Octotat 15 #1 Posted Tuesday at 03:56 PM Hey all, The little Tecumseh 7 hp in my WorkHorse 700 is getting tired. Tons of blow by and oil leaks. It's also missfiring worse and worse. I would like this forums advice on rebuilding vs replacing it with something newer. It currently has an electric start which I love and I know going to some repower options I would lose that feature. If rebuilding it is the way, any kits or other recommendations? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 11,987 #2 Posted Tuesday at 04:54 PM Welcome! Some parts - oversize piston, rings, perhaps more are either discontunued or very difficult to find, as Tecsuseh is out of business. Yet valves & gasket sets are available. You either love or hate Tecky's.... The issue with a repower is does the replacement engine have a bushing or a ball bearing (required) at the pulley end of the crank to live with the side load. Most do not... A populat upgrade is to ditch the Tecumseh and replace it with either a Kohler 7 HP K161S or an 8 HP K181S from a Wheel Horse. Direct proper drop-in replacement with great part availability. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 18,051 #3 Posted Tuesday at 04:57 PM 1 minute ago, ri702bill said: populat upgrade is to ditch the Tecumseh and replace it with either a Kohler 7 HP K161S or an 8 HP K181S from a Wheel Horse. Direct proper drop-in replacement with great part availability. Hard to argue that. A small block Kohler is hard to beat! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pfrederi 20,403 #4 Posted Tuesday at 05:41 PM 45 minutes ago, ri702bill said: Welcome! Some parts - oversize piston, rings, perhaps more are either discontunued or very difficult to find, as Tecsuseh is out of business. Yet valves & gasket sets are available. You either love or hate Tecky's.... The issue with a repower is does the replacement engine have a bushing or a ball bearing (required) at the pulley end of the crank to live with the side load. Most do not... A populat upgrade is to ditch the Tecumseh and replace it with either a Kohler 7 HP K161S or an 8 HP K181S from a Wheel Horse. Direct proper drop-in replacement with great part availability. That old style PTO doesn't put end pressure on the crank so no ball bearings are needed. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 19,847 #5 Posted Wednesday at 12:52 AM 7 or 8 hp Kohler and you'll be good to go 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 65,593 #6 Posted Wednesday at 11:16 PM On 5/5/2026 at 12:54 PM, ri702bill said: The issue with a repower is does the replacement engine have a bushing or a ball bearing (required) at the pulley end of the crank to live with the side load. Most do not... The Workhorse 700 doesn't have a bell PTO clutch so that is not a consideration. There all kinds of options out there. Try to find one with the crankshaft the same distance up from the frame so the belt cover can do its job of keeping the belt in line. There are about 1,800 previous threads on engine swaps, read a few of them and you will get some good information on what worked and what didn't go so well. Just do a search for ENGINE SWAP. Some of the wiring on your 700 may need to be changed around but we can help you find your way through that. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 16,377 #7 Posted 3 hours ago 23 hours ago, 953 nut said: search for ENGINE SWAP. and choose options “use all my search terms” and “topics" 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
