$10 on number 224 please!

So I says to the guy, whatcha doin with that auger powerhead?

It don't work he says... ok, want to sell it? Buy me a pack of smokes he says. Well, I'm not going to buy you any cigs, so how about $10... DEAL!

To be honest it didn't quite go exactly like that but you get the point. I did score a non-running Strikemaster 224 powerhead for $10 and he did ask for a pack of smokes for it.

First, let's give her a pull. Hmmm compression seems ok and there is spark. We have a chance!  Give her another pull and uh oh, she's hanging up and it's a hard stop, I think I just wasted $10. Wait, pull the plug and the exhaust, piston looks good, no scoring, skirt seems good, rings aren't torched... hmm. Ok lets take her down. 

So I yank the recoil deally do and shazam, nothin... wait, why is the rectifier touching the flywheel? Oh because the rectifier is loose and isn't adjusted correctly. Ok, set gap annnd nope. Got spark but still won't run, but at least she's free now. Time to go deeper yet. Yank the ol' flywheel, now where the hell did that key go, hmm I didn't hear it fall. Give it a good inverted shake, nothing. Eureka! someone has clearly been in here before unless a shaft key can vaporize. Now it's time to get crank deep. 

As you can imagine I was thinking that I definately wasted  $10 but turns out all that was wrong with it was the smaller of the two bearings on the crankshaft had started to go, it wasn't gone but I could see the balls were beginning to mushroom one side of the inner race. Cylinder looks great, no scoring. Piston was also in great condition. 

At this point I've ordered a new fuel line, a carb rebuild kit, both crankshaft oil seals, piston rings, and a new bearing sourced locally. The gap on the rings wasn't bad but for $9 it can't hurt. I gave the jug to a buddy as he has a honing machine. So with all that said I currently have about 2 hours and $60 into project 224.

I'll keep you guys updated as I go, wish me luck!

Edit: FYI for the troubleshooter out there, the tank was bone dry. Carb looked clean and free of gunk, not gummed up. In other words I went thru fuel delivery before just ripping into it.

Drill unit arrived. Went with a new Strikemaster 8.25" chipper bit. $92 shipped. Puts me at approx $155 all in.

I know I'm not going to win any races with it but all I've ever known is the hand powered Mora in 7" & 8" and a 6" Lazer. I weighed the complete gas auger on a digital bathroom scale and it comes in at about 26.2 lbs, full of gas.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some ice time with it soon. Will report back after first hole(s) drilled.. 

If you wanted a 8 inch chipper bit I'd give you mine. I have one sitting in my garage. Problem is I'm not shipping it.

That said, if it were me I'd go lazer. A lot less strain, wear and tear on the head unit. 

Also wanted to ask anyone that has or had a Strikemaster of this vintage, should I go with a chipper bit or lazer bit?

As of now I'm leaning chipper. Either way I want an 8" bit.

I don't have a source for video hosting at the moment. Hopefully in the next couple of days I can get a video of it running. 

Next step is to order a bit for it and see how it does with a load on it.

I must confess, I was quite certain that after I tore it down that I was not going to get it up and running. Fortunately I work with a former motorcycle mechanic and he was able to help me through the process. I performed all the labor myself and learned a lot! Hopefully it'll serve me well for years to come. 

I invested about 6 total hours of labor, keeping in mind I did this on my lunch breaks. As far as money goes, $10 for the non-running powerhead and $48 in parts. Add $8 for the fuel and I still need to order a new air filter so add a couple bucks there too.

So long for now, more to come..

Greased all the gears in the transmission, installed the handle, and sealed up the bottom end. Attached the carb and fuel tank. Gave her a good once over one last time, then added some TrueFuel and off she pinged! 

Getting closer...keep us updated on the next few steps

Made some decent progress today. I got the air gap for the flywheel set, then installed the recoil/pull starter unit. I also bolted up the top section of the transmission housing and installed the spark plug and exhaust. 

Edit: I also installed and torqued the clutch into place before bolting on the transmission housing but I neglected to take a picture. 

Got the flywheel mounted today, going to let the Loctite cure until Monday. 

Next up is to set the air gap between the rectifier and the flywheel. Hopefully I'll be able to do that and finish assembly.

More to come on Monday.

I plan on letting the epoxy cure for another 24 hrs, then it'll be time to Loctite the flywheel in place, after which I'm going to let that cure for at least 48 hrs. Then final assembly and hopefully 2 stroke smoke!

Stay tuned, more to come later..

Loooong past overdue but I finally got back to this project, I actually kind of forgot about it. Anyhow, I ran into a pretty significant problem after I got the motor sealed up and was getting ready to go on with the final assembly of the remaining parts.

It turns out that the slot for the key on the crankshaft was heavily damaged and all but useless. I also discovered that the $3 "OEM" key I had ordered wasn't even close to the right size. After too much wasted time calling different Tecumseh dealers and not getting the answers I needed, I came to the decision that it was on me to make or modify a hardware store woodruff key. This is where I am as of today.

After many attempts of trying to grind a contoured surface using a surface grinder I decided to give up and modify an existing key. This was done with a pedestal grinder and fine grit sand paper layed atop a granite inspection table. After my 3rd attempt I finally had one I was happy with. 

Yesterday I epoxied the new key into place (I know it's not ideal but it's what I got.) Here's what she looks like...

Thanks,  dsinwi. I could never really justify the cost of a power auger and I like to tinker, so I figured it was worth a shot. 

Progress is slow but progress it is. I'm doing this 10 minutes at a time on my lunch breaks, so it's going to take a few more days. 

She turns nice and smooth, it was good to hear the hiss of compression. 

Awesome build along thread. I wish I would take more time to do these. I'm always in a hurry to get things done. My task orientated personality I guess.

Great find. I'm always on the look out for deals as well. Free is my favorite 4 letter word.

Got the cylinder. Installed the new piston rings, bearing, and oil seals, then partially assembled the top end. Should get to more tomorrow. 

Parts update. Got the piston rings, crankshaft oil seals, crankshaft bearing, and the fly wheel key. I went ahead and rebuilt the carb but forgot to take pictures, so I leave you with a boring pic of parts. My buddy is dropping off the cylinder tomorrow, so I should be able to begin re-assembly over the next several days. 

FYI, If you're in the market to rebuild a Tecumseh and can still find parts I guess it can take a long time for a distributer to get their hands on them.