Swapping a $130 Predator engine onto a vintage snow blower!
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- #predator #harborfreight #cubcadet
Decided to make my 1970's Cadet 265 snow blower actual run reliably by swapping on a Harbor Freight Predator engine. It went surprisingly easy, unlike everything else I attempt.
Went to buy a 28" Ariens at Home Depot...they had to wait for a towmotor guy to pull it down off the rack and put it in my SUV...when tomodude showed up he did not look pleased, ignored me and put the box in kinda rough...I was kinda miffed until I got home and realized they gave me the 32" instead...lol...thats my kinda customer service.
I have the Ariens version of the same snowblower with the Techumseh engine. I bought this thing back in the 90s when it was already 20 years old and I still have it today. I hate to mention it for fear of jinxing myself, but mine has always been spot on reliable and never failed me. And it get used a lot here in Minnesota. Good to know a Predator may bolt right up if I ever need to replace my engine.
Trust me, you won't ever. We've had our 11hp Tecumseh on ours for 44 years. Electric start aswell works great. 36 inches, absolutely no comparison between the Tecumseh and Briggs motors. Always go by the old saying. If it's for summer get a Briggs, if it's for winter get a Tecumseh. 🤝🏽 May you have many more trouble free years of use! Just keep oil and gas in it and it will run forever.
@@lakeshorerides The only thing I heard about Tecumsehs is make sure the governor works properly. I have heard they do not like to be over-reved.
It seems that my old Tecumseh appeared to have outlasted the blower it was on, however, since I bought the blower used and on its last legs, I can't know for sure it was the original motor.
Even with a half plugged carb it got the job done, however, electric start made it easy to start and I couldn't hardly use the pull start even if I wanted because the pawl would fall out 50% of the time you'd try to pull start it.
The machine led a rough life before I got it.
What finally did it in was it had been used in salt before I got it and the welds between the front and back of the bucket were finally giving way.
My Ariens Sno-Thro was made in 1965 so it'll be 59 sometime this year and it fires up on the 2nd pull (unless I forget to push the throttle up to "run", LOL!) It's a 24" model 10M4 (ST424) with a little 4hp Tecumseh on it. Only reason I'd ever consider changing it out for a new engine would be if a part broke I can no longer get a replacement for.
"Well so far this is actually going a lot easier than I thought, which is probably a bad sign." Truer words have never been spoken. If things are going well, you best believe you've fuckered something up, and just haven't figured out what it was yet.
I was considering doing the same next season with my 20 y.o. snowblower that has a tired old 6.5 Tecumseh. This video is encouraging. Cheers!
7 or 8 years ago we got buried with back to back to back heavy snow storms. The snow in my backyard was at least 4 feet deep. Out front we were running out of place to put it. Murphy’s Law my snowblower died and I couldn’t get parts so a buddy gave me a working chassis. I swapped my HF motor I had on my busted one to this. Only problem was the motor output was reversed. It had 2 creeping forward speeds and 6 deadly reverse speeds you wouldn’t use. Even with the auger and impeller running backwards this thing blew snow further than any snowblower I’ve ever had! I could actually launch the stuff over the house! It lasted the season and I bought a new one with lights, heated grips and electric start (all the old fart accessories) and all is good, but that HF motor saved my back that year.
lol, you can be sure the impeller was going the right way.
Just your drive was reversed, which is normal if you replaced a Tecumseh Snow King engine.
You gotta love that headache free "One Pull" starting. Im sure there is purist who might worship an original cubby snow blower with the Briggs but not me, maybe as a collectors item you dont really use, the Predator is the only way to go in my opinion. Btw, your red MTD Cadet tractor in the background is a thing of beauty......We love your power equipment vids.
3:40 funny you mention them lubing the shaft, I was about to do the same here 😁
I love that you're doing this with your typical lack of care for what other people get all jacked up about.
At this rate half of the best running things you have are going to be powered by Predator engines. I love that this thing just bolted right on, I guess there is somewhat of a standard to the madness of small engines
Just really good copying / IP theft and good manufacturing standards
@@daviddavis1322 Well I'm looking at it from this aspect; If nearly 30 years ago PC manufacturers figured out how to standardize things so parts are interchangable and therefor, cheaper, why isn't lawn / garden equipment built this way?
