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.

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.

Where are the "points"?

which photo are they in?

im still trying to figure out exactly what the points are..

thanks, Scot

I cleaned almost all snowblower, for carb parts I will have ultrasonic cleaner . Now just have to wait long time for parts :(

  

Put a couple drops of light oil into the piece of felt that rubs against the cam lobe. It lubricates the cam surface/points actuator.

Borat - how can you tell from the photo the points are not pitted or weld distorted without seeing their surface?

         Well,  it was running when it blew up,   and lawnmower points only run one spark plug/ one cylinder....  Automotive points run 4, 6 or 8 cylinders (plugs on one set of contacts )-and run all the time..... Not just a hour here and there like yard stuff.    They get a lot less wear,  and when they fail,  they don't run (no room for misfire on a single cylinder)

Friiy

   The points were working, OK.  When they fail they generally fail for good, OK.  What does that have to do with looking at points from the side side, not being able to see their surface and determining they “have a lot of life left in them”?  

 

    Points can operate fine while degrading.  They can run while slowly degrading from pitting, welding and carbon.  That the engine was running is no indicator of the condition of the points or future life.

 

    Changing under the flywheel points on an older Tecumseh engine is not like poping off the exposed distributor cap on a car engine.  On his old H70 the points are under the flywheel and head bolts have to be undone to get the cowling off along with the gas line.  Flywheels usually are stuck on pretty well and can be a pain to get off.  If the points were pitted or worn and working I’d change them along with the condenser to avoid going in there later but I would not know that unless their surface could be seen.