Why Get A Tecumseh Powered Mower? 

Up until Tecumseh stopped building small engines, they were the engine of choice for snow blowers, at one time reaching 80%, My first lawn mower was a Craftsman with a Tecumseh engine. As a teenager, I abused the hell out of that engine, and it came back for more, until I sold it when I left for college, pre 1990. LOL

Nice video. I have no issues with the Tecumseh engines. They were tough. Like most engines they were abused and old gas left in them like the one you just fixed. The only issue is that they had plastic emulsion tubes that could get brittle and break. I have replace several emulsion tubes over the years. If you keep them clean and tuned up, they will last a very long time. Thanks

I'm definitely a fan of the exhaust and carb on the same side, there is no ambiguity on which side to flip it on to. None of the "oil in the exhaust or gas in the air filter" deal

You might not see much of these engines where your at, but over here in the west I see tons of these things still in use. I grew up with one of these mowers and I am still using it to this day. Briggs was great when they were still making their quantum flat head engines, but I stopped trusting them after they stopped production of engines here in the U.S. and started using cheap foreign labor to build them instead. With the cheap Fisher Price plastic carburetors and paper thin engine blocks I knew their engines weren’t built to last anymore. That is the reason why I haven’t bought a new mower, because I know they’re not gonna live as long as this Tecumseh.

I love my old Toro 22 inch recycler with the Tecumseh 6.5 hp engine. It was ten years old when i bought it for $45 cash. With the help of you tube videos I replaced the carb for under twenty bucks. The mower is now over 20 years old going strong, does not burn oil, starts on first pull and cust close to one acre weekly. GREAT engine and you only have be a little handy. Thanks awesome video!!

I've flipped several Tecumseh powered Toros over the past few years and find them relatively easy to work on and the engines seems to be "bullet proof". Good video.

I work on many small engines and still find the Tecumseh easy to work on and very reliable.

I had a Toro mower with front wheel drive and a Tecumseh engine for 18 years with no issues. I did follow all maintenance procedures to the letter especially oil changes, spark plug changes, new air filters and under deck cleaning. It was a single speed mower and so nice to use. I think I gave up on it when parts of the deck started breaking but up to the end it was a gem 💎!

I've got a Toro Recycler that's very similar to the one in the video. I've had it for 17 years, and recently the transmission gave up the ghost. I opted to replace the transmission and associated parts largely BECAUSE of the Tecumseh motor. Not because it's a Tecumseh, but because it's 195 cc, and it still runs great. Most of the new mowers I was looking at had 150 cc motors, and I was reminded of an old gear-head saying - there's no substitute for cubic inches. Anyway, the mower is still going strong and I'm hopeful that I'll get another 17 years out of it. Come to think of it, at my age, I hope I get another 17 years out of me! ;-)

I’ve always preferred Tecumseh engines over Briggs. Tecumseh used an oil pump along with splash lube as opposed to splash lube only. The one downside was that Tecumseh carbs were a lot more finicky than a Briggs if it got a little dirty. When we were kids back in the mid 70’s, we always tried to find a Tecumseh for our go-karts and mini bikes. They also seemed to have a bit more torque than the same HP rated Briggs.

Depending what part of the country you are from. If you had a snow blower, you were very familiar with Tecumseh. Their Snow King was on many snow blowers. And they were solid engines. That might help explain why the carb and exhaust are on the same side (cold weather use.) I would definitely take a Tecumseh over a Briggs or Kohler. You are spot on about consumer demand strongly favoring lower price. Most who buy cannot discern the difference. And the manufacturers and retailers know this only too well. People will actually buy a lawn tractor with a plastic carb and plastic transmission on price point, oblivious to the fact that they will spend far more in dollars, time and frustration in the long run. My advice is to look for Honda and Kawasaki equipped power equipment. It usually only comes on better made stuff. The higher up front price pain will wear off, you will be proud of your equipment and it will serve you well over the 20+ year lifetime for a consumer.

You know I am a diehard Briggs fan . I like the older Tecumseh engines with the black round primer and the bigger Tecumseh engines. The engine in this video is not bad but the carburetor is harder to remove and has rubber o rings in it .

