Troy Bilt = Junk - Lots of pics

[Deltona_Dave]

The old saying buy cheap, buy twice applies here. I had posted earlier about my Troy Bilt POS blower. A definite One season Special. This season, it would not run WOT, it idled great though. Rebuilt the carb, new plug etc. Still no go. Started smoking more than normal. Had the blower since Summer 06, and has maybe 20 hours on it. Always used Stihl Ultra or Amsoil Sabre Pro at 40:1 mix. Assembled in Mexico, but Engine looks like Chinese Junk. Maybe this is one of the Mexanese engines. Exhaust and Intake ports are poorly machined, more like casted. Very rough. Rings are shot and were improperly installed (both had the gaps lining up).

Pardon my camera, as it is an old Sony FD 83 that I use for garage pics.

I have worked on Stihl, Echo's, Husky and Shindaiwa's. with lots of hours on them. Top quality machining and built to last.

I am buying a Stihl next week from a local shop.

Here we go:

Housing TB320BV

Piston & Crankcase. Connecting rod and bearings are fine.

Date of Manufacture: Mar 2, 2006

Cylinder Head with mono gasket! Nice design, hangs over muffler so I can watch it burn!

Nice crosshatching and wear scar! Machine must have been powered by windows and Blue Screened boring this head.

Hey! it's a HEMI! Domed combustion chamber pressed in cyl.

Heavy blow-by and wear on piston skirt:

More piston wear:

Brand new plug with less than 20 minutes on it:

 

[cchase]

Looks like a crummy engine built... crummily.

Our JD backpack blower is about 15 years old, used year-round for leaves, grass, drying cars and we haven't had to do anything to it but add gas (knock on wood).

 

[Deltona_Dave]

I just gave my Niece my 18 year old Echo stick edger. Still running strong. Just needed a new sparky every season and other maint items (fuel/air filters, etc). Took it to a local shop for a checkup, before I gave it to her (they just replaced the bearings on the blade part and lubed the shaft. I am looking at the Echo or Stihl Blowers (much quieter than that TB).


Funny thing, my string trimmer is a T-Bilt, a year older, same size engine, but a 3 position choke, instead of that cheesy blue ez-start Zama carb. Trimmer runs fine, and I have the edger attachment for it also. Very strong running. Hmm, must have been before MTD took over.
Dave

 

[cchase]

I don't pay too close attention on the small engine forums, so this may be sacrilege, but when I see MTD on anything, I run in the other direction. Just me.

 

[JustinH]

If you go to Lowe's, you will see that some of their cheapest ~$150 dollar push mowers are Troy Bilt.

They must be using their good name on junk parts.

Now I see that their cheapest gas blowers are Troy Bilt also...

The thing with buying a mower, is that you usually get a name brand motor with it. Usually a briggs. Its the rest of the mower that will fall apart before the motor will give up.

The thing with buying a blower is you have no idea who makes the motor, and they are usually junk. I have a home depot "homelite" trimmer, and the thing is garbage to start. I probably have 2 hours on it.

 

[Deltona_Dave]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
If you go to Lowe's, you will see that some of their cheapest ~$150 dollar push mowers are Troy Bilt.

They must be using their good name on junk parts.

Now I see that their cheapest gas blowers are Troy Bilt also...

The thing with buying a mower, is that you usually get a name brand motor with it. Usually a briggs. Its the rest of the mower that will fall apart before the motor will give up.

The thing with buying a blower is you have no idea who makes the motor, and they are usually junk. I have a home depot "homelite" trimmer, and the thing is garbage to start. I probably have 2 hours on it.


I have a Homelite "Ranger" 16" chainsaw that I bought during the 2004 Hurricanes in Fl. I use it from time to time and it starts on the first or second pull. I also have a Stihl 170 chainsaw that I use frequently as it has more power and is lighter. Homelite is somewhat better then Troy-[censored].

Troy-Bilt went down the tubes when MTD took over.

Dave

 

[Trajan]

This was a job for synlube!!! (Cue 1950's Superman theme)

 

[cronk]

Originally Posted By: Deltona_Dave

Troy-Bilt went down the tubes when MTD took over.

Dave


I second that, Troy built used to be a great piece of equipment when they were owned by Garden Way. As soon as MTD bought the name they started slapping it on every econo box piece of junk they could.
If I need a piece of small equipment, I buy Stihl!

 

[IndyIan]

The pics look like they tried a square piston in a oval bore...

