when the tiller starts to dog down under load. So I put a slightly smaller spring on the governor arm. That allowed me to achieve higher rpm, It has not allowed the the tiller to meet my expectations. This tiller still wants to stall when tilling more then 2 inches of soil depth in my garden. The ground is already broken... I understand the tiller is starting to push 40 years old. It starts, runs, rolls awesome. Tills like a a rake. It wont even weed in between the rows where weeds pop up. The tines rotate way to slow to do any breaking of the soil. I know, members say carb.... but it does everything it should except till... Thanks for all the feed back