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

My Yamaha snowblower will vibrate a little at low throttle.   Its not an issue for me but the choke arm on the carburetor vibrates and rattles all around. I'd like to remedy this. I picked up a metal punch (really small) some JB weld a scotchbright pad , some contact cleaner,  and now I'm ready to go.  What is my next step?

you could replace the arm and lever with new. you could remove the shaft and peen the top of the shaft back down thus decreasing the slop between the shaft and lever. you could leave the shaft and lever in place, clean them up with a dremel wire wheel ,and either solder them in place or jb weld them in place. it appears the shaft is brass and if so would take solder. either way to reduce the tolerances you could wrap small strands of copper wire from an extension cord or electrical wiring above and below the lever to reduce the play and then solder or jb these strands to the shaft and plate. you might find a push nut that you could simply push over the top of the shaft and then litely tap it down in place.these are the ones that you see holding wheels onto straight shafts with no threads and small spring steel flanges hold them from backing off.(ie weber grill wheels.)you  could file the shoulder off the top of the bolt and drill and tap a screw on the top to hold the flange in place.leave the shaft the way it is and find a spring like the one in a ball point pen longer than the measurement from the carb to the flange, open one end of the spring up and thread it on the shaft like putting car keys on a split ring.the spring being longer will hold the flange from vibrating. i'm sure there are other fixes as well.

Is it possible to remove the entire choke Assembly to access the bare shaft?  If so, I'd pull the shaft and fit a couple of faucet washers between the choke lever and carb body.   Or, you could put a short stiff coil spring over the shaft between the lever and carb  body.  That method is often used to hold screws in place where the settings effect the performance of the carb.  An even simpler fix would be to put a couple tie wraps (cable tie, zip tie) between the lever and carb body.  That would do the job and be the easiest fix.

These are both good suggestions.  Thank you. The angle of the picture does not really show everything however. The choke arm needs to be level in order for a metal shroud to fit over the carb. The brass rod no longer has a lip on the underside of the choke arm to provide support to the arm, that's why it sags down.  You cannot see this in the photo.

I never thought to try remove it first.  If that is feasible it would certainly make this an easier task.  If I solder, would I just be using a regular solder gun or do I need a heavy torch of some type? Maybe the JB weld would be safer. I like the idea of peening the brass back into place but I worry that I might damage the carb if the pieces were not disassembled first. 

If I remove the small screw that holds the choke plate to the brass rod will the rod just slide out?  Is that all that holds it in place? And as long as we are staring at this TK carb, why does it have that smiley faced channel on the outside by below the choke plate?

Yes, removing the screw will allow the choke rod to come out..  But After that screw is removed is will never be as tight as is was before 9the brass around the screw will loosen).  When reinstalling it , you must peen the screw back in the shaft.  If parts are available and you are going to take it off,  replace it.  It is cheaper than the the engine  eating the screw after it comes out.

Solder will work on the shaft but not on the steel arm.  

I would peen the top of the arm to remove as much slop as possible (lightly),  buff the hell out of the top with the scotch bright pad, clean with contack cleaner.   Then take some playdoe or modeling clay, place it under the shaft plate  (to hold it in place level).. then do the Jb weld or epoxy thing on the shaft and plate,  then let it sit for 24 hours..

Sorry Borat,  now you  think I am a total hack..

The Hack,

Friiy

friiy wrote: (glad I didn't remove the choke plate)   The "playdoe or modeling clay" would support the arm while I  JB weld the top ... but when the clay is removed (I assume its not permanent)  there will be no support from below the arm and it (the arm) will flop down again. Does it seem like I'm missing anything?

I wouldn't worry about taking the small butterfly screw out.  Just put a little dab of Locktite or even JB on it when you put it back in.  Blue Locktite will allow you to remove it at a later date.  I doubt the JB weld will release.

Here's another choice.  Take the rod out & cut a very thin groove all around the shaft snug to the piece you want to hold in place.  Get a small C-clip and slip it in.  You could add to the rigidity by putting the JB on the the end when you slide the lever back to the end of the shaft.   To cut a nice uniform groove, put the brass shaft in a drill motor (drill press would be best), take a thin dremmel disk and hold it in a pair of vice grips/pliers to the shaft and allow the shaft to rotate against the dremmel disk until you've got a 1/16th inch deep groove.  You could also lock the dremmel disk in a vice an hold the spinning shaft against the disk.  That method will call for a steady hand, so be careful.  Find a clip that will fit and away you go.

The thing I worry about...  Sometimes the throttle shaft and choke butterfly screws are "staked" or "peened" in placed at the factory to reduce the chance of them comming apart.

The flared / peened / staked screw oversizes the brass as it is removed...This erodes the threads so much that the screw is never 100% tight and prone to failure.

This was real common on the old 13000 series Briggs I/C series of the 80's ,  and the Toro Suzuki 5 hp GTS 2 cycle engine carbs..

