$75 Marketplace Snowblower

So a change of plans!

Found this Snapper 826 on Marketplace with a bad engine for $40. My plan now is to take the 9hp from the Husky and drop it on to the new (to me) 826 chassis. Thinking it should bolt right up. Fingers crossed.

This unit is in good shape.



The engine is definitely cooked, you can hear a loud clacking noise when you pull it over.

Oil situation:


Metal in the oil:


I managed to get the pulley holders bolt things loosened up for later use on the other engine.


Gave it and the other blower a cleaning with the pressure washer:




Part two of this plan is to pull the electric start off the bad 826 engine and put it on our current 826 which is recoil only or now, but has the provisions to install the electric start.

 

Brought the other machine back from up north. I’ll update this thread once I start the swap process.

 

I was able to get both engines off without an issue. The 9hp dropped right onto the Snapper chassis, so good to go there.

A few questions on pulleys: My three jaw puller is just a touch too wide to get the inner pulley off the 9hp. And I’m not sure how that pulley is on the engine. Maybe press fit? There are no set screws on that pulley. On the bad 8hp engine, both pulleys have set screws. So some advice needed on how to remove that inner pulley.





Question 2: Crank diameters are different. I believe this can be solved with an adapter?

8hp crank from the bad engine



9hp crank, good engine:

 

Its prolly just stuck...some penetrating oil on it, left to soak, and then hit the pulley with a lil heat/torch, see if it will tap off before the crankshaft heats up too much/expands too. That should not be a press fit...probably a tight slip fit.

 

Why can’t you use the pulleys on the 9hp

 

Thanks. That’s a good option.

 

I gave that a thought. They look similar…but I’d hate to burn up a belt if they aren’t the same size/width.

 

I removed the inner pulley on the bad Snapper engine relatively easily once I took out the set screw I hadn’t seen. Didn’t feel to smart after that discovery.

I ended up taking the 9hp engine down the road to the local OPE dealer to have them remove the pulley. My three jaw could not get a good grip due to the very small space between the engine case and the back side of the pulley. And grabbing the pulley from the center wasn’t an option; jaws would not grip it. Figure someone with more experience and the correct tool could have it off in short order. It’ll end up saving me time and money in the end. They’re up to their eyeballs in mower servicing, so may be awhile before they get it. Guy told me they were so busy, had I brought in the entire blower, they would have not taken it for some time.

 

Picked up the engine last week; $78 to have the pulley removed. Ended up talking to one of the techs. He said they broke one three jaw puller and has to resort to using pry bars and tapping the pulley with a hammer. They were careful not to pry against the case. They also didn’t want to use heat given how close the pulley was to the oil seal. He said it was pretty rusted on. So money well spent.

I picked up a crank adapter on Amazon so the 826 pulleys would fit on the 9hp engine. I think it was $10+/- Works perfectly.

And now for the reallygood news:



It works! The unit moves forwards and backwards and the auger/thrower chug along just fine. Maybe one of the only Snapper 826’s with a 9hp? Who knows….

So up next:
Order new belts.
Swap over the gas tank and fuel lines from the blown 8hp engine
Swap over the pull start assembly and shroud from the 8hp engine
Pull the electric start off the blown engine and put that on our existing 826 in CT

Give away the old Husky chassis; hopefully for parts. Anyone here interested?

 

So now you have a snapper 926.

 

Good call on having the shop remove the pulley. I know if it was me I'd have the pulley off along with lots of carnage.

 

Exactly! I think they actually made a 926 after doing some research. But this is now a 926 ‘Custom’.

 

Seriously. I’m all about doing it myself, but in this situation, it was worth the expense. In the end, saved a lot of time and agrivation.

 

Made some progress recently. I was able to pull the electric starter off the blown engine and install it on the 826 we have in Connecticut. That was about a 20 minute swap. Works perfectly! That alone was worth the $40 for the 826 with the bad engine.

I also pulled the pull cord shroud off and confirmed my suspicions; a mouse used newspaper to build a nest; which most likely clogged the cooling fins and caused the engine to overheat.



After pulling the starter, you can see where the crank hit the case:


When all is said a done, I may pull this engine apart to view the carnage.

 

I hate mice for this. I want to put barn owl nests around my house. That will take care of mice and who( pun intended) doesn't like owls?

 

They are such pests! (Mice). I buy traps in bulk off amazon for our sheds. I won’t use poison as I don’t want it to harm the owls or hawks.

 

Our outdoor cats have eliminated any mouse issues around here...I feed them enough to keep them around, but not enough that they won't hunt for supplement vittles...

 

It’s ready to head back north. I swapped over the pull cord housing, carb housing, fuel tank & lines from the bad engine to the 9hp. Polished it up a bit and started no problem with both electric and pull start. I also installed new belts just because. I was able to get those on without splitting the unit; just had to remove and reinstall the pulleys.

Hoping this gives years of good service. I’m confident the gear drive will last longer than the chain setup on the Husky. Update on the Husky; I gave the chassis away on Marketplace in hopes someone would scavenge it for a good parts. I left a note on a it (and stated in the listing) stating what was wrong with it.

 

Nice job!

 

Nice job glad it is all together and working as planned