INPUT on LIFAN engines sold at Home Depot

[bigdaddy3]

Do any of you guys have any experience or have talked to anyone who has run these engines, I have done internet research and have read where they are China made engines that have been used for research and developement for the Honda GX series engines, from what I have read even many parts will enterchange with the Honda, there are a couple of different lines of these engines also, some of the cheaper ones are sold at Harbor Frieght, but the Pro series are the better ones, I know nothing will compare to the Honda but if they were dependable they are over 50% less than the Honda and Home Depot gives a 3 year warranty. I have always been die hard Honda but I have heard some pretty good reports on the better Lifans and I have always had good luck with Home Depot warranty.

 

[blades]

Think you got it backwards, Honda clones, Decent reports, if works right off the bat ok, if a problem , take back for an exchange, they tend to be good or bad not much in between. Like anything else from that area in everything is chicom mfg. Its the level of quality control and attention to details that sets things apart.

 

[NSMaple1]

Their gennys have a 3 year warranty too.

Try to find anything small engine related that has a 3 year warranty - even Honda or Yammi.

That plus they've been around for a while - I think that says something.

 

[flotek]

Lifan makes small atv and dirt bike honda clone engines my knowledge of them is only in this market so take it for what it's worth. .. they basically copy Hondas to a T and all the parts interchange . They actually make a decent engine that is reliable but the quality of materials is not going to Japanese Honda quality it will be cheap china metal and plastic .. but of coarse the price is usually a fraction of the honda too

 

[dave_dj1]

I have an eleven horse HF predator motor on my log splitter. I've been using it for almost a year now with zero problems, usually starts on the first pull, sometimes second pull. We have probably split somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25 cords thus far. The engine runs perfectly. For 200 bucks with a coupon how could you go wrong?
dave

 

[dbofdalton]

I recently put on a H.F. 6.5 predator engine on my splitter. Only have about 20 hours on it so far,but it starts on the first pull and runs flawlessly. We'll see how long it lasts, but I see no reason it won't be a long time.

Dave

 

[Whitespider]

I bought my generator at Harbor Freight when they were using the old "blue" engine, not the current "black" Predator series. The 13 HP engine has a LIFAN tag on it and has been 100% reliable, starts at -20° with a touch of the electric start, uses no oil, runs butter smooth and quite. Now, I will admit it doesn't have a ton of hours on it... probably had somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 gallon gas run through it. I had three small issues with it, none of which actually involve the engine proper...
1) The cheap-azz Chinese spark plug went bad 15 minutes out'a the gate... I'd suggest replacing the plug before even trying to start it.
2) One of the oil drain plugs leaked; when I pulled the drain plug it was so damn tight they must'a hammered it in with an ½ impact wrench and broke the copper gasket... which I replaced for 35¢ at the hardware store.
3) After about 5-6 hours use the rubber valve cover gasket started dripping a tiny bit; when I checked it, the bolt was loose enough to turn with my fingers... I snugged it up and it ain't been an issue since (I checked all the fasteners before starting it the first time... must'a somehow overlooked that one).

Last spring I got my 5-year-old one of those Chi-Com ATV's with a LIFAN 110cc engine on it. After checking all the fasteners, replacing the plug, and dumping what was supposed pass as oil from the crankcase and refilling... I hit the start button and it fired right up. I've had a couple small electrical problems with the ATV, but nothing with the engine... and I can't even guess how many hours he put on that thing this summer. Heck he's even been riding it in the snow. I can tell you he ran the thing out'a gas almost daily for over three months this summer... it was costing me a small fortune to feed it.

I don't find anything wrong with Chinese steel... but the "precision" of work, such as welds, thread cutting, and "fit" can sometimes be a bit sloppy. I've repaired enough welds on Chi-Com stuff to know the steel is just fine, maybe a little thinner than I'd like to see for some applications, but there ain't anything wrong with the steel itself. Heck, a lot of "Made In The USA" stuff is made with Chinese steel... a lot more than you think.

Check all the fasteners, replace the plug, and change the oil a couple times during "break-in" to remove any metal that might be floatin' 'round in there... and it would likely last just as long as any other small engine. Actually, I'd run it the first time just long enough to warm the engine up, change oil, then again at about 1 hour... after that you should be good-to-go.
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[philoshop]

A bunch of us got together a few years ago to start a clone engine class at the local kart racing track. We all bought the HF 6.5 engines. The older blue ones.
Drilled some holes in the muffler, changed the air filter to a more open can type with the foam sleeve, and removed the governors. They would turn 5600 to 5800 RPM.
I talked to one of the guys just last month and he's still running his original engine. He figured over 600 races on it and at least twice that again in practice and qualifying runs.
Not a lot of hours really because the races only last about ten minutes or so, but that's ten tough minutes on the engine. We paid $130 or so back then.
The alcohol-fueled Briggs racing engines were in the $1200 range by the time you got them set up, and lasted maybe two seasons before they needed a complete rebuild.

 

[bigdaddy3]

Think you got it backwards, Honda clones, Decent reports, if works right off the bat ok, if a problem , take back for an exchange, they tend to be good or bad not much in between. Like anything else from that area in everything is chicom mfg. Its the level of quality control and attention to details that sets things apart.