Just something to consider,

Friiy

Hey Underdog,

You say this unit vibrates alot right?....... You said it has been sitting for years right?

Check your belts,  The belts may be in "one piece"...  but they may have gotten hard and "preformed" in a shape they had been sitting  in for years..  As they go through the pullys and idlers they tighten and loosen as they pull but do not fully flex...

Just something else to think about....

Friiy

you could find a piece of rubber tubing,cut a slit down the side. make sure the tubing fits completely around the shaft and zip tie it to hold the gap together. place this under the plate to hold the plate level in place and jb weld the top. once the top is cured slide the rubber tubing down to form a gap between the plate and the top of the rubber tubing. use the jb weld to fill in the gap and once set, remove the tubing. it should be good to go. or once you have the top jb welded in place cut the tubing long enough to fit between the carb and plate and zip tie it to hold the plate up.

Wow, I never would have thought of that.  ...No taking the choke screw / plate off. Ok, I've got some good directions to go with.  I'll get busy cleaning and prepping for the jb weld.  Unrelated: Does anyone know why the carb has that channel (the smiley face) along the bottom.  Its a real pain to adjust the carb because you have to have the outside cover on to know how it's going to run once assembled.  And you cannot reach any of the adjustments once the outside cover is on. So you have to take the cover off, turn the adjustment, put it back on again.  I may make a small gasket and plate to cover the "smiley face" just so I can fine tune things. 

underdog,

you could braze it, that would be a permaent fix make sure u remove the shaft before doing so u dont want a fire.

Underdog,

The happy face is the vent for the float bowl and also for the emulsifier nozzel,  (the tube with all the little holes under the screw that was hard to remove"

How is the tiller running?...   we need more video.. :)

Friiy

friiy wrote:

So technically it should not matter if the smilely face is covered up. If its just a vent.  Very frustrating because to remove and put that cover back on you need to remove about 10 screws and an engine mounting bolt.   I'll probably end up driling a "screw driver" sized hole through the shroud so that I can reach the adjustment.  Other than that the snowblower is running really well although I have not seen any snow to see if it will really perform.  Curious to see how it does under load considering that the previous owner sold it because it was poor.   I changed the impeller and auger bearings and it spins without a lot of racket now.  I also found the original owners manual. The manual straightened me out on the correct RPM settings.  I was using a manual from the 6hp version of the yamaha blower before. You were right, the rpms were set too high. Got those fixed.

The BCS tiller is a champ.  I loaned it out to a neighbor to do his yard.  If I ever get it back I may  put the snowblower attachment onto the front.   I don't need another blower but the BCS came with a blower and it  is gear driven.   I am curiuos to see how well it works.  I am very impressed with the quality of the BCS.  Simple elegant design that does its job. The person that designed it was talented and cared a great deal about what they were doing.   Fuels my interest in OPE.  Friiy, have you run across equipment who's engineer/design left a lasting impression?

The Good Stuff... let me see...

The old Kawasaki TD-24, TF-22 ,  series engines on OPE back in the early 80's to 90's (2 stroke)...The Coleman powermate 1000 generators Late 70's early 80's Kawasaki 4 stroke l-head (started the run on quality small affordable generators)

Echo PB-210e blowers, I have seen them run YEARS every day for hours... and the Echo CS-280e pruning  saw..  Echo pb-400 backpack blower..

Those are the things that preformed and made customers happy,  they sold themselves...

Friiy

Have to agree with Friiy's choices.  I've been a convert to Echo equipment for a while now.  Started with my two stroke 4.5 h.p., 140cc Echo self propelled lawn mower.  I've had it almost twenty years.  It cut half an acre of grass twice a week for twelve years and never missed a beat.  I have since moved up to a Kawasaki powered Husqvarna lawn tractor but still use the Echo for trimming up the yard and in hard to get to places.  All I have ever done to it is add fuel, lube the drive wheel gears & sharpen the blade.  It's still on it's original drive belt & spark plug!  Starts second pull every time, is easy on fuel and still make plenty of power.  Since it's purchase, I've bought an Echo leaf blower, Echo weed eater & Echo chainsaw.   I have experience/ownership of Stihl, Jonsereds & Honda OPE.  Echo is as good as the best of their offerings for considerably less money.  Most certainly a very good value.    

Kawasaki 2 stokes and Echo. I never would have guessed that these would have made the list. When I see a 2-stroke I always think it's not built for extended use. These seem to defy that assumption.  I grew up with a lawn boy mower that was a 2 stoke from the 70's. I remember the blue cloud that followed me across the yard..  My brother and I used it after school to mow lawns.  He did not believe in adding oil to the fuel ("that was optional and cut into profits") .  Are the Echo products available today still made to a high standard?

