Electric Starter Motor for Tecumseh Snow Blower 33290 33290A-H 120V 9 Tooth CCW Replaces 5897N 33517

This one is the little brother. The 33290 went on the smaller Tecumseh snow engines, the 3 to 7 horsepower side, where the big two-stage machines use the 16-tooth unit. Nine teeth on the pinion, counter-clockwise, 120 volts straight from a wall outlet. If the tag on your old starter says 33290, with or without a letter after it, this is your part.

The numbers. Pinion gear measures 26.6mm across, nine teeth. Three mounting ears, unthreaded, and they are not all the same: 6.75mm, then 8mm, then 6.75mm. Case is permanent magnet direct drive, so no field winding to cook and no solenoid to stick. Weight 2.15 kilos. It draws from a household outlet through the included switch box, so there is no battery to charge and nothing to forget out in the cold.

Tecumseh stamped a lot of numbers on this design. 33290A through 33290H. 33517 and its suffixes. The 34601 family, 35251, 35459, 35460, 35601A, and the 8893 group. Equipment brands repackaged it too, Ariens as 72200600 and MTD as 390-985. Aftermarket catalogs list it as 5897, 5897N, STC0015, 410-22032, 214-10702, MS-6015, Oregon 33-736, Rotary 10975, Stens 435-627. Same part, every one of them.

Engines it fits: H30, H35, H40, H50, HS40, HS50, HSK30, HSK40, HSSK40, HSSK50, HSSK55, HXL35, LH195, OH195, OHH50, OHH55, OHH60, and the OHSK50 through OHSK70 Snow King series. Those codes sit on the shroud or the engine tag. If yours shows one of them and the machine has a ring gear on the flywheel, this starter bolts right on.

One warning worth the read. The 33328 and 33329 starters look close to identical in photos, and some sellers list all three as the same item. They are not. This one has nine teeth and three mounting ears; those have sixteen teeth and two. Count the teeth on your old pinion before you order, or read the stamped number. That settles it in ten seconds and saves you a return.

Swapping it in is a short job. Two or three bolts hold the starter to the housing. Unbolt it, lift the old unit out, set the new one square on the mounting face, bolts back in, lead into the switch box. Most people are done in under twenty minutes with the machine tipped up on a bench.

How these usually die. Snow melt seeps in, the pinion packs with grit and stops sliding out to meet the ring gear. A bearing rusts over the summer shed. Either way the engine just clicks or hums. None of that is a home repair, and a new OEM unit costs a good chunk of what a whole used blower goes for.

Twelve month replacement warranty. You get the starter with its pre-wired push-to-start box and plug. Mounting bolts are not in the box, reuse the ones from your old unit.