 

[chewy781]

looks chinese/cheap to me

 

[boraticus]

Almost all of the premium North American manufacturers are going down the tubes. B&S is presently hacking away at Simplicity/Snapper who were once very well respected brands.

Competition is being compromised by large companies buying up the premium domestics, building them to a much lower level of quality or taking cheaply made products and slapping these once proud names on them.

Wise buyers will stay away from purchasing new equipment and refurbish 10+ year old machines. They might be old but in most cases, much better built than what's being offered today. I'm talking more about snow throwers and lawn mowers. Small hand held equipment made by Echo, Stihl, Husky to mention a few, are still well made products for reasonable prices.

If you can find used Simplicitys Snappers, Toros, Lawn Boys etc. that are in good condition, and need a machine, grab it. A little work, a few bucks in parts, a rattle can of the colour of your choice and you'll be far better off than buying a new one.

 

[Tom NJ]

I bought a Troy Bilt 31cc blower last year and it died five months later. It was a very poorly designed and built machine and I hated it from the start. It was always very hard to start and took several minutes of running before getting reasonably stable. The vertically mounted fan created so much centrifugal force that the machine fought me all the time, and the hot exhaust blew right on my thigh. Since it was under warranty, I called a local dealer who told me he had to charge me $50 to diagnose it, and pretty much assured me that Troy Bilt would find a way not to cover it. I trashed it - lesson learned.

I replaced it with a Craftsman blower, which starts like a dream and warms up enough to run stable in ten seconds!

Tom NJ

 

[steve20]

thanks for the pics Dave--my Homelite blowers (2) ran exactly 2 years and died. One I gave to my nephew to take apart, the other one is still in the corner of the garage-Your post has interested me enought to take that one apart myself.
BTW, blower was replaced with Echo-251 and I couldn't be happier


steve

 

[occity79]

WOW- I'm sure I'll get flamed by ya'll, but here's a little bit of defense of the 31 cc engine:

Backround- designed by IDC - japan in the late 70's early 80's (?), later became Ryan, then Ryobi, then MTD bought Ryobi around (2001 ?). All engines and products made in Chandler, AZ, USA. NOT chinese or Mexican. I've owned and repaired many of the Ryobi products , still running great, starts easily, smooth running.

What changed? EPA emmissions rules.

Your unit is a victim of super lean carburetor settings combined with a catalytic converter in the muffler. Excessive heat and backpressure, lack of proper lubrication and then cylinder scoring and piston damage shown in your pictures.

Hard starting and unstable idling all caused by the factory ultra lean carb settings. Don't blame the engine, it's been around for decades and is a tough little unit.

 

[Deltona_Dave]

Occity79,
Well, this is a Troy-Bilt, not a Ryobi. On the serial number tag, say "Assembled in Mexico". I have maintained this unit well, using the proper 40:1 mix of high quality 2-cycle oil, either Stihl Ultra or Amsoil Sabre Pro. I adjusted the carb to run a little richer, as it's idle and High were way off. I tore down the muffler, just a baffle and a Spark Screen, no cat.

The machining was sub-par at best, compared to other OPE I have worked on. Kiorwitz (Echo and cousin Shidaiwa) and Stihl's have some top-notch machining on their pro-products.

Echo opened a plant in China a few years ago (IIRC, 2006), just about the time Home Depot started offering Echo in my area. hmm. I have noticed that the Echo's at home depot are just not the same as an Echo at a Professional Lawn Equipment Shop. I am getting a Sthil next week at my local shop.

Not flaming, just some of my observations. Most stuff for sale at Big Boxes are just One Season Wonders and destined to a landfill near you.

I used to have a IDC string trimmer back in the '90's when I did some lawn service work. It was a backup for my trusty Echo's. It worked well when needed.

Dave

 

[Tom NJ]

As I recall, my unit was also assembled in Mexico - not sure it that refers to the engine or the blower.

Tom NJ

 

[Shannow]

Something that you might want to check is the spark arrestor in the muffler.

On my weedwhacker, every 3-4 years that spark arrestor gums up, leading to no revs, carpy throttle response, running way hot and smokey.

Pull the little mesh screen off, have at it with a propane torch to burn off the carbon, then the thing's right as rain for another couple of years - long enough for me to forget the symptoms, and go chasing them all over again.


As an aside, that's the cheapest looking assembly I've ever seen.

 

[gd9704]

You will like your Stihl. I bought a Stihl blower once I got tired of throwing away $99 Craftsman blowers every 2 years. I was so impressed that I bought a Stihl MS290 chainsaw and a HT101 pole trimmer. Just great quality machines that will serve you well for a long, long time.......