I had an older craftsman 21 inch walk behind with front wheel drive and it had a Tecumseh engine just like this one. Mine ran at a higher RPM. (About 3600) despite the mower not being in the greatest shape, it still ran fairly well and I used it until one of the rear wheels broke off it's shaft. I also have a snow blower with a Tecumseh snow king engine that also runs well too. (Despite being fairly hard to start.) Tecumseh engines in my opinion are really good engines.

I had a few old Craftsman mowers from the 80’s. All came equipped with Tecumseh engines. The only problem I ever had was with the self propelled system. The most common problem was that debris would collect between the metal drive gear and the plastic gear on the wheel. This ate up the plastic gear making frequent wheel replacement necessary. No engine problems at all.

My dad's had his 22" Toro with a Tecumseh identical to this mower and it's never had any problems. Got it in 2001. Runs really good!

I bought this same mower used with the high wheels fifteen years ago. The Tecumseh engine gave me pause because I have always favored the Briggs, but I can only say good things about the Tecumseh. It has more than enough power to take down grass up to my knees. I did replace the carburetor, but that was not expensive. I expect to have it for a long time.

Had a lot of em over the years. The Tecumseh in my family snowblower made it 42 years before knocking. They run well and are tough, but I always found the governors finicky and I always wished they had a crossflow head.

i bought a new murray push mower in 1990 it had a 3.5 hp tecumseh engine on it. Used it for 11 years with no issues ever, of course i kept it maintained but it did me well.

I like when you mentioned that the Briggs carby primer was a separate piece from carb and was mounted on the air cleaner body that is true for high chance of failure as the plastic air cleaner body (why would they use flimsy plastic on an engine part?!) would no longer provide sufficient sealing for the paper gasket. My workaround for that issue was to copy the gasket form on cork gasket material, cut that out and fit that as a replacement gasket and that makes a better seal and no failure priming to again! Worked on my neighbor’s units! I find that both Briggs and Tecumseh types and they’re fun to work on. I kinda like Tecumseh’s carby/primer assembly more though, less complicated and easier to repair with no fuss! I practiced on trash-picked units to acquire more experience with them (broke a few of ‘em but grant extra parts though and lessons learned of how to do it carefully and not break something on next tear down; same with Weedwhackers) and now more of my neighbors (after constantly watching me work on equipment from my backyard as their engines quit while they were tryin’ to cut their own lawns) come to me for their mower and whacker woes! Me personally, prefer to care for my equipment by keeping oil changed and topped as well as checking that the air cleaner is free of blockage, spark plugs and sharp blades. Maintenance goes a really long way for equipment long life!😅

I have same exact mower with this engine and will have it forever I absolutely love this lil gem

I grew up with a Tecumseh on my go kart so I'm tecumseh all day. Plus I moved to MI at 21 and they were made here. Way more durable engines than Breaks n Scrapem. The Snow Kings have cast iron sleeves. They had a whole horizontal line just with cast iron sleeves like the performance 6.5 hp in my go kart. Thing was a monster.

The only issue I have with the Tecumseh engines, is the hassle to access and work on some of them. I think Briggs is a much more simplistic design (easy access to screws, bolts, springs, etc). Carburetor is easy on, easy off, with basically a single linkage where you have to have gumby alien fingers to arrange all the Tecumseh parts back on. For a Briggs, if the flywheel brake part needs changed, it's easily accessible, but on a Tecumseh the entire flywheel has to be removed first. I've also only ever had about a 50% success rate cleaning Tecumseh carbs. They always either don't prime properly or the needle doesn't seat properly. BUT, they are great engines and super smooth.

I did comment about my experience with the Tecumseh engine earlier but today I would buy either the Honda known for reliability and long life or the Briggs and Stratton as also long lasting and I think easier to work on. Again the Owner’s maintenance is so IMPORTANT in trouble free operation it makes me very reluctant to buy a used mower.

I just used mine today, this same model mower. My parents bought it new in 2005 and it still runs great. I recently cleaned the low speed jet after removing the needle. It is hidden under the black plastic plug at 7:30, beside the primer bulb.

I have this exact mower, and mine built in 2016. Since we mow lawns almost all year round here in central Florida, mowers are constantly in use. I still have my Craftsman 21" w/ B&S engine that I purchased new in 1998., only 1 rebuild on it. Oil changes and routine maintenance will give you years of good service.

