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?

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.