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

Hi

I've got an old snowblower that will not start even though we emtied all old gas from it , checked the spark-plug- ignition! and the new gas entered the carburettor but obviously not the cylinder why it didn't start. The snow blower is old but not much used 3-4 winters and for two years ago there was no problem whatsoever.

It is an ARIENS ST 504 motornumber HS 50670080 and serialnumber 93338.

We got a tip to change the diaphragm but does anyone know anything else we can do. The snow is coming in Sweden and I don't like showelling.

I think you have a Techumseh engine. Did you prime your engine by pumping you priming bulb a few times? Some snow blowers have a fuel shut off valve, make sure it is open. Open your throttle all the way.Give your priming bulb 5 or 6 pumps, Now start it with your choke almost closed. If it starts let it run and warm up, then open your choke all the way. Did it start?  If not ,  remove your spark plug and put a teaspoon of fresh gas in you cylinder, put your plug back in and start it. it should run for a few seconds or try to. If it does you  not have an ignition problem or compression problem. Your carb is most likely gummed up inside. Techumseh engines Carbs go for $50 - $80- try cleaning it- make sure you do not have any old gas in it only run fresh gas. Your engine will never run with old gas.
   Take your fuel boll apart first and see how gummed up it is. Check your float. Fuel should run out of it from your tank (float down) . You can clean it up with carb cleaner. Try running it again.  If you do  remove your carb to clean it- ( NEVER MESS WITH YOUR GOV CONTROL SETTINGS) pay attention and remove the rods and pt them back in the same holes.Your gov settings controls how your engine reacts to a load. If you mess with it with out knowing what you are doing , it will never run right untill you install it properly. To void you problems just unhook your rods , DON'T UNSCREW ANYTHING TO GET THEM OFF
You can buy 2 types of carb cleaner. The kind in a spray can or the kind in a Qt can. The one in the Qt can works best if your carb is really nasty. Gunk cleaner works best. If you do not have access to an air compressor for blowing out your orfaces use the type in a can. It comes with a straw to spray out your orfaces.
        Let me know how you make out. If your engine never started by pouring gas in it let me know ok. If you have any problems let me know
     

Hello

Thanks for your good advice. We havn't yet tried it but we will do it as soon as possible. When so we will get back to you. It was ever so nice of you yo help us out, we are very greatful

How did you make out?

Hi

Thanks for asking, but we havn't had time to fix it yet, due to too much work.

Merry xmas and a happy New Year. snowblower working or not.

Stig wrote:

Come on Stig! This Swedish born Canadian thinks you better get busy with the repairs; my uncle e-mailed me yesterday saying that they had a metre (40") of snow on the south coast of Sweden, more than he has seen in his 75+ years.

God Jul and Gott Nytt Ar to you too!

Svensk i Kanada

bus708 wrote:

Bus708, I do agree with your approach however you know how trickey carbs can be and I found the average joe will totally screw up the carb in the process. 9 times out of 10 the machine will end up in the shop with what is left of the carb parts in a box.

No doubt if the spark plug is dry after priming and cranking it over a few times the carb is most likely gunked up. With the MTBE and Ethenol they are putting in the fuel if don't use an additive you can be doomed in just a few months.

Short of taking the carb off and rebuilding it, back out the mixture screw, hit it with a shot of carb spray and a shot of air to clear out the port. Just to enlighten the novice here, count the number of turns while turning the mixture screw in until it lightly seats so you can back it out the same number of turns and it will get you right around the same mixture setting. Most Techumseh carbs also have a float bowl mixture screw and a 1/2 turn in each direction will generally clear out the bowl jet.

Finally a quick shot of starting ether in front of the air intake before cranking it over and you will surely get her to fire up. Once it is running let it warm up a little and you can adjust the mixture and bowl adjusting screws for a smooth operation.

After all is said and done if it seems to be running OK, change the oil, clean the air filter and you should be good go.