Thank you
Had my grandfathers 1973 Arctic snowblower for a couple seasons. Powered by an 8hp Briggs with a 26” cut and these super cool horizontal bar tires pre drilled for screws. It was unique as hell with the chrome handlebars, finger grips and lightning bolt shaped handle to adjust the top of the chute. Like everything he had, he’d kept all the manuals including the accessory catalog plus the lien card showing he’d taken out a $500 loan in 1974. As cool and rare as it was (only made from ‘73-‘74), I had no love for the beast considering I stand 6’2”. The handlebars were way too short when I had up to 3 driveways and 2 1/2 blocks of sidewalk to clear. Turns out, Arctic Cat nerds go nuts for this stuff and it now resides in a guys private museum.
Love it mate!!! And what a bonus having everything line up for a truly bolt on solution. 🙃 My 20CFM 7.5HP petrol compressor runs a Ducar Honda knock off and, aside from modifying how the motor mounts to the compressor, it's not missed a beat once in 6 years.
I feel the same about a snow mobile
Love the pragmatism. It works and blows snow for pennies. That is all you need for 3-5 times a year. The new blowers have EZ steer plastic transmissions for $1,100 that break and are unreliable. As far as the purists, I have yet to go to a vintage snow blower show. Great vid as always!
Ha wow didn't think it would be quite that easy. I've been hoarding a few of the old tecumseh engines to swap, but my garbage picked sno blower refuses to die. Blows as much oil as snow, and always starts miraculously. Think the constantly flooding carb might actually be bonus in that case haha
Yaaay another crazy engine swap 🤗
I'm almost done restoring a 1979 Ariens ST824 and have three of the same models from the 90s thru 2009 and seeing how the penny pinchers saved money is cool which goes with my older is better philosophy. Next is the Simplicity which is so freaking cool and I have all of the paperwork from the original dealer, receipts for 48 years, owner's manual and warranty information package. I have a snowblower problem and I promise I'll quit tomorrow.
I never knew chef Alton Brown was so handy. (j/k Great video....nice shop.)
"a smell from my youth" 😂
I still think you should have attached your plow to the turbo Firebird.
They bolt right on the troy built tillers also
I replaced the engine on a '70s Troy-Bilt tiller with a 6hp Predator also-it bolted right on, with no problems at all. It's a strong motor, and it tills just as well as my other 7hp Tiller-you can't stall it out at all.
Man, I remember building go-carts, nearly $500 for a Briggs without a cast iron sleeve. Times have changed.
I put the vertical shaft version on my DR dump wagon. Best decision ever.
We have a snow blower that is very similar to this one. Virtually identical in build. Says “Roper” on it. 10 horse Tecumseh and 32” swath. Has 110 ac starter. Blower is engaged with a deadman hand paddle. 5F + rev. Great machine but in Kentucky you just hardly ever need one. We have used it twice in eight years.
Maybe Harbor Freight will start selling mini LS engines for these types of applications.
I did this with my 35 year old John Deere edger. Great motors, especially for the money.
"Smells like something from my youth" Well it's from China, so it probably smells like smog.
I have a 90's era Tecumseh Snow King on my snowblower. That was THE snowblower engine. Another family member has a Briggs on theirs... and it's OK, but mine starts easier.
Great video and this is a way easier and sometimes cheaper option of farting around and trying to find parts for a tired old motor with issues.
Couple of stupid thoughts: A light, even a battery operated duct taped on is a nice safety thing. Snow blowers are loud and how many times at the end of a driveway you’re startled by a car you didn’t see goes sliding by? Chains or even sheet metal screws in the tire treads for ice traction saves your back. Angle iron drift bars on the auger housing to break high snow and stiffen the housing. Never tried the rubber blade thing on the impeller? Seen vids of it launching snow and the chute doesn’t jam up? Never tried that though? Lastly, always wanted to shoot an old chassis olive drab and paint P40 shark mouth on either side of the auger housing for a bad ass look.
