520H / Harbor Freight

[Woodsie 51]

Did the HF Predator repower.  Pretty easy.  Sleeve for shaft, Spacers under motor plate, modify PTO mount, modify exhaust.
Ignition switch, circuit breaker, throttle, fuel lines, all easy to hook up.(eliminated all gauges and crazy old wiring)    Best thing $600.  Would have had much more than that in my P220 
rebuild.  (valve seats)  Might not last long might not be able to get parts.  But, fun project, and the 520 is ALIVE again!

[JC 1965 1,530]

Can you post some pictures. Sounds very interesting.       

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Harbor Freight is pretty good on support of their products so I wouldn't worry too much. Yes, pictures please!

[rmaynard 15,509]

Maybe you should get Terry to make you some new decals saying 520-HF.

  please.

Edited July 16, 2015 by rmaynard

[Ed Kennell 38,209]

             

Maybe you should get Terry to make you some new decals saying 520-HF.

  please.

I was thinking     520 PREDATOR

[JackC 617]

Maybe 520-HP?

[Woodsie 51]

worthless?  getout. sure somebody's been wantin to know if its possible

[rmaynard 15,509]

Don't take the "worthless" comment personally. It's all meant in jest. But we would like to see what it looks like. 

[Woodsie 51]

I'll try to get pics posted.  Not to smart on that.  Didnt take it peronally. ("worthless")

[bds1984 1,435]

I'm contemplating doing the same on my 520 but the only think stopping me is the availability of oil filters.  Do they use the standard 3/4 thread like many other engines?

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

I'm contemplating doing the same on my 520 but the only think stopping m#e is the availability of oil filters.  Do they use the standard 3/4 thread like many other engines?

Chances are it is like the GX-series twins that have a 20x1.5mm thread. This is unconfirmed though. Maybe someone that has one can confirm. The Honda oil filter is: #15400-PLM-A01PE, and the equivalent Wix oil filter is #57536.

 

[Woodsie 51]

Here's some low quality pics. She aint a showpiece! Huge honkin muffler.  That was the hardeest part.  Hood is tight fit.
Dont comment on my exhaust braze job.

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

That looks great! Nice job.

Do you have a picture from muffler side with hood down?

Can you detail your modifications you made to the various brackets? (or at least take pictures?) I'm always curious what a repower would take.

Doesn't need to be a show piece, sometimes you just need functionality over form.

Oh and I would love a video since you have the stock HF muffler.

[Ed Kennell 38,209]

Looks great....     This is definitely the way I will go if / when my 220 loses a valve.    Can we see a close up of the PTO upper mount?    

[JoeM 7,874]

how's the engine crankcase noise?
looks like you had to raise it up an inch?

[953 nut 55,297]

    First class job! I had a 1055 that had been re-powered with a HF 13 HP and used to tow an eight foot wide set of drags around a horse ring for 5 years before I picked it up. It came with a nice shot frame snow plow which was my reason for purchasing it.Went cheap because it was listed as "Needs a transmission", turned out the shiftier had pulled up, simple fix.  Sold it to a fellow who had a 36" gear drive mower, he has been mowing with it for a couple of years. All things considered I think these Honda Clone HF engines deliver good performance for the money.

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

This is great that two of our members have tried this re-power. I have HF singles on various two-wheel tractors/equipment and have been very impressed with them. I have a potential candidate in the future but need at some point to decide on the HF Twin or adding another diesel re-power.

Earlier today I found a review on another forum of this engine. What concerns me is the support of the PTO end. I am not well versed in the loads that may be produced. Would the mechanical PTO work or would an electric PTO be required? The reason being in the review it states that the crankshaft bearings are not ball bearings.
http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/firewall-forward-props-fuel-system/21130-22-hp-harbor-freight-engine-evaluation-other-v-tiwns.html#post257566

Looking on the HF site, there are a number of reviews of this engine. It seems that crankshaft endplay and fuel pump issues are potential problems. The best way to care for the crankshaft seems to be an exchange (in the review a possible fix is to machine the case cover at the crank and camshaft), and for the fuel pump to install a Honda or equivalent pump.

Buyers seem to still be able to use the 20%-25% coupon in addition to the sale price if buying online.