I bought my Toro 20017 mower with Tecumseh in 2004 based on Consumer Report (remember that, ha?) recommendation. Paid like $360 + tax in Home Depot. Changed oil yearly and cut my 0.4 acre lot biweekly in MA summer, or weekly if it rains a lot. Mostly mulching with some bagging in fall. Kids abused it and did extra work for neighbors. Still runs like a champ, 20 years later. Only had to (finally) replace the wheels as they are bold and don't grab anymore. Also, 2 years ago hit a big stone and the flywheel key sheared as it should protecting the shaft. Nice, fixed for a few $. I just got very expensive Honda which hit a stump and its key did not shear, now the shaft is bent and it vibrates like crazy. So, is Honda mower engineered better than Tecumseh and worth 2x price? Not in my case.

I definitely agree with your conclusion I grew up with Kohler Engines even my Grape Escape go cart I had when I was a kid had a Kohler engine on it. When I got my first house I did not really think about what engine the mower had on it I just wanted what was cheap in my case it was a MTD (Yard Man) with some type of overseas engine. It did not last long with consistent oil changes after year 3 it lost all compression and the parts to fix it non existent. So that is when I had to start paying attention to what engine my equipment had on it. I bought a new Lawn Boy mower with a 6.5 Kohler engine on it I had it for 7 years then I gave it to my mom when her mower died. She had a 5 year old Weed Eater mower with a Weed Eater branded engine on it. Then I bought my current mower a new Toro with a 6.75 Kohler it is now 3 years old and I have not had any issues with it and The Lawn Boy I gave to my mom is still running like new it is now 10 years old never even had to service the carb on it. I think your video really makes sense. Stick with what you know and Take care of your equipment it will take care of you. Great video!

I remember all of the problems Techumseh lawn mower engines had especially back in the '70"s, I believe the Sears & Roebuck mowers used them exclusively & they often would not start, remember the "Eager 1" line? my neighbor had those mowers & always had trouble with them. We "blew up" a lot of Techumseh engines on our mini bikes & go carts. Techumseh mini bike engines seemed to be more powerful than their Brigg's & Stratton counterparts, but the Techumseh engines threw a lot of connecting rods which was rare for a Briggs. The biggest problem we had with Brigg's mini bike & go cart engines was that the crankshaft bearing surface (part of the block, behind the flywheel) would wear out & the crank would start bouncing around affecting the ignition contact points. IMHO Briggs & Stratton engines were much more reliable over-all. Great video!

When I bought a new mower 3 summers ago, I was looking at a Cub Cadet and a Toro next to each other at the dealer. They had the same Asian engines on them. I went with the Cub Cadet since it had caster wheels. The equipment makers are really determining what you get.

Mine is a 2005 Tecumseh. I work on it myself. It's still running great although it does burn a little oil after 19 years.

I just sold one of those a week ago that I got for free for $110. They clean up really nice

I bought one of these from HD for about $300.00. It’s about 17 years old and has been a very reliable mower. I have replaced quite a number of parts such as the carburetor and coil. It has enough power to walk through tall grass. Most people don’t care who made the engine but just buy a Toro mower. Briggs never impressed me as being any better than a Tecumseh.

I bought Tecumseh in 1983 on a Murray deck mainly because I'd gotten tired of the low side mounted gas tank on B&S mower I finally gave away, and liked the tank on the Tecumseh. I gave it to daughter in 2004 and bought another Tecumseh on Weedeater deck and no problems till this year, when I cleaned the carburetor, replaced the old primer bulb, and the ignition magnet coil, only to finally to discover the flywheel key was sheared. Finally located the proper part number and key, all is well again, and cleaner than for years, and new mulch blade in it. It was hard hit on blade that seems to cause the key to shear. Gas tank access may be shallow reason to buy a mower I guess, but that's why I went to Tecumseh. Also had 195cc engine, bigger than some B&S of similar cost.

I bought a Tecumseh engine since I had a lot of step inclines in my yard. The oil pump makes sure oil is getting into the right spots. With a splash lube sometimes it can starve a bit on the oiling on prolonged inclined moving stretch.

