Tecumseh Power Co "closed"

[SkykingHD]

I was told at a small engine shop last month that Tecumseh Power Co. the people that make Tecumseh snow blower engines are not making engines any more. The shop also said no repair parts are comming out of that plant either.

This months "Snow Magazine" also has an article about this company going out of business.

They made a good engine for snow blowers, hate to see this happen, one more American company going out of business.

[chtucker]

They were bought by B&S...All of my tecumsah parts are coming labeled Briggs & Stratton....

[paulsoccodato]

They were bought by B&S...All of my tecumsah parts are coming labeled Briggs & Stratton....

Oh, Thats Terrific. Now i guess the only choice is Honda. Joy.

[John Banks]

Oh, Thats Terrific. Now i guess the only choice is Honda. Joy.

I won't use Honda's for any cold weather applications if I don't have to

[Prosno]

Its sad to say but we as americans have done this to ourselves,
We have bought from the big box stores such as walmart and we have wanted better and better deals, get it cheaper, buy Japanese, buy off brands etc.....
Mostly Johnny homeowner doing that but I am guilty as well.
If we dont do something soon we are doomed as the USA, buy American, buy quality, its in our court now but knowbodys doing a thing.
Read about this man who told Walmart to shove it! We need more people like him for sure, and remember buy from your local hardware store, your local butcher, etc......
http://www.fastcompany.com/node/54763/print

[paulsoccodato]

I won't use Honda's for any cold weather applications if I don't have to


I know what your your saying John, But what choice do we have? Soon to be none.

[paulsoccodato]

Its sad to say but we as americans have done this to ourselves,


Hate to say it, But we did do it to ourselves.

[Mark Oomkes]

Its sad to say but we as americans have done this to ourselves,
We have bought from the big box stores such as walmart and we have wanted better and better deals, get it cheaper, buy Japanese, buy off brands etc.....
Mostly Johnny homeowner doing that but I am guilty as well.
If we dont do something soon we are doomed as the USA, buy American, buy quality, its in our court now but knowbodys doing a thing.
Read about this man who told Walmart to shove it! We need more people like him for sure, and remember buy from your local hardware store, your local butcher, etc......
http://www.fastcompany.com/node/54763/print

Amen, and this is why I will only enter a Wallyworld at gunpoint. And yes, it's my wife holding the gun.

I somewhat respect them for what they have done, but I have no respect for the way they have done it. I don't expect to be treated the way they treat vendors and I will not treat my vendors that way, either.

[GMC Driver]

http://www.fastcompany.com/node/54763/print


Thanks Bill. A good read!

[Pelican]

Quite honestly, Tecumseh has not been a major contender for years. I used to see their engines on mini bikes when I was a kid and always on snowblowers, but that's about it. In the formative years of power equipment they were pretty common, but they have been on a downhill trend for many years.

Their specialty is the snowblower engines, both 2 and 4 stroke, but think about it, how many snowblower engines can you really sell? We didn't do this to them, Tecumseh did it to themselves. I've never been impressed with their engine, the one I had was always finicky and eventually blew up.

Blast Honda all you want, but they build a quality product. When I blow up a Briggs, I put a Honda in its place because I know it will outlast the machine it is on. The Briggs Vanguard series is a real good engine too, but it's made in Japan, not here. By the way, Honda's cost more than Briggs, so the cheap product doesn't carry much weight for me.

American Industry needs to produce a quality durable product in order to succeed in today's world. I can't afford down time so I purchase the machine with the best reliability regardless of price.

[John Banks]

I can't afford down time so I purchase the machine with the best reliability regardless of price.

agreed.......

[68Z28RS]

I agree with Pelican. Tecumseh hasn't made good engines in a number of years. The newest I have is in a Toro mower and it's about 4 years old. Absolute junk, the most finicky I've ever had to deal with. Wish I would have spent the extra coin on the B&S upgrade... Tecumseh is suffering the fate of any other company that cut corners to put more money up top instead of back into the product, they're no more. The auto industry is in the same boat, too bad they cant learn from their mistakes with the gov helping them make it "all better".

[BWhite]

Odd how Honda cant figure out its cold weather issues .

[Mark Oomkes]

Odd how Honda cant figure out its cold weather issues .

Just for grins and giggles, I have 3 Hondas that get run regularly during cold weather. Have had very few issues with them.

One was a rusted out muffler blowing dirty air back into the carb. One had some thick, thick oil for some reason and wouldn't start. Been a case of water in the fuel\icing once or twice, but other than that, they run like champs.

Even had one in a box like Jon Geer had that ran fine as long as I didn't use an air filter and kept the oil topped off to overflowing.

I know some have had issues, but mine have been very reliable overall. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Honda snowblower.

[wingplow]

i was told that they went out of business due to family fighting

[paulsoccodato]

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Honda snowblower.

I bought a used Honda Snowblower about 4 years old over the summer, Starts on the first pull every time. When the briggs blew on my mixer, i replaced it with a Honda and it hasent given me any problems. All my small machines (tamps,tillers) have hondas.
Honda makes a good product.

[Pickering Snow]

When i started working for my dad i did the small engine repairs for him Tecumseh, had plenty of lawn mower engines out there Craftsman mowers used nothing but.

Honda i havent had issues with mine either guess its hit and miss.

On Briggs i tested the first and second year Buzzbox the first year Buzzbox used a 10hp Intek Briggs this thing started in sub zero weather and has we went to test unit two my engine came up missing on pick up from Rocket and ended up on my airflow Vbox again last winter the Intek never gave me one once of starting problems. The Inteks are designed for cold weather operation and commerial use far exceeding the quailty of the Vanguard Briggs.

[motormouse]

I just spoke to a salesman today and no one has purchased Tec. The bigger loss here is Peerless. Tec was used on very few machines in the last 5 yrs and most snowblowers are now B&S powered other than Honda. From what i understand no one really wants to buy Tec but a few are looking at Peersles end of it. Parts will probably not be a problem until a year from now if nothing is done. Kohler is also looking to start making a "cold " weather engine to capture some of the market. I have had zero problems with the B&S snow engines but have not had any with heavy use due to not much snowfall in the past few years in NJ. I saw this coming about 10 years ago in the small engine/ power equipment business. Soon there will be a select few that will "own" all the brands.