replacement engines

I have the need to replace a tiller engine. Looking at HF and Northern Tool. $130.00 Vs $160.00 aprox. How do these engines compare? Is there enough difference to make the Northern tool engine worth the extra?. Picked up a mid 70's Troy-Bilt Horse for $70.00 with a part's missing engine thinking I had a parts engine under the work bench. I knew it had the parts this one needed so proceeded to get the tiller without searching for the one in the shop. Long story short I, a pack rat who seldom gets rid of any thing must have sent it down the road with a load of scrap as it is not here. Now rather than search for the missing/damaged parts for a unknown condition engine want a replacement. So that brings to the quality difference question. Both store's are close, 3 - 5 miles.
 
I have an 70s horse tiller, I put on a 6.5hp. HF engine, it does pretty good, but has no low RPM torque, So cannot till real slow. The northern engines are about the same, from the limited specs. available.
 
Used HF engine to replace B&S 5hp several years ago. The HF engine has been really easy starting,more power, it was so good I purchased another one to install on my front tang tiller. Just change oil after 2-3 hrs or less you will note lots of crap in oil but after that each season. They are good & wait for HF sale & get for $99
 
They are all Honda clones made in China, some are exact copies, some are not but the basics are Honda. Some importers claim to have higher quality control standards but there is no way to confirm it unless you want to take a long plane trip? LOL. Engines made by Lifan are good in my experience. They made the old blue colored engines sold at Harbor freight. The black Predator engines are a bit lessor especially in the air cleaner department but that can be fixed with cheap parts and pieces from Ebay if you wish to. Personally I would wait for the 6.5 HP engine to be $99 at HF and bolt it on.

Been a while since I re powered a Troy horse but be aware that there were two basic models that are popularly called single speed(actually two forward speeds) and two speed (actually 4 forward speeds) Single speed units drive with two belts and the two speed units drive with one belt that can be flipped on two different sized pulleys. Anyway,, one uses a standard shaft, the other uses a long shaft engine which you can purchase at small engine warehouse, but I cant remember which on is which
 
I have several HF engines and all have been good. The Predator item number 60363 is the one with a hemi-head and seems to put out a bit more power. Some of the HF stores will take the 20% off coupon on engines which will put the 119.95 price at +/- $96 dollars. If the don't take the coupons, then wait for the $99 price. They do come with some junk in the crankcase, so change oil after running the first 15 minutes. Cheap insurance.
 
My dad replaced the one on his tiller with a northern tool one several years ago.
Has been thrilled with it since.
Don?t know if there is a discernible difference between it and the HF.
 
I replace the Briggs and Scrap iron on my dads cub rear tine tiller with a HF motor and never had problem. Starts a lot better than it ever did!
 
Some are Honda clones and some are built by Lifan. Both are Chinese.

Home Depot sells some equipment that have Lifan engines.

Neighbor put a HF 6.5 hp engine on his kids go kart this Spring. It was lacking a little power on the low end. Replaced the main jet in the carb with one from a Honda that was a little bigger than the factory CARB approved. It woke the engine up and it ran a lot smoother. The only problem he's had was a muffler bolt came out. So far it has always started and ran good for him.

As with all new engines. You should run them with break in oil the first 5-10 hours then. Change it to whatever your choice of oils are.
 
I have 2 log splitters that i built, one at each house. One has a Nothern, the other a HF Predator. They have the same pump, valve and cylinder. The Predator surges at all except low rpm. Northern motor runs smoother and always starts first pull. Both are same hp, 6.5. They look identical down to the last bolt except fuel shut off, probably made by the same company.
 
I will see if I can catch a sale on the Northern Tool one if it happens first or the other if need be. Thanks for the response It has been helpful.
 
Differnce in how they run is most HF engines are EPA/CARB approved. While most of NT engines are not.

Big avantage when an engine is allowed to get enough fuel to run.

Northern did have their Ironton 208 cc engine on sale for $99.
 
"Northern did have their Ironton 208 cc engine on sale for $99." I saw that too. Those Chinese engines are super. I have 2 of them and like them. DR
apparently quit BS and went to a Chinese company for their current small engines, made to their spec....since it has their name on it. Wonderful engine.

They have amenities that you seldom if ever see on home built.........Diversity in design! Like it or not, it's good for us......case in point, look what Toyota
did to GM!!!!!!!!!! My GM was made in Mexico. Neighbors Tundra was made in San Antonio, Tx.
 
(quoted from post at 14:36:59 09/17/18) My GM was made in Mexico. Neighbors Tundra was made in San Antonio, Tx.

The engine, transfer case and transmisson for that Toyota were most likely built within 20 miles of my house at Toyota's Buffalo WV plant.

Around here Toyota trucks lead the pack with Dodge #2, Ford #3. Rarely see anyone with a new GM product of any kind.
 
The Econo-horse, like we have; has a reverse pulley that runs
off an extended camshaft. That was made by Tecumseh and
is not duplicated by any current manufacturer, so far as I
know.
 
Don't mean to bust on you but I might be able to adjust your engine's surg problem. First thing is run the engine with Hi-test gas. Now let me see if I can get this U'tube video to load. This is a VERY concise video on how to work on those carbs. Worked perfectly with my 8hp Honda on my big portable air compressor. That pilot jet and the idle air mix that are hidden are the ones that will stick you in the eye. Watch the video and I bet ya a dozen dowey nuts.
Honda Carb rebuild
 
I have put 6.5 up Preditor engines from Harbor Freight on two
Troybilt Horse tillers. Went on like they were made for them.
Start with one pull, run smooth. Way better than original
engines, highly recommended.
 

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