My future father in law bought this exact same mower from Home Depot back around 2002 or 2003. I have no idea what he paid for it but it was a good mower for him until the front gear box wore out. Rather than fix it he just bought a newer Toro which at that time (2011 or 2012) came with the China-made Kohler engine. He gave me the Tecumski Toro and I just removed the gearbox and used it as a pushmower on my lawn when we got our first house. I used it that way for a few years until I got a new mower. That engine ran great and always had tons of power and started on the first pull after 1 or 2 pumps or the primer. But back to your question: I don't think the average 1/4 acre suburbanite homeower cares what engine came on their mower. They are just looking for the best deal as they probably view these things as throw-away units. I'm sure Toro had a contract with Tecumski and when it expired they moved on to another manufacturer (in this case it was Kohler). The OEM will use whatever brand that a.) meets all their requirements and b.) is immediately available and is at c.) the best price point for the bean counters

I bought a Tecumseh powered engine in 1990. I still have it. It worked up until last year. No question, I would buy a Tecumseh.

I bought that same exact mower 04/05. Cost $300 from Home Depot. Had zero issues up to 2017 when I moved. I also have a Tecumseh powered Sears trac snowblower that starts 1-2 pulls every winter since the mid 90s.

A friend gave me a Toro Personal Pace mower, that has a Tecumseh engine from 2015 I believe. It's been a great mower. I did have to replace the carburetor once. I change the oil every season, clean the plug and replace the air filter. Toro used Tecumseh engines for several years.

Learning about a 'new' small engine is baby shit, tbh. The one 'I have' always seems to be my fav :D We have a 2004 lawn boy Tecumseh LEV120. seems fine. I too grew up on B&S 1960's and 70's after we lost the old no-engine'd, pusher mower.

Excellent commentary. I like how you B-Roll cleaning the mower over the voice. I am struggling to get a Tecumseh starting again, having torn it apart and replaced many parts with OEM. I would get the Briggs because the parts that caused me the most problems were screws breaking off in the engine block or cylinder head and then the bores for the screws breaking.

Yep 20 years for a 4 stroke mower can be done I have a weedeater push mower with a quantum Briggs on it from 2003 I grew up with it now I cut my houses lawn and still going strong!

I bought one used and it is much more sturdy with less plastic parts. Will no it again if needed! 😎

My first Tecumseh experience, when I was 8, is probably what has colored my opinion ever since. I got a minibike that had a Tecumseh engine. I don't know if it was because I wasn't able to pull the starter rope hard enough, but I had a heck of a time getting that thing to run. It was ALWAYS a struggle. Fast forward several years, and I'm racing go-karts with Briggs flathead engines. I did a mini valve job every week. I can take one apart in my sleep. My first push mower had a 3.5 HP Briggs flathead. It ran great for many years until I sold it. Likewise with my first riding mower, which had a 12 HP Briggs flathead. About 15 yrs ago, I bought a Toro Recycler with a Tecumseh engine. I had zero problems with it. It ran well. When we moved, we moved to a new state, and into an apartment. I didn't have much storage room, so I let the mower go with the house we sold. As an adult, I only have about 3 yrs of experience with Tecumseh. It did what it was supposed to. It cranked and ran every time, but I have to admit, my preference is for a Briggs. I never knew that Tecumseh's had pressurized oiling systems, and were beefier overall. Knowing that, I'm a bit disappointed that I have such a preference against them. It really sounds like they should have the reputation that Honda has.

I have that very mower, it was free to me, and had to diy it to make it work. I had to re route the kill switch which solved the hard start. I'm cheap so I didn't spend any money on that issue, however the Transmission went out so I bought an e-bay special. The engine did have carb issues and so I cleaned it and replaced the o-rings and emulsion tube. Since then it has been a very dependable unit.

My first mower was a MTD with a Tecumseh engine. I purchased it because other mowers with Briggs engines were more expensive back then. Had the mowers with the briggs engines been less expensive I probably would've purchased that one. It was a great mower that I never had a issue with. I never regretted that purchase. I take care of my equipment. I'd still have it if I had not given it away years ago. I do still have a 20 year old mtd snowblower with a tecumseh engine. They are great engines. I think most consumers know honda and briggs names as far as engines go.

Dad bought the excact model in 01' practically new though it was sold as a "recon". No grass under it or anything. Long story short we still use it annually. I used to use ours semi commercially for about 6 or so years when i attempted to build my mowing business. Around 5 years a day back then. Hell we even used it as a loaner mower many times to friends and family and you all know how that usually goes. Lol

I have a 15 year old Briggs branded push mower that I got for free (it didn't run at the time), and it starts on the first pull every time. I put a knockoff carb on it and did some minor cosmetic repairs, and it is my favorite. It runs better than any of the newer ones I have owned. You just have to take care of them.

