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

Hi. My name is Krzysztof and I'm from Poland (Europe). I just got Ariens snow blower from my friend and after 2 hours of snow blowing machine stopped working. It was strange to me that muffler is red after few minutes and engine was not perfectly running but my friend said its normal. It was also weak for me, it went down every time I drove into 8inch of snow (not ice mountain ;) ). Today i checked spark plug, it was dirty but after cleaning it produces strong sparks. I turn round crankshaft couple of times and piston was not moving (i thing it should), i saw only one valve going up and down, i was unable to see other one cause spark plug hole is too small. When I try to start gas is going out from carburetor ( there is no air filter ?!?!?!) Please help me to identify Ariens model cause rear sticker is damaged.

Here's what I was able to read:
-engine Tecumseh
model # H70-130210D
ser 8305C
-front sticker
model# 7-10-m
serial# 26156
-rear sticker
model# 10M ?????
serial# 15192 

photos  Here

Sorry for my poor english and thanks for any help.

Looks to me like you have a bad/broken valve spring or retainer. There's a lobe that pushes it up and the spring should pull it back down. Not a good thing but a lot easier & cheaper to take care of than a connecting rod so it could have been a lot worse. I can't figure out if a weak or bad intake valve spring could have caused you to run lean, I can see how it could cause a rich condition but not lean ... anyone care to guess? Your dirty Polish workbench looks just like my dirty American workbench :D

           If the engine was running before it quit..  You may just have a dirty intake valve stem..  If the engine has old or bad gas inside.  The valve collects deposits on the stem when running and starts to stick or rub...  if You spray cleaning solvent or carburator cleaner on the valve stem does it loosen up and move freely when you turn the engine over?

Can you Email me a Video of how the valve is acting when you turn over the engine?

Friiy@aol.com

Good Luck,

Friiy..  

friiy wrote:

Sorry I get Your post too late :( Gas can't be weak, It's from Shell and it's fresh 100+ octan V-Power.

Cover is out now.  Valve spring is broken, also governor wheel is completly broken. I will put some photos later, have to work now ;)
I promise to clean workbench after work ! :))

I have downloaded Tecumseh Repair Manual for my engine - it's great !

Have good day You all and Thank You for helping me. This is first time I'm repairing gas engine.

Ok I got almost everything done. Problem was broken valve cap.

Plase someone tell me:
- carb and those screws looking good ?
- I cleaned cylinder before photo, is it good or should I change piston rings ?
- should I poler valve holes ?
- can this valve stay ?

 

 My friend,  I would put it back together with the only the replacement parts for what is broke...   I think the valve spring keeper and parts are available separate.  The engine may have plenty of power in its current state,  even a engine that burns oil will run for years if taken care of...

IF you decide to change the valve,  you will have to resurface the face, cut the seat of the valve and set the clearance,   this will take tools you may not have access to do.. 

The needle valve screws look good, but you need to change the o-ring on the one with the seal...

Good luck,

Friiy    

the needles could use a good bath in carb cleaner and the brass seat(high speed jet) pictured in the middle with the gasket make sure the holes on the inside are absolutely clean.there should be a couple of small passages.  a small fine stainless wire and  cleaner will do the trick.

Big thanks ! I'm really greatfull and happy I found this forums and You guys :)
I'm preparing parts list to order - I found outdoordistributors.com is it good one ?

One more thing. Could I take out ignition with those screws on photo without resetting it ?
I want to change oil seal on both sides.

   Those two screws are part of the adjustment for timing.  They hold the stator on and the slots below allow the stator to rotate slightly to control when the points will open in relation to the rotating crank shaft dwell. 

 

   Since you are doing so much work and in there it might be a good time to change the points and condenser.  Put them in, set the points to .020 at the peak of the dwell on the crank.

 

   Then check with an ohmmeter when the points open.   First remove the coil wire at the side of the holder and put one side of a multimeter there. 

 

   Put the other side of the mulitmeter (set to ohms) to the point side with the screw.  

 

   Do this with the head off so you can see how far away the piston is from TDC.  When it’s at .080 from the top (TDC) you want the points to just open i.e .080 Before Top Dead Center, BTDC. 

 

   Turn the crank with the flywheel and note when the points open by the multimeter reading going from many ohms to zero.  You can slightly change when the points open by rotating the stator when those two screws are loosened.  Get the points to just open when the piston is .080 from the top of it’s travel then screw down the screws.  Recheck it through several turns to make sure when it’s opening. 

 

   This procedure is described in the Tecumseh 3-11hp L-Head manual.  They do it with the head on which requires an expensive special tool to read the .080.  Since you have it all apart you can do it without the tool when you put the crank back in and before the head goes on. 

OK. I will probably have parts within 2 weeks so I'll try to get gap meters to do it like book says :) Wish me luck because I need lots of it !

I zoomed in on the picture of the points. They look to have a lot of life left in them. Personally, I wouldn't touch them if you're getting strong spark. However, while you have them exposed, carefully spread the points and inspect the surfaces. if they're clean, check the gap and adjust if necessary. If they have corrosion or dirt on them, take a small piece of sandpaper, fold it over to have abrasives on both sides and clean the points surfaces. Then adjust if necessary. Points that are kept clean a dry can give very long service life especially in an engine used seasonally.