That aviation resin based gasket maker is good for oil pumps. if you're oil pump and distributor are driven by the same shaft and you have to take the pump out and move it, that stuff wipes right off.
I put a predator 212 in an old Snapper 5/24 snow blower. It works great. As good or better than any modern snowblower of similar size.
Hemingway vs non-hemi matters when finding performance parts like valve springs, camshafts and lightened flywheel.
Was you trying chew up the wood deck lol enjoy the videos brother
I believe Harbor Freight could use this video to sell there product ,and send use a coupon for $100.00 I have one of those snow blowers that don`t start when use need it I would buy that engine because of how easy you did it thanks
I agree that people should pay me money
Is that one of those yugo motors? She is sweet!
How true…whenever it snows here it takes me a day or too to get one started. The ethanol in fuel really gums up quickly. Use a rule stop valve and filter . Stabilizer in fuel .
Haha. Love the content man !
I was looking for a snowblower with a bad engine, but was given a rough looking one that ran.Still checking on garbage day. Someday I will find a project.
You going to take something to the #NoNameNationals in September? would love to see you there man, bring your buddy and one of his weird swaps like the barra.
Wish I could, but its a bit far and I have some things going on at that time.
@@FuelInjectionSucks well there's always next time man, keep up the great stuff.
is there any way you can change the pully to increase the speed of the thrower... like my snowblower I can pee farther than it throws.
Supposedly the "flap mod" helps this more than changing the rpm.
@@FuelInjectionSucks it would be a good video... how to increase throwing distance
You'd need to change the belt too.
I'd check the health of the engine first and make sure it's at the proper RPM under load. I did pulley swap my auger pulley on one snowblower which now launches snow on my neighbor's roof but that will eat belts, bearings and bushings but it sure is fun.
Here to tell ya they really throw snow at 5000rpms.
Yup.
The governor on my Tecumseh is bad , so it's nonexistent and you have to adjust throttle with the load, and well sometimes she gets away and sings a little too high.
Previous owner blew out the exhaust keeper on it, I replaced it without lifting the head but unless I fix the governor she's gonna blow again.
Thing is mines a 9hp, I can't really go with the el cheapo 6.5hp engine.
Lol here it is 🤣
ua-cam.com/video/Q3nbmp1kb50/v-deo.html
A piece of pvc pipe on the cutting edge & you will glide right over the rocks in your driveway.
Add rubber to the second stage paddles and it will two the snow
Very good for my not-the-best-day > Thanks
Fuel injection Sucks that did very good you should make your drive way concrete a DIY Driveway project in the spring time
I'd need another mortgage lol
@@FuelInjectionSucks you could always do paver bricks for your driveway
I don't have Cleetus funds lol.
I expect everything to be a pain in the ass in the next video. 😁
The couple of rocks it spit out and hit the squarebody with made me cringe lol Gotta say I'm amazed that bolted up just like factory, probably because it was originally a briggs. I looked into swapping a mid 60's Airens I have and it would require drilling to mount in place of the tecumseh. No problem but my cheap ass doesn't want to pay $130-$160 for a 212, they used to be $99 on sale!
Lol... that was the best part of the video.
Very nice that it fit so well. Regarding the wobbly bent auger shaft.. If it works, it works- i had a crappy snowblower with an issue like that, but I think it wobbled in and out more than up and down, and so it loved to shred/throw the belt until i fixed the shaft.
Also, i wonder if you will need to take the air filter off, assuming it has one.. It seems like snowblowers tend to just use some kind of shroud and no filter, i assume because they can get plugged up with fine snow
Wow rocks and all maybe try adjusting your sliders so it can enjoy more snow
You can tell the hemi vs the non hemi by the picture on the box , If you look close you can see the diffences in the picture of the engine itself , hemi would be cast aluminum valve cover and non hemi would be stamped steel . I guess the only real difference on why they’re two different styles is cause they come from two different factory’s in China but are all built for the same place so have to basically look identical
I have one of those old machines. I want to try this
What happened to the harbor freight engine into car swap??