I don't mind the Tecumseh engine especially the carb because of the bowl was easy to get to without taking the whole carb off if not necessary but can always be taking off by the intake also as a whole piece.

My experience starts when I mowed the yard but was too small to start the mower which was an OLD belt drive Murray with bicycle wheels in back and no deck sides, with a cast iron Briggs with a coil it yourself rope start. Then the freebees started coming in and I was still a kid but didn't mind grease. BUT the REAL experience came in when I started working for folks and what THEY bought and already had and I had to fix and or keep running. They had a mixed bag and Briggs were easiest and Tecumseh was a fight. AND as time went on, Briggs started to morph into Tecumseh with some of their own stuff and the longer, the more. And when Honda went from regular to entry level that was 4 strikes for me. I like Honda but wouldn't swap an old Briggs flathead for 4 of them. Not worth it, to ME and ONLY me. I like the older Kohlers but the new ones have had a bad run of soft cams. I'll just stay with my old Briggs and my one overhead valve Kawasaki. Too long in the tooth to change now.And the 2010 TRoy-bilt electric start is becoming more TEcumseh-like as time goes on. BLESSINGS!

Tecumseh were mostly good engines, I had a "racing" series on my go-kart as a kid and a different one I fixed up a few years ago. They're not fast, but man did they take a beating.

I always went out of my way to get a Tecumseh engine on a new mower. When those steel deck Recyclers came out I specifically chose one with an LV195EA and a few years later I bought a second identical one to split up the yard work. Nothing against Briggs, always liked them and worked on both since I was a kid but the Tecumseh had more compression, more power and was a stronger engine. Still love those old Tecumseh powered steel deck Recyclers, just got done repairing two of them for a customer last weekend. They were way more common than the Briggs powered models around here, Toro had a deal with Tecumseh and that’s all they used for a long time.

None of it matters to me. I've worked on both for 30 years and have had issues with both for the same time. As both companies came into the 2000's, they penny pinched here and there and they both had their own issues. If you find something like this and the engine runs decent enough from Either make I say get it. I will say this and it goes for any small engine manufacturer. Put the best inline filter you can afford and absolutely put in a decent fuel shut off valve in line. And use it every time you go to shut off the engine. When you're done...turn the valve to the off position, run the gas out of it and let it stall out! Then put it away. ALWAYS! Today's gas, especially the ethanol laden garbage warrants the need for an inline fuel valve!

I have the exact same mower, change the oil every season, change air filter every few years, and drain gas at the end of each season. 25 years and trouble free (knock on wood.)

When I was a kid my grandpa gave us a late 1960's Toro with a Tecumsuh and an aluminum deck. He helped me rebuild the engine and repaint it. It amazed me how high the throttle would go and how low I could get it to idle.

I never owned a Tecumseh, but I would like to have something with one on it now just so I could get some experience with them. My only experiences with them are memories of my father, who up until the mid 1980s, bought everything from Sears - including push mowers. This tradition ended with a Craftsman Self Propelled push mower with an Eager 1 Tecumseh engine that failed to start about every two or three times he’d try to use it and resulted in another trip to the shop for warranty work. When the warranty expired, he immediately began a new tradition of buying all of his power equipment from a local equipment dealer. He became a loyal Briggs buyer, as did I, until I experienced a second hand Kohler Command … now Briggs has moved to second place!

I recently bought a Craftsman with this motor. It was at Goodwill for $25. I needed to rebuild the carb and it ran perfectly. I still need to either order a new float bowl gasket or buy an Amazon carb for just a few dollars more. Turned out that the motor had a 7/8” crankshaft like my favorite 1997 Canadian made MTD with the catering front wheels and an oil burning Briggs. Now I’m back to cutting grass with my favorite mower !!

Not me.. I've grownup on both and the Tecumseh was hands down the more reliable engine in every case. In fact I am still using my 2006 model as we speak. Planning to do a complete rebuild soon too. Still purrs like the day I got it.

I have an almost identical Toro with the Techumseh that was free and I soon found out why. Under the engine shroud it was packed with nuts and grass causing a fire after running it a bit. Catching on fire must have panicked the last owner but after a good cleaning and an oil change it has become one of my favorites.

