JackFlan

SUCCESS!!! 3 Cheers to ALL of you! This 30 year+ Ariens 5hp snowthrower is now running like new! Started on the first pull and now literally diving into the snow. Loooook out!!! I have done as recommended in previous posts...and ran into a few issues along the way and noted above, but in addition to the good cleaning I've also now installed a new gas line and added an inline filter. A BIG THANK YOU from snowy Syracuse to all of you who offered your assistance. Excellent help. Regards... Jack F

Day 2 - The Saga Continues --- Am sure those of you who are experienced at successfully and quickly repairing these kind of issues will have a laugh out of this...and this may serve as a good example of the things that often can and will go wrong for the person who "thinks" he can fix it. Have decided first, that the the gasoline "squirting" out of the tiny vent hole was caused by my failure to realize that the needle(?) attached to the float that cuts off the chamber leading to the vent hole was missing. A silly error on my part. I noticed yesterday afternoon on putting everything back together (sans needle) that pushing the primer bulb caused more gas to squirt out the side. An ah ha moment. Still I hadn't realized the needle was not re-installed as it should have been... but when I pulled the starter cord it roared to life on the first pull...sounded nice and smooth...but I still had an issue of leaking gas.... and near the exhaust...so this was a no brainer. Shut down or blow up. I decided the best advice, considering the fact I always had to keep the choke at "full" in order to run without a problem... that I would do as Borat suggested (loved your movie btw ;-) and take the whole carb assembly off the machine and soak for 18-24 hours. My first mistake in this process - not removing the rubber gasket that goes between the carb assembly and the bowl. Did not realize that the I SHOULD have done this. This morning when I looked in the can where I had the carb soaking in spray carb cleaner** (perhaps a NO NO too) I sadly discovered that this rubber gasket had expanded to about 1/2 again it's original size likely as a result of being in the spray cleaner. It has since shrunk back "almost" to it's former size...but "think" I'll likely have to get a new one (hope that isn't going to be a major challenge). ...............sooooo...while I feel I've made progress...and those Syracuse snows continue to fall...I've not given up as I'm sure I can win this battle...though I have had a few "Oh noooo" moments with this effort. ....but as I write this I now find I'm having great success in shrinking that gasket back to its original size. How? I've place it under and about 3 inches away from a bright halogen desk lamp to heat and shrink. I've just got the gasket to fit in the carb bowel and it looks like this "IS" going to work. Wow ...and Whew! To all of you who have given me advice on this problem. A BIG thank you. It's surely been appreciated and I hope that my experience with this will also help someone along the way if they have a similar problem. Now, here's hoping I get this all back together and live happily ever after. Stay tuned. Jack F

My thanks to all of you. As a novice who'll attempt almost anything (and always have parts left over) you've put me on a course to repair success...I hope. After the mention of the needle attached to the float...I suddenly thought.."Hey, something's missing here." That part had fallen off, probably when I removed the cup on the bottom of the carb. I found it on the floor after looking around for that tiny part So sure enough...that's likely why the gas was coming out of the small hole... nothing to seal it off. I've taken your advice and removed the carb...then detached the float and set aside...then put the whole assembly in a small can I filled enough with carb cleaner to cover all the necessary areas. Surprise of surprises...didn't take long for the cleaner to start looking a little nasty. Will soak it overnight and give it a good shot of compressed air in the morning and hopefully I'll be able to come back here tomorrow and say it purrs like a kitten and no more squirting gasoline.... either that or you'll hear a story about a Syracuse man who's snowblower exploded and wiped out half the neighborhood. Thanks again... JF

Thanks..Borat and Daniel...will take your advice and take a look at these... I did notice when I removed the needle from the base of the carb...the small rubber gasket seems to show some signs of deterioration. This rubber gasket seems to be about the diameter of an eraser on a pencil. it's mounted just above the spring that surrounds the needle. Wonder if this is a part that can be found...if necessary. Hmmm. Will disassemble that carb again and soak everything overnight. Keeping my fingers crossed. The float seems to be okay..doesn't have any fuel inside but would probably be a good part to replace after 30 years. If that float has a little piece attached that seals off that vent(?) hole I can see where this might be a good thing to inspect ;-) JF

Additional Note ... I notice now that when I push the rubber primer bulb before starting the engine that the gas will squirt out the tiny hole. If the bulb is pushed 3-4 times as if priming prior to start, the fuel squirts out. I can start the engine and it seems to run fine now...with the exception of the dangerous gasoline stream (*though very small) right next to the exhaust. JF