OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Tecumseh / Kirby Engines Tecumseh Ultima 5hp - running rough

Can you post pictures of the governor spring, and linkage please Peter? There may be a choice of holes to attach the spring or link to. If the governor is a mechanical one (inside the crankcase) there is also usually a process for ensuring the shaft is fully clockwise on full throttle, the same as for a Honda engine.

Sorry Grumpy I forgot to take photo�s of the governor linkage and spring. It is pretty much the same as your standard TVS tecumseh�s where the governor spring is connected to the throttle linkage from the govenor shaft and the linkage is connected to the carb butterfly from the govenor shaft.

There is no choice of holes to attach the spring. One hole only is present. On the weekend, I had another crack and try to lower speed via the full speed adjustment screw. No matter how I adjusted the screw it just wouldn�t make any noticable difference. It was still too fast for a 5hp engine. I also completed the governor shaft adjustment as you indicated.

I spoke with Theo (Bigted) last night and we went through a number of potential causes and eliminated them accordingly. The last shot was to remove one link from the spriral of the govenor spring and stretch it out ever so slightly to reduce the rev�s. Simple in principle but a time consuming process as you have to strip the engine down to the block in order to remove the govenor spring and stretch it out. The first link probably added 3-4mm to the springs total length.

I gave the engine a quick run this morning and it had slowed considerably down to a level I am comfortable with, very much similar to how a nicely tuned Briggs Quantum revs.

This morning I still got nice easy one pull starts from cold, a smooth idle and nicely reving full speed sound that I am accustomed too.

I will warm the engine right up tonight and make sure everything is running properly. I will also give the engine a final idle and full speed tune prior to finalising this somewhat difficult refurbishment.

A longer governor spring would reduce the speed, Peter - it sounds as if a previous tenant had shortened it, or it was the wrong spring.

I think "difficult refurbishment" is something many people experience with side valve Tecumseh engines, mostly because of the carburetors. On the other hand they are mechanically robust and very durable. Back in the 1950s, when people expected such things to last a couple of generations and didn't really mind having nasty experiences with the carburetor, it was probably the right engine for its time.