No I checked again the company actually started as a 100% paid research for Honda without any Honda affiliation as far as marketing and was not originally planned to sell their products mainstream, I have owned and operated a Bridgestone/Firestone tire store for 35 years, at one time China made tires were a joke but over the last 20 years they have taken over the ecconomy tire market and build much much better products, probally over 50% of the low cost tires are Chinese made, may have an American owned name but check where they are made. Lot of the products built in China are built with American technology. Like someone said earlier, try and find a small engine with a 3 year warranty, Home Depot has a pretty good record of honoring their warranty, also I don't think Home Depot would have any affiliation with the company if they had not done their research and liked what they learned.

 

[Gravedigger]

I have two harbor freight Lifan 6.5 hp and have had zero issues. One I've converted to run on propane for my log splitter.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Whitespider]

Products from China are no different than products from any other country, including the United States. There's the high quality stuff, the economy targeted stuff, and the crap. It ain't about the country, it's the company. There are manufacturers in China building some of the highest quality "stuff" on the planet... and pride themselves for it. Just look at some of today's electronics... the most reliable, high-quality electronics this planet has ever seen... and nearly all of it comes from China.

It don't matter where the product comes from... just as it's always been, it's a "buyer beware" market.
The old saying, "Ya' get what ya' pay for" just ain't true and never has been, depending on "what" you want to pay for. At a point those extra dollars are paying for "fit-'n'-finish" and not necessarily more reliability, usability, functional quality or whatnot... you're buying fancy paint (so to speak). Not sayin' there's anything wrong with that, but there ain't anything wrong with not paying for it either... just depends on "what" you personally want to pay for... or are willing to pay for.
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[KenJax Tree]

I bought a HF 2500PSI power washer with a 6.5HP motor (not even sure what kind of motor it is) but it runs like a champ and always starts on the 2nd or 3rd pull (when i remember to turn the gas on).


Sent from my Autotune Carb

 

[Little Al]

Think you got it backwards, Honda clones, Decent reports, if works right off the bat ok, if a problem , take back for an exchange, they tend to be good or bad not much in between. Like anything else from that area in everything is chicom mfg. Its the level of quality control and attention to details that sets things apart.

 

[Little Al]

Guy I know has one[not sure of HP fitted to a splitter] shortly after he bought it the motor started giving loads of trouble after 3 or so attempts to fix it they replaced the motor, second motor has been no bother at all

 

[laynes69]

I've bought 2 harbor freight 6.5 hp engines. One I have on a log splitter, and the other on a mini bike. The blue engine on the log splitter has given zero problems, and the black engine on the mini bike has had the crap beaten out of it. Both start first pull and never any issues. I think I paid around 99.00 for each. From my experience, these are the only engines I'll buy. They run well and are budget friendly.

 

[reaperman]

I'm not sure I would buy one from Home Depot, when you can buy one from Harbor Freight for 1/2 the price

 

[bigdaddy3]

I'm not sure I would buy one from Home Depot, when you can buy one from Harbor Freight for 1/2 the price

Home Depot has 13HP for 299.00 with 3 year warranty, tell me what you can get a 13HP for a Harbor Frieght and whats the warranty?

 

[Steve NW WI]

---

Last spring I got my 5-year-old one of those Chi-Com ATV's with a LIFAN 110cc engine on it. After checking all the fasteners, replacing the plug, and dumping what was supposed pass as oil from the crankcase and refilling ---

Heck, a lot of "Made In The USA" stuff is made with Chinese steel... a lot more than you think.

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From what I've read on the farm forums, where there's a lot of respect for these things running pumps, etc., that might be the single biggest thing - dump the oil and start with fresh. As Spidey said, a change again after a little bit of runtime won't hurt your wallet much, and might keep the motor purring a lot longer as well.

Honda parts will interchange, but the cost of repair vs replace usually makes it cheaper to go buy another motor.

I can only speak for where I work, but we run through 3-4 semi loads of steel daily, and don't see any Chinese steel. Mostly US steel, some Swiss high grade stuff for high wear areas on farm equipment, and a lot of our stainless comes out of Mexico, I think due to the difficulty of getting past gov't regs to produce it here.

I like to buy American where I can, but I'd consider one of these motors for an occasional use application.

 

[nathon918]

From what I've read on the farm forums, where there's a lot of respect for these things running pumps, etc., that might be the single biggest thing - dump the oil and start with fresh. As Spidey said, a change again after a little bit of runtime won't hurt your wallet much, and might keep the motor purring a lot longer as well.

Honda parts will interchange, but the cost of repair vs replace usually makes it cheaper to go buy another motor.

I can only speak for where I work, but we run through 3-4 semi loads of steel daily, and don't see any Chinese steel. Mostly US steel, some Swiss high grade stuff for high wear areas on farm equipment, and a lot of our stainless comes out of Mexico, I think due to the difficulty of getting past gov't regs to produce it here.

I like to buy American where I can, but I'd consider one of these motors for an occasional use application.

chinese steel is the worst steel on the market, so many inpurities, very inconsistant, and the **** that passes as "stainless" is even worse, they can't keep a consistant chrominum content to save their lives i wouldnt even want to try to make a certified weld on that garbage, all the impurties in the base material would just ruin the weld
i dont buy any steel other than US,Canadian, or German! and almost always use Alcoa for aluminum...

 

[aokpops]

Might be showing my age .I remember when everyone laugh at the Japan stuff . I got 3 knock off engines been impressed .