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fritz1255

Replacing the Engine on a Snapper - Part 2

fritz1255
9 years ago

You CAN replace a Tecumseh engine with a Briggs and Stratton - my lawnmower is living proof. I will say that installing the engine was a whole lot easier than finding the right one to buy. I had to do lots of research on the internet, not to mention several phone calls and dozens of Emails. If there are any experts out there, I never found one.
I have a Snapper Super Six self-propelled mower with a Tecumseh engine from the 1990's. That engine lasted over 15 years, so I guess I got my money's worth out of it. The output shaft is 25mm diameter with a woodruff key near the top that drives the self-propelled mechanism. Tecumseh is no more, but I figured all I needed to do was find an online manual that would show my old engine and the replacement Briggs engine. Failing that, surely Snapper must have that manual, either online or in paper form, right? Wrong! Snapper would not even talk to me when they found I was trying to replace a Tecumseh engine; they referred me to a replacement engine company.
Surely a replacement engine company will have knowledgeable people who can tell me right away what engine I need? Wrong again! The technician from that company looked up my old Tecumseh engine, told me that I had a 1" shaft, and said there was no possible replacement from Briggs. This was in spite of the fact that I had miked the shaft size at 25mm at two different places using two micrometers and a vernier calipers. When I asked him to please provide the exact shaft size and position of the woodruff keys on a 25mm Briggs shaft, he told me that there was no actual inventory at his location, and he could not tell me anything about Briggs engines except what was on the spec sheet.
The ideal situation would have been to take the old engine to a somewhere where they sell new engines, and compare the two to ensure a good fit. That is more easily said than done. The local repair shops said they did not have any engines in stock, but could order me a new one. OK fine, but I can do that too. The only place I have ever seen that sells engines and actually has them displayed is a mid-western hardware-store-on-steroids called Fleet Farm. None of those in PA.
After many internet searches, I finally found a drawing of the appropriate Briggs crankshaft, and verified that one of the woodruff keys on it was at the proper position on the shaft. I then found pictures of the engine on the internet as well as external drawings from Briggs showing overall dimensions and where the mounting holes are. I was then able to verify that the engine would fit. In retrospect, it makes sense that Briggs and Tecumseh engines are similar - Snapper used both brand of engines, and would not have designed the mower around a specific engine. Installation took less than an hour, way less time than it did to find the engine in the first place.
When I was a kid growing up in the 1960's, my Granddad had a motorized reel-type lawnmower in his barn. This type of mower was popular in the 1940's and 50's. It was broken and he was not able to find parts, but he couldn't bear to throw it away either. If it was this difficult today with the internet, it would have been impossible back then without it.

Comments (11)

  • hippy
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have 3 Lawnboys that originally came with Tecumseh engines that are now powered by a Kawasaki and the other two have Briggs OHV engines from newer Husqvarna mowers.

    I installed Tecumseh carbs on the Briggs garbage just to get them to run right.

  • mynutsrturning
    8 years ago

    Thank you guys, I think you answered my question well enough. Thinking about putting a newer B/S OHV off my 06 AYP self-propelled mower on my old 80"s self-propelled Snapper. If the shafts diameter & Key is in the right specs like above I'll just do it. The engine mounting bolts are same I already see. If it works, I'll sell my AYP with old engine and quit worrying about its rearend going south. I never knew how simple engineered old snappers were until I was given one a few yrs ago. Hands down, the best designed self-propelled mowers for a poor boy to own. Engine is tired though. FYI: per snappers operating manual, it takes 4oz of "00" grease to fill their rearend from empty as its thicker and wont leak out like thinner 90wt or others. Snapper just states "00" grease. Cheapest I find it at is TSC farm stores for $4.99 a qt. and its thick until heated/mixed up then thins out. Thanks again!!

