Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Aug. 06, 2013 Common Class A [Member]	Aug. 06, 2013 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	TECUMSEH PRODUCTS COMPANY
Entity Central Index Key	0000096831
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		13,401,938	5,077,746