I have both. My preference is availability of parts. Briggs wins there. Both my mowers are craftsman from sears bought in the very early 2000's. Both still mowing strong. I do the maintenance. I've been acquiring spare engines/parts/mowers to keep mine going but have not yet needed to break one apart. I really don't want to have to buy a new mower.

I love the tecumseh engines. I picked up a toro 22inch self propel rear drive mower it also has electric start very clean but I need to fix the drive system and the starter doesn’t engage. It fired up on the first pull after sitting for months

I would want a Sears designed Tecumseh engine period. The “eager one” Sears Tecumseh design was one of the best small engines designed with its automotive type front loaded air cleaner/filter. There was also an OHV version as well.

When I was 10-16 growing up, the majority of my equipment was Briggs and Stratton, the old school flat heads. Briggs opposed twin rider, and Briggs Quantum push mower. Today....38 years old, I have Kohler 7000 twin rider, Honda and Kohler pressure washers with OHV, an old Briggs flathead push mower....a much more mixed brand setup. I am more about reliability and equipment features vs engine brand loyalty. Today with Briggs and Stratton, anything that's not more "Commercial" grade seems more designed to fail; and when it fails...it is no longer a part of the equipment lineup.

I purchased a 2005 toro like that new. They all came with Tecumseh motors as Toro was using Tecumseh for snow throwers and mowers except for some Super Recycler mowers. They didn't switch to Briggs on walk behind mower until Tecumseh went out of business around 2008.

I experienced both Tecumseh n Briggs and stick w Tecumseh all the way: Strongers, never burning oil as Briggs can do and if you hear the sound of the engine you just showed us, you have your answer ! Lil tricky thing, Tecumseh has to get always top shape carbs but not a deal breaker if you maintain the minimum required.

From my 50+ years of mowing lawns both Tecumseh and Briggs and Stratton engines are good. Most people neglect their mowers and basically ruin them or just refuse to have them repaired. Always smart to remove the top covers and clean the engines from there.

I just replaced the Tecumseh powered push mower that I bought about 30 years ago. The engine had never failed to start nor had any mechanical problems. If only the rest of the mower had held up as well as the engine...

I had a Craftsman with the "Eager 1" engine for 22 years. It always started on the first pull. We parted ways when the deck came apart. It received only oil changes, filters, and spark plugs. I miss it. I have a Murray with the B&S engine now. It never starts on the first pull unless it's hot.

not like you'll ever struggle with the T vs.B&S. It's settled. (T's gone) had a T on new Snapper, ran 12 years, then died/blew in the lawn. bolted a new B&S on, pulled 12 years later, too much oil consumption. put on a used B&S Quantum, ran it 12 years, checked build date: April 2000. Tough Engine. Let's see if I can get 12 more from it. : ) It may take one more sparkplug & air filter.

I love Tecumseh engines, always have, but more so just because everyone else hated them back in the 90's when I was in trade school getting my certification. lol. Jokes aside, I've been in the OPE biz for 30 years, and I'd honestly stick with a Briggs. But NOT a EXi Briggs, stick with the Quantum. Tecumseh's are fine, but now that they have been out of business for what, 18 years or so (??) parts are very hard to find. Neat thing about a Tecumseh, you can prime the living hell out of it, 20 - 30 times and it will not flood. New they say 3-5 times, a year later we say 5-10 times, 3 years later it's 15+ times.... as the years go by, just prime the hell out of that thing to get it going, seriously. Great video as always. OH, one thing I forgot to add, Tecumseh engines are louder than Thor's hammer, so if you don't mind having your head rattle, no problem. EDIT: I almost forgot, this is something real cool about Tecumseh engines. They have a mechanical governor, and the governor gear inside the engine is specifically designed to change color if the engine was run out of oil. Not shitting you, it is a white composite gear that will turn brown if the engine is run with low oil. This was a deliberate design feature to assist technicians and dealers in determining whether the customer ran the machine without oil or not. I had one new machine go out, the lady brought it back because it was seized, I thought she didn't run oil in it although she claimed she did, and the engine was full of oil, so I cracked it open to look at the governor gear. Yup, the gear was brown, but get this, the damn engine didn't have the oil pump plunger in it! Right out of the factory, Tecumseh neglected to put the oil pump plunger in the thing! Naturally, it was warranty,. and I owed the lady an apology for doubting her. That must have been in 1996 or so.

that's our mower exact;y, a #20016. It's almost 20 years old, starts on 1st or 2nd pull. Sharpen the blade every year, an oil change and no ethanol..so far so good..

in 1985, I had a 20 inch Craftsman mower with a lightweight cast aluminum deck and a self throttling Tecumseh engine that throttled up automatically when the engine encountered more resistance. it worked GREAT! best mower I ever had. naturally they don't make it anymore because it's too good. fuckers...

