[How-To] Snow Blower Engine Swap

This is how I swapped the engine in my snow blower for a 6.5 HP Honda GX200 clone. The engine goes by a bunch of different names depending on where you bought it. Champion, Harbor Freight, Princess auto, grey hound clone, blue clone, yellow clone or lifan engines. There almost all the same cloned Honda design.

BTW this was the first project in the new garage … fuck I love my garage

Part 1

This is the old tired 5HP Techumseh with the dual output shafts …boourns

 

This is the new 6.5HP Honda clone… its a 196cc Champion Engine

 

Other people on the internet have done this swap and have always had problems dealing with moving both the auger and friction plate belts to a single shaft … the auger works properly but the friction plate controls are backwards To fix the backward-ness I am gonna flip the gearbox, axles and gear selector linkage.

This is the stock configuration before the flip
 
Here is everything flipped
 
The friction plate engagement cable clears the drive gear and the only issue I can see right now is with the friction wheel guide pin clearance. 
 
The arm that slides the friction wheel along that shaft is bent in such a away that if i left it stock it would hit the friction wheel. My work around for this is to extend the pin which will allow the arm to clear the wheel. I figure i could use something like a bolt of steel pin thats longer so the arm clears.
PART 2
 
Got my engine and pulleys mounted I took the belt tensioner off the old engine but, I wasn’t able to keep it spring loaded … so its more of an idler pulley now.
 
I had to elongate the engine mounting holes to allow me to slide the engine as far forward as possible.
 
Had To
  • Stack of washers is to lift the gear selector arm up about 3/4 of an inch
  • Drilled new holes for the mounting bracket … raise the mounting bracket up an inch.
  • Drilled out the old pin and inserted a longer bolt.
Notice the black lever arm at the very top, its done a 180 flip and now shifts on the other side, this allows me to KEEP all 5 forward speeds and 2 reverse.