  

I think Echo is one of the few OPE manufacturers that might have improved.  Not so much in durability.  I doubt there was ever an issue with that.  Technologically they've made some very good advancement is cleaning up exhaust emissions, reducing engine noise& vibration and overall excellent fuel economy.  In the last year and a half I've purchased a leaf blow, a weed eater and a small chain saw, all Echo products.  I have nothing but praise for all of them.   Not saying that Stihl, Jonsereds, Husqvarnara etc. are not good products.  They are.  It's the combination of top notch product quality at very reasonable prices that make Echo so attractive. 

By the way, a well maintained two stroke will provide many years of reliable service.  I'm working on a 34 year old Yamaha RD350 right now.  As old as it is, it's more than capable of lasting another 34 years...if well maintained. 

borat wrote:
I cut my teeth on a Yamaha R5, much the same as yours except 5 speeds and a drum brake up front.
That was 30 years or so ago.  I bought it second hand then rebuilt everything and made it look as much
as I could like a TZ350.  I went everywhere with that bike.  One night at a party I let a guy take it for a ride
and he smashed it up.  That was the end of my motorcycling days.  I was kind of glad in a way since I
was beginning to see that I was living somewhat dangerously zipping around on that little roadster.

Paul

An R5?  Alright!  I have a '72 Mandarin Orange R5 out in the shed waiting it's turn for restoration.  Wild little hotrods those old things were.  I restored/hopped up an RD400 earlier this hear.  Lots of go fast goodies in it and virtually every possible wear item replaced.  I had a bit of a learning curve getting it tuned correctly with the modified air intake system, modified carbs and expansion chambers as well as setting the the best programable electronic igniton curve.  Once I had everything dialed in, I was startled how quick this little thing is.   Tuning session require testing sessions.  After the last adjustments, I took it out to a lonely stretch of highway and stopped.  I launched the bike and from second gear up, I rung the engine out to 9500 rpm each time before shifting.   I swear that in less than 15 seconds it was doing 100 mph.  I was still in fourth gear!   That was enough for me.  I cut the throttle and thought about what I'd just done and said to myself, "Getting caught at these speeds, I'll be going to jail."   I didn't quite expect that kind of speed from an old  1976, 400cc bike.  Here's a pic of the 400 & engine:

friiy wrote: OK, I have searched the net for Kawasaki TD-24 and TF-22 engines.  I'm coming up empty.  Can someone throw me a bone.  What ope did these run on?

borat wrote:
I loved the sound of my bike once I put those expansion chambers on.  I moved the footpegs back,
had clip-on handlebars, single seat.  At the time I was the only one on the road with a racing fairing,
now they've all got them.  The people in the shop where I worked thought I was weird.  We sold
Honda and Ski-doo/Canam, so I was a bit of a traitor.

Programmable ignition curve ?  Never heard of such a thing.  I remember playing with jets and
needles and then setting the timing so it wouldn't knock, that was about it. 

I went to the motorcycle mechanics school in Daytona Beach back in '77.  That was a blast.  One
of the teachers was into hot-rodding 50cc mopeds.  He had one that would do 70mph.

Paul

I replaced the points/condenser/coil with a state of the art MZ-B/Zeeltronic electronic charging & ignition system.  The Zeeltronic CDI is programmable.  It comes with a hand held programmer that plugs into the CDI.  I can program the advance of the ignition curve with up to ten stages of advance.  For instance, low rpm requires more advance to develop torque so I'll set the programmer at 24.5 degrees of advance at 1500 rpm, 23 degrees at 3000,  21 degrees at 4500,  19 degrees at 5000 etc... down to 16.5 degrees at 9000 rpm.  The real benefit of programmable ignition is that the heat developed by the engine can be transferred from the cylinders/heads into the pipes.   That contribute to two positive results.  It reduces heat in the engine and increases heat in the pipe.  Both of those factors are very important for reducing engine wear and increasing power.  Reducing engine heat is pretty much a known factor to prolong engine life.   Increasing the temperature of the gases flowing through the pipes increases gas velocity which in turn assist the engine to breath better thus make more power.  From my experience, it works.  Power is very strong for an old 400cc engine and after a long hard highway run, I can put my hand on the engine heads without burning my fingers.   New tricks for an old dog.  

  

 

The Kawasaki engines I was talking about were on a lot of diffrent equip.   Astron, Kazz, TMC, even the old Homelite commerical trimmers..

I found one picture of a TF22 engine on a Hedge trimmer,  I don't know what brand... Alot of people at the time thought that Kawasaki made the equipment..  but they were just a supplier of engines..

 

This you could get this engine for a few diffrent applications,  They sold it with a fuel tank fill pointing the cap whatever you needed it depending on the mount...this engine was about $280 bucks by its self...  The hedge trimmer sold for about $330 in 94-95..

I think this is a Astron from the sticker on the top,  The Td24 engine was a 24 cc model.  It had diffrent coloring and shape..

Friiy