Like I said before, carbs can be very tricky. If after you perform the above operation you can't it get it to run right, I would suggest taking it to a local repair shop. 

The real answer to this dilema here though so is does'nt happen to you again next year.... ALWAYS USE A FUEL ADDITIVE AND RUN IT DRY BEFORE A LONG STORAGE. 

Starwarrior

Just curious starwarrior.

Have ever disassembled one of those Tecumseh carbs?

They don't get much simpler than that. 

I can take one apart, completely clean it and re-assemble in probably less than twenty minutes.   I'm certain that a person with minimal mechanical aptitude could do it in an hour or less if they pay attention to how things come apart and are gentle while handling the float components.

Your suggestion to blow compressed air through the adjustment screw hole in the float bowl might clear the main jet or it also might just blow dirt and debris that may be in the float bowl into the main jet.  It's a toss up. 

From my experience, fuel additives are snake oil.  I did some personal testing to see how effective they are.  I've actually soaked carb components with varnish deposits on them in pure Seafoam and other fuel injector/carb cleaner additives.  The results were remarkably ineffective.  That put an end to my use of additives for carb cleaning.

There's only one way to clean a carb.  Pull it off, get an exploded view diagram if you're unfamiliar, find some written instructions/guidance procedures, ask questions and take it apart for a thorough cleaning.

A very thin piece of copper wire, some good old fashioned WD-40 or other spray cleaner and compressed air through every jet, orifice and gallery. 

Magic elixirs and compressed air won't cure a dirty carb.   I'd rather pull the carb apart and attempt to clean it rather than bring it to a shop for an $80.00/hr shop charge to fix a $25.00 carb.

Dirty carbs are probably responsible for 90% of the reasons an engine will not start or run properly.  The sooner a person learns that they aren't difficult to clean, the sooner they will get their machine running and they'll save a few buck too.

   

borat wrote:

Borat you are absolutey right and based on the blog trail it is pretty apparent that a few of you guys actually do know what you are talking about.

There is nothing much to a carb overhaul, a $10.00 carb kit, soak it, clean out the ports, adjust the float bowl settings, a few link rod adjustments, and she is good as new.

I have spent a few years with my little drill bits opening up the metering jets to obtain better performance and I lost count how many titanium mixture screw covers I have popped off over the years but I have found the average Joe gets lost just trying to figure how to adjust more than one float setting. (I don't think I have to go there) How many examples..Two float bowl gaskets or peice of gasket left on the seating plane. What little red gasket under the bowl jet or how many bent or reversed choke rods? And after all is said and done the machine is usually left  with half a tank of  fuel in the crankcase since the oil is usually the last thing to be changed nor has it ever been . 

Sometimes just a quick shot to clear out a little dirt in the float bowl or A/M port will work out just fine and as far as learning skills... The educated seem to be born with more thumbs.

Unless the tank is run dry and the fuel bowl drained, the single most important maintinance item for long term storage is fuel additive. 

Yeah, 50 to 100 bucks seems like alot of money but it is way cheaper than a new carb and rod bearings.

As for me,  I fog my engines before putting the machines away for the season. I also take out the metering screw and hit the port with a little WD.  Quite honestly the 10 minute effort will yield many years of top performance.

I stick by my story... For the average consumer, If a basic cleaning and maintinance effort doesn't help, take the machine to the shop and have it serviced.

Starwarrior

And I stick to mine.  Eighty bucks an hour to fix a $20.00 carb?????  Don't think so.

Additives are 99% ineffective.  I've learned that over time.  Got plenty of experience with them and have learned to avoid the hearsay and manufacturers claims.  Like most believers in snake oil, I used to delude myself into thinking that they were actually improving engine performance.  

Do a few experiments with additives as I did.  See what happens.       



Yo Stig:

Pull the carb and clean it.  No kit required if you don't damage any gaskets taking it apart.  Just cleaning.  If you've cleaned it properly, the machine will run like new. 

where can I get a new $20 carb??