Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I have an old Ariens snowblower that I am having some trouble with. Initially, I was not able to start the snowblower. So I pulled the spark plug and put a shot of starter fluid in the cylinder. The Engine fired right up, but died quickly. So I repeated this. Again it fired and died. I determined that no gas was getting to the engine so I tapped the carb float with a wrench because I thought it may have been sticking. Then, I put another short of starting fluid in the engine and it fired right up.

So I have the snowblower running, but the exhaust is getting very hot. After a few minutes the exhaust began to turn red. Also, when I rev up the engine I am getiing a short burst of flame once and a while. This is only at high throttle. I assume the problem is within the carb, but I did not want to mess with this without asking someone.

Any ideas?

Black plug. Its rich enough. OK - then you either have LOW compression or late ignition timing.....DI