Glosta

Our town has the sidewalk plow as well, however they only plow the sidewalks in close proximity of schools or town offices.   Sidewalks on the "less traveled" residential side streets are not plowed by the town...nor should they be.   Bad enough the sidewalk plows have to contend with the 10ft snow mounds left behind by the guys who plow driveways and plow the snow onto the sidewalk at the end of the driveway.    Just another example of ignorance over etiquette attitude.

Is it me, or do people just not clear the sidewalks in front of their homes any more?  I know that statement might be a little broad stroked, but it's a real pet peeve of mine.  I can almost understand folks who don't own a snowblower not wanting to shovel the sidewalk.  It get it.... It's a lot of hard work especially when the snow is wet and heavy.  But what's the rational for not clearing the sidewalk when you own a snowblower???  Just can't be bothered to spend the extra 10 mins to ensure folks don't have to walk in the street following a storm???   I live in a nice residential neighborhood at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.  Total of 10 houses with sidewalks on both sides of the street.  Of the 10 houses, nine of us own snowblowers and yet only 2 of us clear the sidewalks.  Doesn't matter if we get one inch or one foot of snow, only two of us clear the sidewalks.  I used to clear the entire sidewalk from my house to the end of our street which is about 450 feet of sidewalk, however about two years ago while clearing the sidewalk, my snowblower picked up a large branch (don't even get me started on leaf & stick clean-up  :)  and snapped two shear pins.  From that point on, I was done with sidewalk detail for the entire street.  I do the sidewalk in front of my house and that's as far as I go.   I actually had a neighbor ask me, "why do you bother to clear the sidewalk on this street, no one uses it during the winter.  My response was, "You see that fire hydrant over there? Why should I go through the trouble of  digging it out every time it snows since no one has used it in the 18 years I've lived here?". But I understand his point.  Not many folks use the sidewalk on our street. The mailmain and newspaper carrier both deliver to roadside mailboxes.  But to me, that's not the point.  I use the sidewalk.  My dog uses the sidewalk.  My kids use the sidewalk.  The girls scouts delivering my 12  boxes of Caramel Delite cookies use the sidewalk.   And anyone who feels the need to not walk in the street can also use the sidewalk.   Maybe as I'm getting older I'm becoming more cynical and setting the expectation bar too high.  To me it's just common courtesy learned as a child from watching my dad shovel the sidewalk clear after every storm.   Sorry for the rant.... stepping down off my snow cleared soapbox.      

All Set.  Just had to remove a cover plate, cotter pin, washer, and cam lock boss for which gave me direct access to the auger clutch cable  and drive clutch cable.  Repositioned the cables to their proper position and no more contact with the chute crank.

My Honda 928WAS is 4 years old and don't ask me why, but I never noticed that the Honda Power Equipment Dealer routed the auger cables on the wrong side of the vertical steel upright leading  to the right side handlebar.  Instead of routing the cables on the inside edge of the right vertical upright, the dealer installer the cables on the outside edge of the right vertical upright.  What's happening is that everytime I rotate the chute crank, it's rubbing and spinning on the auger cable.   Does anyone know how to disassemble the right side auger engagement lever so I can release the end of the auger cables and re-reoute them on inside left edge of the vertical upright so they don't make contact with the chute crank?  How difficult is it to release the cable from the engagement lever?  Thank You.  Rich  

Looking for some insight and feedback from the small engine experts on this forum.  I have a 2002  6HP Craftsman 4-in-1 Yard Vac (non-propelled version) that will suddenly lose about 50% of it's power after it's warmed up (about 7-10 minutes from the initial start).  The engine is a 6HP Vertical Briggs & Stratton 123K02-0240-E1  (self throttle and manual choke).   The engine starts on the first pull and runs at full power for the first 7-10 minutes, then starts to sputter for a second or two (almost like it's running out of fuel) and then runs at about 50%-60% power.  If I stop the engine, it will immediatly restart on the first pull, but again only at 50% power.  The engine never dies or cuts-out, just runs at half power.  I've removied the gas cap when this occurs thinking maybe I had a vapor lock issue, but the engine power/RPM's never get faster.  It's been doing this the last 3 or 4 times I've used the machine.  Like I said, the machine runs like a swiss watch for the first 7-10 mins then as soon as the engine gets warm.....the RPM's drop and the machine looses 50% power.  Here's what I've done so far to troubleshoot the problem.  1)  Changed the oil (conventional 30wt).  When I drained the old oil, there was only about 7oz remaining in the machine and it was filthy.  I changed the oil about 6 months ago and I'm 100% certain I added 18oz. of 30wt oil.  There's no drips or leaks anywhere that I can see, so clearly the machine is burning oil, however I don't see plumes of smoke when the machine is running???  When the machine is warm after about 20 mins and I pull the oil dipstick, I get a slight whisp of smoke that comes up the dipstick tube.  I occassionaly get the same wisp of some when I pull the air cleaner.   2) Replaced the air cleaner.  I noticed there was a very small amount (about 3 drips worth) of oil across the bottom of the air cleaner housing.  It appears to be entering the air clearner housing through the crankcase vent tube.  The old air filter was fairly clean and did not have oil on any of the pleats.  The drips of oil were only on the bottom of the filter housing.  3) Replaced the old spark plug with new one.  Old plug looked pretty good.  Little bit of carbon, but nothing serious.  Certainly no oil on the plug.  Spark plug gap was perfect.  4) Removed the fuel tank, throughly flushed and cleaned the inside, checked all fuel lines for cracks/holes, blew out all the fuel line hoses and inlet nipples, tightened all fuel line clamps.  Replaced the gas cap with a new one and refilled with fresh fuel.  5)  Checked throttle spring and linkage arms.  No bent, broken, or missing parts.  6)  Pulled the carburetor (which didn't have a speck of dirt or varnish inside the bowl) and completely dissambled the bowl, main jet, float assembly, and the needle.  Forensically cleaned every square inch of the carburetor using carb spray and a thin piece of copper wire.  Blew everything out with compressed air and reassambled using all new gaskets.  Zero change in performance.  When cold, machine starts on first pull and runs at full power for the first 7-10 mins then falls on it's face to 50% power when the engine gets warm.  I don't have a compression tester or a leak down tester, but I'm wondering if the problem could be a failed headgasket???  Would a headgasket issue only show-up when the machine gets warm and pressure builds inside the engine?   Any thoughts or advice?  I love the machine, so if I have to repower it with a new engine I certainly will.  I just don't want to give-up on current engine if there's something I'm missing.  In advance, thank you for your feedback.   Rich A.