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

I have a chance to buy this :

SIMPLICITY PRO 9/28

HAS SAT ALL YEAR AND NOW HAS SOME SOME ISSUES WHEN i GOT IT OUT TODAY. STARTS EASY AND SEEMS TO RUN FINE BUT THE CHUTE CRANK RATTLES AND TURNS HARD. THERS A BUSHING IN IT THAT LOOKS SHOT. ALSO THE CABLE THAT WORKS THE CHUTE DEFLECTOR IS STUCK. BOTH REVERSE SPEEDS WORK FINE AND 2, 3, 4, 5, WORK OK. WHEN IN 1ST GEAR SPEED IT DOESNT MOVE. NOT SURE IF THATS AN ADJUSTMENT MAYBE. AND IF YOU PUSH THE PRIMER BULB GAS SPRAYS OUT OF THE BOTTOM NEAR THE CARBERATOR. THO IS STARTS OK AND RUNS GOOD WITHOUT THE PRIMER SO IT MAY BE BAD FROM ME NEVER USING IT. THE TIRES WERE FLAT . i PUT AIR IN THEM. NOT SURE IF THEY HAVE LEAKS OR IF IT WAS JUST FROM SITTING SINCE LAST WINTER. THE AUGER WORKS AND TURNS WITH NO NOISE OR PROBLEMS. STILL HAS PAINT ON THE AUGER .. AND OVERALL MACHINE IS VERY CLEAN. HAS ELECT START BUT I ALWAYS USE THE PULL START , WHICH WORKS FINE.

I can pick it up for about 250.00 the chute I am sure I can fix it myself, the tires I am not too concerned with.... but I am not sure about the carb problem or 1st gear issue. Any suggestions? I would like to buy this get it working (if its not to much $$) and keep it as a backup. But I know its not gonna last unless I move quickly but I dont want to get stuck with a huge bill. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I agree that the primer leak is most likely caused by over priming.  It just pushes air into the carb bowl and pushes fuel into the carb.  Without the engine running the fuel has a 50/50 chance of either running into the engine or out of the air intake.  If you are worried try tipping the blower back on the handles a bit and then prime it.  Gravity should then keep all the fuel inside the air intake.  I suppose worst case is you have a bad bowl or bowl gasket causing a leak.  That will cost about $5 to fix :)

I also agree that the lack of a first gear is most likely a linkage adjustment.  It is set so that speeds 1-5 are too slow and R is too fast.  This could be done on purpose to make R faster.  It causes 1 to actually be dead center on the friction plate so it won't turn either way and just wear down the rubber.  An easy test for this would be to put it in first and engage the clutch with the engine off and try to push the blower.  It should feel locked up if everything is working and just out of adjustment.  The other possibility for gears not working in a friction disk system is worn out bearings, but those cause the fastest F and R speeds to not work since that is where the greatest amount of play would be.

I emailed the guy twice today all with no response, he just contacted me to tell me its sold! Guess that was a no brainer on my part! ;( I should have know better! Should have just bought it!

Thanks for all the reply's!

Yep, happened to me a couple times at least. Now we know why they say "He who hesitates is lost".

Cheers