Has anyone done the Small Engine Warenouse 24hp Honda repower? It is available for the 416-520 and probably will fit everthing else too. I just watched a video on Youtube of one of these in a Jd 318 and it sounded like a Man's motor,[The wife can have one too but first I need her permission to buy ].

I sold some parts to a local person that said he had been the first D owner to get the swap. I think they did the work for him and used his tractor to put together the parts needed for the "kit". He was happy with the results.

Now would I do the swap? If cash wasn't an option then maybe. Its hard for me to say I would do it when thinking of how many nice running tractors that money might buy. I guess Im also not sold on Honda engines. Where do you get parts and service done on a Honda? Have you ever heard the newer Kohlers ? They have a nice rumble.

My brother has worked on some tractors with swap kits that came from Small Engine Warehouse. From what I remember one newer conversion needed engine repair that wasnt going to be under warranty and another 520 owner came in trying to get the tach working. It might have had other issues also. I don't think either of those was a Honda engine.

I have a friend that repowered a 520H with a Honda 24HP engine, works great, sounds good and lots of power. He runs a 2 stage snow blower and a 42" rear discharge deck with it. Uses the Carlisle AT101 24x12x12s. He was able to use the original Onan exhaust and motor mounting plate.
He also fabricated a foot pedal that rocks for forward and reverse that works so much better than the Wheel Horse assessory, returns to neuteral when you lift your foot.

Frank in WNY

Pics of WH Honda 24HP conversion and foot control.
Frank in WNY

http://photobucket.com/WH520HConversion

Frank, Your friend did some fine work on the 520. That foot control fabrication looks really nice.

Forgot I had some pictures of the Kohler we ran on a 520. Never tried to install a pto as it was a dedicated loader tractor.

What am I doing wrong? I can't see Frank's pictures.

Jim, step back into the first album. I think it is just titled "Franks album" or something very close to that.

Tractor is really impressive. The foot control is sweet and I'm very surprised at how compact the Honda powerplant is. looks like a smaller foot print than the Onan.

It's kind of a mystery to me why all I can for for conversion kits for the onans are Hondas or Briggs. That 25hp command looks nice And really is only a few bucks more. Nick, hows the fit of that kohler, it looks kinda tight. Do you think that a guy could make the pto functional and get the hood to shut without to much hackery? Frank did you get to operate that 520 with the Honda? With that 42in deck it's gotta mow as fast as you can drive. My thought are I already own 1 tractor with an onan and probably will someday get a 520h, if I ever lose an engine I probably will repower with something else and thought I'ld get some opinions.

with a little egineering you can make one of those 30 horse kohlers fit. I have resolved myself though the a rebuild on the onan if anything happens to it such as bearings or con rod or valve. anything short of the block cracking I would build it up and make a hell of an engine for less than a full engine swap.

I have driven my friend's Honda Conversion, your'e right it will mow at 8 MPH, he likes it because of not throwing grass around, wants the mulching kit for it however. I have driven with WHs foot control and his fabrication and there is no comparison, his is smooth and like I stated when you take off your foot it goes to neutral immediately which is a great safety feature.

Frank in WNY still trying to get the photo option figured out, did my best.

Frank's pictures - clickless:

What type of bearings do these engines have on the pto side of the crank? It is my understanding that Toro switched to the electric clutch on the last few production years because the Command engines couldn't support the thrust load that the old manual PTO setup induced onto the crank. I'm not intimately familiar with them, but aparently they don't have the ball bearings on the PTO side like the K series/Magnums.

Something to consider when considering a repower.

Dustin,
I'm no expert here, but my '98 314-8, which has the Kohler Command CH-14 on it, has the manual pto like my older C-s have. I think the last 315-8 model no. 73450, which had the Command CH-15, had the electric pto clutch per the parts manual.

Hmm, what would be the difference in the CH-14 and the CH-15, that would warrant a switch to the electric clutch. Perhaps to keep these tractors up to date and inline with the rest of the market, or like Dustin states, the Commands couldn't handle the manual ptos?

As I mentioned, I'm not super familiar with them so I can't offer all of this with 100% certainty. Maybe the switch was more about keeping up with the market, but I'd swear I heard some talk about the thrust load issue. Maybe someone will step in with some more info on this. I have no clue about the differences in the Command engines.

I know some engines cannot handle the end load from the PTO (Briggs in particular), but I think the reason Toro switched to electric PTO clutches was because they offer better braking than the manual version. There are some OPEI/ANSI laws that require the driven mower to stop motion within so many seconds after being shut down, and the electric clutches apparently meet that goal more readily and don't require the same adjustments as the manual assembly.

I'm sure there are assembly issues too...It's a lot faster to slip an electric clutch on the crankshaft than to assemble the mounting plates, brake, bail, clips, etc on he manual version.

That 24 Honda in a C195 would be a nice setup, dontcha think? I've never personally used a big Honda, but I have heard nothing but good things about them. Honda engines, generally, are lauded as being the best running engines out there. My only personal experience with a Honda is a 5.5 hp one on dad's pressure washer and my opinions have been mixed since the thing was new. It runs wonderfully and sounds great, very smooth for a single cylinder. But it is one of the hardest engines to start we have ever had. It's been in to the shop too under warranty and nothing was found to be wrong, but they agreed it is hard starting (takes 10 or more pulls to get going). Great engine otherwise though and its stubbornness seems to be an anomaly. Even with this unique issue, I'd buy another one.

Steve