Edited July 17, 2015 by shallowwatersailor

[pfrederi 17,741]

Later K series and magnum twins used by WH did not have ball bearings on the crank. Instead they speced a thrust bearing  (think radial needle bearing) to take the end loading.  Do the clones have such a thing?? I am using a John Deere KT 17 in an C175 I had to switch to an electric PTO as JD was too cheap to get ball bearings...(Well they really didn't need to as there PTO didn't put end pressure on the crank.

[Woodsie 51]

OK, here goes a long post.........Crankcase noise?  Less than old Onan, but doesnt purr like a Honda. Muffler is Ginormous but not that quiet.
Am I really the first person to do this??  If I did this .  Anybody can do this.  (especially after i give all the details)
Measure , Measure , Measure before you take old motor off.  Height , width, distance from here to there.  The more reference points the better.
HF shaft is 1.3" lower than P220.  I used 1.25" aluminum (the miracle metal) blocks. Easiest to drill thru. (7/16 Holes)
HF shaft is near exactly 1"Dia.    P220 1 1/8" Dia... Thus you need a piece of steel tube 1 1/8" O.D. 1" I.D.  (Online Metals. get at least 1' I will tell ya why later).  However,
closest i could find was .992" I.D. Had to use a 1" bore thru.  Keyway slot needs cut in new tube to match slot in HF shaft. 1/4" key.  You have to use 1/4" X  somethin bigger key, cause you have increased the needed height by putting that sleeve on there. In other words to go up into drive pulley far enough. Oh longer set screws too.  The length of this sleeve... sorry i didnt write it down.
You gotta guess like i did by putting the PTO cone on. You have to be sure you are past the length of that heavy steel bushing or whatever that thing is called the needle bearing travels on. 
I unbolted the original motor plate and put the 1 1/4" spacers under it. I contemplated that, big time, whether to leave the original plate there and put spacers under it, or space the motor on top of the plate. i didnt feel right about the motor sitting on little blocks, so i spaced the motor mount plate up. If i had spacers and another plate i might not have gone the route i did. 
Have your front belt tightener pulley thing on the tractor for the east and west motor alignment. Have your PTO on and place a belt over the pulley.  Make sure it doesnt ride on the cone flat disc face.  Use all those measurements you took for north and south.  Obviously you have to drill new holes in motor mount plate to match HF motor mount holes. (i used a 3/8" dowel rod about 1 1/2" long with paint on it to mark new hole placement. you dont have room for anything like a marker or center punch.)
Upper PTO mount I simply had to weld 1" to its lower extremity to meet with HF bolt holes. Had I put the motor up on spacers and left the mount plate there I "might" not have had to do this.
EXHAUST SUCKED!  HF muffler dumps right in your face. Cannibalized new muffler and old, to flop everything around. Oh you can used leftover 1" tube to lengthen pipes to clear PTO and hood. Same size as exhaust pipes. .............. You figure it out.  I did.  
Throttle and choke simply undo old/new ... hook old/new up.
HF comes with a "control box" take it apart lengthen wires drill bigger hole in dash for ignition switch.  SIMPLE STUFF.
Obviously I got rid of ALL BS guages.  Might try to hook up voltmeter.
Fuel line SINCH. Battery SINCH.
The hood is tight. I need to raise it.  The hood louvers cut into the HF air filter top. I have a rag on it now. Muffler touches side of hood.
GO FOR IT!  All you guys that never cleaned the cooling fins on your Onan. I bought this one for $150 only because it had new back tires.
All you Wheelhorse purists, is this like puttin a Chevy motor in a Ford? Or worse?
If anybody needs more info, not sure if my e-mail address shows up to everybody, but feel free.
 

[Woodsie 51]

I couldnt use the standard 20% off coupon even online.  Luckily someone posted on another forum a good code to use.
I got mine for like $601 at my door.  I passed on the extended warranty.  might come back to bite me in the
But then again.  Fun project.

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

Thanks for the details! You are the second person I know thats done it.

I just like to see everyone's approaches.

And as far as purists, you saved a horse and on the cheap... I dont think anyone can talk bad about ya for that!

[JC 1965 1,530]

Thanks for posting the pictures and all the info. I have been wondering how one of these engines would fit in a . I think it looks fine and remember, it"s your tractor so all you have to do is please yourself.     