    They call it - Super S Cotton Picker Spindle Grease 00

  • fritz1255
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Update one year later - all is well. Mower with new engine usually starts on the first pull. The only thing that is not quite right is the throttle cable. The throttle on the new engine is on the opposite side from the old one, so the old cable was not long enough. I got a new cable off EBay, but the action is reversed - what shows as fast on the control housing is actually slow and vice versa. No problem until my wife tried to use it and had trouble starting it. She eventually figured it out and got the mowing done. She did complain about the effort required to push the mower around, however. When I asked her if she had used the self-propelled feature, the answer was "Huh?" Good for her - Arnold Schwartzeneger would have had trouble pushing that beast around without the power assist!

  • rustyj14
    8 years ago

    Well, it seems plain that good old American ingenuity has saved the day for you all! Heck, i fixed self-propelled mowers when instruction books weren't available! Being that i am now aged and gray, I'm just going to "copy the mail", and allow you young "Whipper-snappers do the fixin, while i sit back and hold my 85 year old girl friends hand! Still interesting!! RJ

  • mynutsrturning
    8 years ago

    Fritz' if you want to change that throttle just for fun, go get some sticker paper from Walmart for your printer and you can make a label for it.

    Get the paper, then just type how you want a sticker to look or say in an email and email it to yourself. Play with the words even if you want..lol

    Then put the sticker paper in the printer like you would normal paper and print off the label.

    Cut the decal out, spray a few real thin coats of clear coat on top of it and it can be used outside. Stick it on the mower & your done.

    Now,you learned how to make any small decal too, very easy to do decals of images too if you can copy, paste or just print them on sticker paper.

    Sticker papers not real cheap though and you can go to Ebay there's people who make up any decal cheap too.

    And' what a stud you are RJ, glad to see your kick'n back with the lady's...lol

    I'd also like to thank your generation for making all our old bullet proof & repairable products we all still love today. All that's roll'n off assembly lines today is throw away junk. Well' all except Toyota/Lexus anyway and thats why they're #1 now. Man oh' man how things have really changed...Thank you guys for everything!

  • rustyj14
    8 years ago

    In reference to the stud--just remember-ya can't push a wagon up a hill, using a rope! Think about that!

  • mynutsrturning
    8 years ago

    lol...RustyJ14, Took me two seconds to understand that one...

    Remember' what women always say, Its the thought that counts......lol

  • andyma_gw
    8 years ago

    Good to hear from you Rusty J ! Internet lawn mower fixing hasn't been the same without you. A lady is a great reason to be scarce though.

  • rustyj14
    8 years ago

    How can i discourage a woodpecker from eating my house? The house has aluminum siding. Maybe he'll learn that after his beak wears down. Don't want to shoot at him-house will leak! No rock throwing--a busted window is sure to evolve shortly. Moving is out. Age will be a deterrent much later-hopefully.

    Oh, now he moved around to the back! GRRR!! RJ

  • rustyj14
    8 years ago

    Guy next door collected most of my oak leaves, and his, too! Saw him out in yard, laying down beside the tractor! Went over to find out if he got run over, or what. He handed me a spring and a plate, small pieces, asked if i knew where they fell off. I was cleaned up and clean work clothes, but i looked at it, couldn't find where they came from. Tomorrow is another day, so i'll fix it then.I have room in my garage. Warm and sunny today-tomorrow is iffy. The mower supply store is run by a lady who knows her stuff, so i'll pick her brain tomorrow, maybe get a print-out sheet. Cheers! Rusty Jones

  • rustyj14
    8 years ago

    I hauled home a very large commercial mower for a friend. It didn't run, so i got the job of making it run. It had the vertical shaft type of engine. Weighed a ton! After a week of work in spare time, i finally made it run and drive. (It was the kind the commercial grass mowers use! Had a Jap engine on it. I took it back to the guy, and cautioned him not to allow his wife to even attempt to use it! Some time later, i saw the guy and asked if it was still running. He allowed it might be-seems his wife got curious one day, messed around with it, it started, and headed for the woods and a cliff back behind their house, and whilst going thru the middle of their and the nabors gardens, it took out part of their hedges! H e said the machine was still sitting down in the crick, sulking, and waiting for somebody to come down and rescue it! Might still be there, to this day! That was about ten years ago! RJ