JonCarleton wrote:
Tecumseh..PTOOIE!
I have also hated those nasty engines forever. Give me a good ole' Briggs any day. If it won't start, just get a bigger hammer. It will run with no rings. I once had a B&S that I cut lawns with for a week that would only run full out. I found out later it was because the throttle valve was gone. It had probably been sucked into the cylinder and blown back out the exhaust...but still running.
B&S are made to run at 3600 rpm. I've found out that if you lug them at a too low rpm the piston will gaul the cylinder or vice versa. They'll get hot if the fan runs too slow.
Otherwise they are tough engines.
The only better one I've seen but has since gone out of business was the Clinton engines. Bad name but good engine.