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

Hello All, I have an older ('94) White 314-646F190 snow blower which is powered by a Tecumseh 8hp HKSM 80 engine. While tipping the entire unit on its side to clean it, I noticed that oil was draining out through a black hose which is attached to the Tecumseh engine (carb. side). The hose comes off the engine straight out from the side and then is angled 90 degrees down. My 1st thought is that theres no way they would construct an engine like this in such a way that an open tube runs from the crank case of any engine, for whatever reason - makes no sense to me but hey, I'm no expert. So, I'm figuring I have a real problem on my hands (?). The motor hasn't been run now in several years as at the start of the winter season several years ago, the engine (electric start) turned over but would not fire up. I assumed, after replacing the plug and still having no luck, I had a fuel line/carb problem. Now I'm wondering if I haven't some how ruined the engine. Can anyone tell me what this black hose is for and, if its allowing oil to pour out of the engine, is this the major problem it appears to be to this newb ? Thank you so much for any help offered !!

ironman! that has got to be a breather hose! i have the same hose in the same place on mine.that would not cause your not start problem! make sure before you run the engine the oil is replaced or at least checked and added to the proper oil level.if it hasn't been run in years i would drain all the gas out of it,remove the sparkplug and squirt some motor oil down the hole and with the plug removed turn the engine over a few seconds with the starter and place your thumb over the sparkplug hole to check for compression . replace the old plug with a new plug correctly gapped and seated.next remove the carb and remove the float bowl, the high speed jet,slow speed jet, and needle and seat.pay particular attention to the brass bolt that holds the float bowl on that has the high speed needle in the center.remove the high speed jet and the nut has very small orrifices in it. clean them out with a very thin wire.clean the carb with carb cleaner and reassemble with the idle mixture screw and high speed screw  1 1/2 turns out from LITELY bottomed. the high speed jet is the one in the center of the nut that holds the bowl on. the idle speed and mixture are on the side horizontal facing away from the engine.before you attach the fuel line to the carb open the petcock and make sure the fuel will flow thru the petcock.once the fuel line is hooked up go ahead and turn the choke to on and try and start it.you need three things for it to run.spark at the plug,gas in the cylinder,and compression. if it starts up and runs you will need to adjust the high and slow speed mixture screws.the high speed is adjusted with the engine at governed speed by turning it clockwise till it starts to pop or rpm's drop and then turning it counterclockwise til it starts to load up and the rpm's drop. you want the high speed final adjustment in the middle between the slow and high  speed rpm drop indexes. once you get the high speed done adlust the idle speed to keep the engine running and then adjust the slow speed mixture screw the same procedure as the high speed.set the needle mid point between the lean and rich rpm drop positions.when you have them both adjusted correctly you should be able to move the throttle from slow speed to governed rpm speed with out it stumbling or popping.keep in mind that any adjustments you do in warm weather may haver to be readjusted some when it gets cold. good luck when it gets cold . once you get the engine running and warm shut it down and drain and  replaced the engine oil.also a good idea to add a double dose of fuel conditioner to the gas. i have had good luck with seafoam! good luck

Thank you do much for the quick response. Funny you mentioned cleaning the holes on the bolt. That was what I was about to do before I tipped it on its side. It had a layer of dirt baked on from winters/rain/sun in the summer over a period of several years sitting outside - guess the tarp didn't work as good as I thought :-) So, I decided to scrub it down and then tackle the carb. I had just did the same procedure on my Briggs/Stratton lawn mower engine after it wouldn't start back in May. I tried everything to no avail then read, maybe here, can't remember, about those holes getting clogged. I thought the odds of this being the problem were 1 in a million but, after passing a small paper clip wire through the hole, the dang thing started on the very 1st pull !! Everyone should know about that little procedure - how many people have wasted how many machines and $$ over the years because they didn't know about this one seemingly insignificant 'weakness' ? Anyhow, yes I will follow your instructions and hopefully find I have compression etc. I wish I had written that I've pretty much decided to buy a new carb. for it. I've seen them for less than $100. ('Oregon' ?) so I'm thinking I could save myself mid winter blues starting out with a fresh one. You went and typed all those directions ... I'm sorry for this. Maybe I'd have to do this anyhow with a new one ? New territory for me - my experience is limited to changing the spark plug and now, the paper clip trick. If you have a second, could you just give me a quick idea of what that hose is for and is it an open 'channel' to the oil ? I just can't imagine that an engine would be designed to permit oil to pour out like this just because the engine is on its side - but what do I know ? Ha ! I've been around small engines and car engines all my life and my understanding is that oil reservoirs of any kind would be sealed air tight... if this is a dumb comment, my apologies - 'being around' engines doesn't mean 'knowing everything about engines' :-) Again, IF you have the time - otherwise I thank you again for the time/knowledge you've already volunteered to help me out !

think of it  this way.the piston goes up and down roughly 3400 rpm at governed speed.as it does  the air under the piston has to be vented some how or a vavumn or pressure would be created in the crankcase of the engine.both my harleys are vented to the atmosphere and all the old cars around the 40's and 50's were too. now they are a closed vented system and they vent back up to the pcv valve(positive crancase ventilation valve) i would not buy a new carb unless the old one is completely shot.if you can remove the float bowl that will tell you what the carb insides look like! a couple cans of carb cleaner and a good cleaning is probably all it needs.

Thank you once again. Yes, the PVC valve - this is why I was confused. 'Vented' but sealed. I will let ya know how it all shakes out. Best laid plans of mice and men - my son shows up yesterday with an expired inspection and throwing a code for O2 sensor. It sounds like a cracked exhaust manifold to me so maybe causing the code. Before he racks up a bunch of tickets, I'm gonna have to get on this project 1st now. Never ending :-)

I've always heard "if it has fluid in it, it has to breath".  I need to get around to extending the breather hoses up on my jeep for the axles and transmission before the great floods come at the end of the world in December :)

-Dan

"..the great floods.." Waddya got planned if its 'fire' ?? :-)