[dodgemike 52]

Well done! As far as reliability I repowered a snowblower with the 6.5 Predator. Replaced an 8 horse Briggs. Best $99I ever spent. Going on 3 winters now. Two pulls on the cord and away we go.

[JoeM 7,874]

Thanks and good job! I repowered several wheel horses and the success is in the details, you nailed it!
Glad to hear not much cc noise.
I installed a 20hp Onan muffler on a 14hp K and was surprised, not really quiet either. size matters?
Thanks again for sharing.
 

[Turbo 12]

On July 17, 2015 at 6:34:29 PM, Woodsie said:

OK, here goes a long post.........Crankcase noise?  Less than old Onan, but doesnt purr like a Honda. Muffler is Ginormous but not that quiet.
Am I really the first person to do this??  If I did this .  Anybody can do this.  (especially after i give all the details)
Measure , Measure , Measure before you take old motor off.  Height , width, distance from here to there.  The more reference points the better.
HF shaft is 1.3" lower than P220.  I used 1.25" aluminum (the miracle metal) blocks. Easiest to drill thru. (7/16 Holes)
HF shaft is near exactly 1"Dia.    P220 1 1/8" Dia... Thus you need a piece of steel tube 1 1/8" O.D. 1" I.D.  (Online Metals. get at least 1' I will tell ya why later).  However,
closest i could find was .992" I.D. Had to use a 1" bore thru.  Keyway slot needs cut in new tube to match slot in HF shaft. 1/4" key.  You have to use 1/4" X  somethin bigger key, cause you have increased the needed height by putting that sleeve on there. In other words to go up into drive pulley far enough. Oh longer set screws too.  The length of this sleeve... sorry i didnt write it down.
You gotta guess like i did by putting the PTO cone on. You have to be sure you are past the length of that heavy steel bushing or whatever that thing is called the needle bearing travels on. 
I unbolted the original motor plate and put the 1 1/4" spacers under it. I contemplated that, big time, whether to leave the original plate there and put spacers under it, or space the motor on top of the plate. i didnt feel right about the motor sitting on little blocks, so i spaced the motor mount plate up. If i had spacers and another plate i might not have gone the route i did. 
Have your front belt tightener pulley thing on the tractor for the east and west motor alignment. Have your PTO on and place a belt over the pulley.  Make sure it doesnt ride on the cone flat disc face.  Use all those measurements you took for north and south.  Obviously you have to drill new holes in motor mount plate to match HF motor mount holes. (i used a 3/8" dowel rod about 1 1/2" long with paint on it to mark new hole placement. you dont have room for anything like a marker or center punch.)
Upper PTO mount I simply had to weld 1" to its lower extremity to meet with HF bolt holes. Had I put the motor up on spacers and left the mount plate there I "might" not have had to do this.
EXHAUST SUCKED!  HF muffler dumps right in your face. Cannibalized new muffler and old, to flop everything around. Oh you can used leftover 1" tube to lengthen pipes to clear PTO and hood. Same size as exhaust pipes. .............. You figure it out.  I did.  
Throttle and choke simply undo old/new ... hook old/new up.
HF comes with a "control box" take it apart lengthen wires drill bigger hole in dash for ignition switch.  SIMPLE STUFF.
Obviously I got rid of ALL BS guages.  Might try to hook up voltmeter.
Fuel line SINCH. Battery SINCH.
The hood is tight. I need to raise it.  The hood louvers cut into the HF air filter top. I have a rag on it now. Muffler touches side of hood.
GO FOR IT!  All you guys that never cleaned the cooling fins on your Onan. I bought this one for $150 only because it had new back tires.
All you Wheelhorse purists, is this like puttin a Chevy motor in a Ford? Or worse?
If anybody needs more info, not sure if my e-mail address shows up to everybody, but feel free.
 

 

This is awesome.  I was just thinking about this as an option yesterday.  I'm glad to see you did it with great success.  In my case I'm looking to adapt the Predator to my recently acquired scrapyard 416-8.  My current Onan P216G runs ok, but it clearly needs rebuilding and seems down on power.  After checking into a rebuild kit, I quickly realized it most likely wouldn't happen.  Thus the repower notion.  I don't know when I'll start the process, but your description will make the effort and anxiety much less involved.  Any updates to reveal???  Thanks, Greg