MTD repower

[bww3588]

Have a MY 1997 ranch king with the 16 horse techumseh. It's been a good engine thus far but parts are getting hard to find and I'm looking for a little more power.

My questions are

1. What engine would be a good candidate for a repower?
2. What would be involved with swapping the techumseh for said engine?

The model number is 13ag695g206.

 

[gfp55]

Have a MY 1997 ranch king with the 16 horse techumseh. It's been a good engine thus far but parts are getting hard to find and I'm looking for a little more power.

My questions are

1. What engine would be a good candidate for a repower?
2. What would be involved with swapping the techumseh for said engine?

The model number is 13ag695g206.

Are you looking to put a larger engine on your Ranch King? Being an MTD you could lots of different engines under the hood. All you have to worry about is the drive pulleys. If you get the same size crank shaft that comes out of the bottom of the engine, you old drive pulleys will swap over. If you stay with a single cylinder then your engine control cables, fuel line will switch over easy. The starter cable will switch from one to the other and engine electrics plug will have to be changed. Most should be about the same length. I would shop around for a motor Kawasaki, Kohler, Briggs & Stratton or others.

 

[bww3588]

Just looking for more power and more readily available parts. Don't care if it's a v twin or single.

 

[gfp55]

If I was looking to do what you want to do I would look at craigslist for a old $50-$100 garden tractor that has a good engine maybe something MTD and swap out the engine. MTD shares tons of parts with lots of mowers so if you find one that is close to yours you with have a donor tractor. You can find which tractors are the same by checking on a online parts store like partstree.com and put in you model# or what ever and you should be able to see other models that share part like yours. You don't have to worry about what the hood/fenders look like, you need to look at the frame/axle/steering parts of your tractor and the donor tractor. This will work for the tractor but does not help very much with engines. MTD makes their mower/tractor so you can install lots of different engine, 1 or 2 cylinder engines and most of the wiring will just plug right in. If you find a tractor and are not sure if it will work, just take some pictures and write down the model# serial# of the donor tractor and post them on this forum and we should be able to say if it will work. Good luck. I hope I am making sense to you.

 

[bww3588]

Makes sense. I just went thru the same thing swapping decks. I will scour craigslist for a donor and go from there

 

[gfp55]

Makes sense. I just went thru the same thing swapping decks. I will scour craigslist for a donor and go from there

Keep us posted, OK

 

[bww3588]

Found a 20 horse Briggs I/c opp twin. It's off a Murray though. He said older Murray so I'm guessing early 90s? Wondering how that would work. He's located close to me and said I could hear it run.

 

[gfp55]

Found a 20 horse Briggs I/c opp twin. It's off a Murray though. He said older Murray so I'm guessing early 90s? Wondering how that would work. He's located close to me and said I could hear it run.

They put B&S opposed twins in MTDs, I would take a look and hear it run, check the oil. Kack sure to get the pulley off the Murray also if you buy it. Take some pictures of it also.

 

[BRubble]

Found a 20 horse Briggs I/c opp twin. It's off a Murray though. He said older Murray so I'm guessing early 90s? Wondering how that would work. He's located close to me and said I could hear it run.

If that engine is anything like The 12 hp I/C single cylinder in my mower, it'll be dependable. The one in my 1988 is still running very good. Regular maintenance is all that mine has had; change Oil, Plug, Air Filter, Fuel Filter, and adjust the carb fuel mixture about every 5 to 10 year's, + I add Stabil in the Gas Can, each time it get's filled.

It's still early though, @ 26 year's. We'll see how it is doing in another 10 year's.. :smile:

 

[briggs]

They put B&S opposed twins in MTDs, I would take a look and hear it run, check the oil. Kack sure to get the pulley off the Murray also if you buy it. Take some pictures of it also.

also make sure u get the throttle and choke cable as they are longer ...I just put a 16 hp vangaurd twin in place of a single cyl 12