I haven't experiences that not starting thing myself and my ariens sno-thro is 59 years old and still has its little 4hp Tecumseh on it. Had a decent snow about 2 weeks ago and it started on the third pull and probably would have started on the second if I had remembered to push the throttle lever up before then, lol.
Not for nothing , but that blower housing is built like a tank ! I’m sure you’ll want to take a poke at seeing if you can do something with that bent shaft . Looks like a sound drive assembly too . Between how quick and easy the swap was and how stout the blower assembly is , I hope the fix is easy and the whole project can be salvaged . If you got to swap the motor over to whole other snow blower , I hope the one the predator goes to isn’t lame compared to this machine . I know you got real projects but be a shame if this snow blower got the clap .
If your 1975 snowblower is not starting first or second pull, it means you might need to go to BOCES and take a small engine course.
Tuning it up when it isn't snowing is the issue.
All it needs is a cup holder. Victory!
Bought a snow blower with a swapped 420 predator, just to pull engine for tractor. Paid 150, sold for 50 with another engine.
When I bought me a HF predator I looked up the part # to get a hemi. I think there was a 6332? Don't know if one's better or not. Aluminum valve cover is a giveaway. Non-hemi is a tin valve cover.
The Hemi is the CA compliant engine, you get less rpm out of the box.
Your intro demeanor just depressed me to where I
sounded like Eeyore From Winnie the Poo fame!
Cheer up a little, its okay! That motor would have Been a fortune years ago.
Harbor freight to the rescue ! I hope the purists of the cub cadet community don’t start trying to dump on you for not rebuilding the engine or at least cleaning the carburetor . After a while , you just get sick of small engine carbs . I got sick of cleaning the carter BBD on my Jeep and went for an Amazon replacement . Wasn’t looking for trouble so I didn’t opt for the Weber 32/36 upgrade everyone raves about . You know what ? If the old Briggs was breaking your balls , then I’ll agree with the HF hemi “ upgrade “ . Normally , as an American patriot ( for what that matters ) , I would try my best to retain a Briggs , but since it was an Aerion or something , well , I didn’t grow up with those engines so I would just put it on the curb for the garbage pickers . I’m done with small engines if I can help it . Yes sir , I agree you did the right thing . We get snow here in New York but in PA , YOU GET SNOW ! So , you need a snow blower ‘cause ain’t nobody got time for that !
Not upset in the least , in fact I’m down with this replacement . When the snow comes and you got no time to get a snow blower started or service it , you’ll be glad you did . Damn , now your gonna make me go down to harbor freight and pick one up and put it on my Honda hs35 ( garbage pick ) if the tecumseh goes on it ? The friggin’ thing dates back to when I graduated high school and I ain’t buying a snow blower . My money is spent on my Jeep CJ projects . Funk that ! I’ll probably wuss out and wait for the Presidents’ Day sale though 😎
Im guessing the briggs is cheaper then the decomposer🤷🏻♂️ is why they used it
You can tell hemi from non hemi by the valve cover design. Plenty of videos on it.
I gave up on any snow blower that doesn't have some sort of electric start.
nice
need to change the pulley size on the crank and belt size. them old blowers never had good speed to throw the snow and now with more power it can handle the speed. once you fix that and your bent shaft you will never want to use anything else. here is a old Husky up graded the pulley and engine years ago. ua-cam.com/video/3jIZaBfMmgE/v-deo.html
That is just great. You can throw snow 3 feet to the left.
You were removed from my playlist...
Is there anything a guy CAN'T get at Harbor Freight? 😀
I bet you could throw dirt with that thing...
_"Smells like something from my youth."_
You were exposed to Chinesium as a child?
IT BLOWS CHUNKS....um, sorry for yelling, ( that Chinese engine always your snow blower to Blow chunks on frozen snow) Definitely didn't suck. Fuel Injection, Turbo and Four valves per cylinder next.Amd Maybee NITROUS. Um sorry. Nitrous.
Aryan hell yeah
Such a negative attitude.
You talk too much