Oh, easy to answer, the Tecumseh every time. The pump system does increase the longevity of the engine. It allows a greater pitch of the engine in sloped areas. i currently have two in service. The one i use myself is a flathead on a push mower with 28 years of service. The second is the one my youngest uses, a 20 years old Tecumseh 2-cycle commercial engine on a 41 years old Snapper high vac walk behind. Smooth, powerful, never labors in tall grass, best lawn mower engine i've ever used. The benefit for him is he mixes the same fuel for his mower and his trimmer, in a five gallon gas can.

I would choose Briggs hands down. Not just because it was the one I mainly used growing up, but because when I walk down the lawnmower and outdoor equipment parts aisle, I see way more Briggs parts available and for less than the few Tecumseh parts they have. Actually wish I had that choice a few years ago when I bought a mower. They basically only had MTD mowers with Powermore engines in basic, middle (the 132 CC one, I chose) and premium with the front powered wheels and bagger kit.

I had a snapper lawnmower with a Tecumseh engine on it. My brother-in-law had it for five years. I took it, and I used it for 13 years before it finally wore out. Tecumseh engines are very good engines. Shame they went out of business.

I have never had a problem with those engines and owned a lot of them in my time

If we are talking about now I would purchase the Tecumseh rather than the Briggs. My thinking is that over all it may be built better and stronger in spots that are needed. However 25 years ago my philosophy was to buy the cheapest and then when it went bad just buy another one. You get two for the price of one back than.

I have a 25 year old craftsman with 6.75hp Tecumseh that quit on me this weekend after an hour of running. I got it from my grandfather a few years ago and I was surprised it ran at all after sitting unused for years with a filthy filter and oil like sludge. I cleaned it all up and replaced the common parts and it ran great for about 2 years. Unfortunately it’s not worth fixing and I’m shopping around for a new one. Maybe a Toro without the terrible personal pace system.

Tecumesh Engines are ok, their Carbs have issues. The designed their engines to designed to reused parts in different applications. used one as a kid , the machine was dated 1973 if I remember and was used until 1998.. the last ones they made the LV195EA were pretty good. the Vector XLC ones were terrible with their new designed "disposable series 7" carb and the OHV ones were soso

I'm in North East Iowa. Tecumseh was made around where I'm at. I have had kinda poor luck with tecumseh and have been swayed to the side that prefers not to have them. If I had the choice for a engine on a good mower I would go with Honda everytime or Kawasaki. Saying this however my first ever one I paid for was when I moved on my own in 2018 it was a Walmart black Murry for $99 ish and it was the nothing fancy no frills model. But it did run great for me and still runs great for my inlaws who have it now. I've upgraded to a Snapper 22inch with a Honda GCV160 that's RWD. I much prefer the Honda engine runs smoother and is quiet.

In the mid-1980's, the base-model rear-bagger Toro (push mower) cost a whopping $229.00 with a TVS-100 engine, compared to a self-propelled, Briggs "Max"-powered Murray rear-bagger (with the plastic box grass catcher) which was $179.00 (the better deal) where I lived. There's no way I would have paid so much for a new Tecumseh of any make, for the price, when there is no real advantage. Today, those old Tecumseh engines (if taken good care of) are really an awesome find, whether on a Craftsman, Montgomery Ward, or any brand of mower, and I like them for their quiet operation and low-smoke. That engine you have there was more the competitor to the Quantum. I think it just depends on your own experience, and the condition of the specific engine, but I think the tolerances and materials are equally fine.

Cost was definitely the deciding factor determining which mowers had which engines. Tecumseh used cast iron sleeves in their engine blocks when Briggs was just using the aluminum block. A Briggs engine was cheaper to make especially after they moved production to Mexico. The lawnmower manufacturers wanted to make the cheapest mowers which meant Briggs engines. When Honda got a good reputation, they started using Honda engines to sell to consumers who were willing to pay more. Tecumseh was the go to snowblower engine because they were easier to start in cold weather.

I trash picked a 5hp tecumsah snowblower and it was made in 1993 so it been around for a hot minute and still works. I had no issues besides it broke a auger belt but what do you expect from old rubber and I feel like it down on power. (I might not be used to a small 5hp engine though) You use snowblowers less than lawnmowers in my area so they tend to last longer.

One can still easily buy Tecumseh parts online even though the co. went out of business over a decade ago. That tells me that the engines are solid, dependable, & long-lasting. Who would keep investing in parts for a product for which there was no longer any demand?

MTD bought Tecumseh years ago. I don't know if they are still made. Parts are scarcer than B&S. You do great videos.

Wow that cleaned up so nice Yeah I like my Briggs too I got one of these Toro 2 They didn't have no Briggs in Stratton At the time And the wife was saying buy the Toro or get the battery one I need a Rear drive Didn't have one So I went With front wheel drive but don't work so good on the hills And I don't like that circumcision motors They seemed to me harder to work on We only bought the Toro till I got the coil for the John Deere the John Deere is rear drive I use a Toro one for the flat ground Thank you for the video Sorry if my spellings off

Back in the 1980’s, owning a Tecumseh or even B & S engine is what drove people to buy Honda. Honda also came with electronic ignition. My Tecumseh had mechanical switch for ignition system, and it is not something easy for home owner to replace.

For many years I hated tecumseh, but once you work on them for as long as I have, you develop love for it, my list is briggs quantum, then tecumseh, then Kohler, then the new briggs, and dead last the Honda engine, if it wasn't for those carb gaskets, Honda would be number 2.

I agree with you 100%. It would be a B & S engine for me as well.

I have no issues with Tecumseh engienes. I had a 1980s (I think) Murray mower with a 3.5 Hp Tecumseh engine (I think they called it the Legend). It was a nice mower, it had a speed control, and if fired up every time. That engine was just so worn out by time I got rid of it, that it wasn't savable (or worth saving rather). I have another one now, but it is a self propelled mower. I still need to get it running again. I need to find a new carb for it though as the one that is on it looks like it was at the bottom of the ocean for years.

The first mower i used was a snapper with a wind up starting mechanism.

Just recently discovered this channel and I dig it! SUBSCRIBED!

They were good engines a bit more fiddly to work on but not hard.

The first two mowers I repaired were Tecumsehs. These engines were on the worse side if you ask me, especially with the intake and exhaust situation. Had recoils break all the time and dont even get me started on the governor system. Never got them to run at the correct speed.

Thank you so much for this video. I´m basically doing the same thing you do in the US over here in Europe (Germany). We had the European Tecumseh plant in Torino (Italy) which went out of business a year prior to Tecumseh USA, so in 2007, The Tecumseh engines were produced from 1960 to 1980 under the name Aspera Motors, from 1980 to 1990 under the name Tecnamotor and from 1990 to 2007 under the name Tecumseh Europa. I have been trying to beat it into people for 15 years now that Tecumseh is the superior engine if you are just able to handle them. Most people are simply to coarse to understand that and they measure the quality of an engine on how much redneck engineering you can do with them.

I had to replace a Tec engine on my Murray mower. Couldn't repair the Tec because the parts became obsolete. I R&R'd the engine with a $10 junkyard B&S. They were bought out by the Chinese. Liquid Combustion Technology [LCT] is what they call it now.

When I go to toro dealer I don't know if there is much choice during model year. Most issues I see with tecumseh is carburetor. Then sump gasket. The batch of toros I have now 2 have kohlar 4 with tecumseh. No B&S yet. I do have a All wheel drive I bought with a blowen up 163 cc briggs near New. The throttle plate came out of the plastic carburetor blew rod out. I put a quantum on it. When snow melts I will list it for sale my opinion all good just service them.

I have a toro 20016 just like you have in the video. Had it since new in 2005, wish I could recall how much it cost then. Still use it every season. Makes tall grass short.

Never had a Briggs and would not want one. Honda or bust. 😁 I had two different Craftsman mowers with Honda engines and they are like energizer bunnies as long as you do the the basics.

Wow it's amazing whatever you're using to clean the Lawnmower spray on and rinse off what is that Product thanks.

What cleaner do you use? It seams to work great.