# Tecumseh 10 hp



## Albert279 (Oct 19, 2014)

I have an older model Craftsman snowblower 10 hp 30" cut . It will start great but after about an hour of blowing snow the engine starts to miss and it stalls. I let it sit for 15 minutes and it starts and runs fine for about 30 minutes and then does the same thing.Any ideas what could be the problem or where to start to find the trouble?


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

I would suspect that the gas cap is sealing off and causing a fuel starvation issue. That of course assumes everything else is functioning as it should. And it's the simplest place to start.


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

Test the cap by running until it stalls, then loosen the cap. If it runs fine again, then that's the problem. You can fix it with a new cap. BUT another way is to take the current cap and heat a SMALL sewing needle until it glows. Now pick a spot near the center of the cap and pierce (melt) a tiny hole. I've not had any problems since and no water in the gas since the hole is so small.


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

test the ignition to, keep a spare spark plug in your pocket and test for spark as soon as it stalls. on the older tecumseh gas caps, they had a metal dish inside to help them vent. if that dish falls off(it happens from vibration), it wont vent properly. dont bother removing it if its inside the tank, you will not be able to get it out and it wont effect the functionality of the tank


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

tecumseh made a revised version of the cap, if you can get that version get that one instead of the old style


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

this is the revised cap






this is the old style cap


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## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

Hello and welcome to the forum Albert. As suggested, try the gas cap first. Being an older machine, another possibility is the valve stems are expanding from engine heat and preventing the valves from closing all the way causing a loss of compression which is actually a very common problem on flat head engines. There are numerous videos on youtube describing how to check the valve clearances and adjust them if necessary. If you are willing to get your hands dirty and have some mechanical ability, you can do it yourself. Here is a link to the engine service manual if you decide to try it yourself. Any questions, there is always someone here willing to help if needed.

http://www.barrettsmallengine.com/manual/tecumsehlheadmanual.pdf


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## Albert279 (Oct 19, 2014)

Thanks for all the info and as soon as I have time will check this out and post what I find,,,,And Happy New Year to All


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

If you have not gotten the cap yet but still want to test, loosen the current cap a half turn or so and tape it to the tank so it won't spin off on it's own. Run it and see if it shuts down or not.


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## Motor City (Jan 6, 2014)

One other thing with those big Tecumseh's. They can have a tendency to run poorly when the gas tank is low. Its a strange phenomenon, I have found this to be true. I also usually set the float on the high side, to make sure theirs a good volume of gas in the bowl.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Motor City said:


> One other thing with those big Tecumseh's. They can have a tendency to run poorly when the gas tank is low. Its a strange phenomenon, I have found this to be true. I also usually set the float on the high side, to make sure theirs a good volume of gas in the bowl.


I did find that out once. I think it is a combination of the tank not quite high enough and the outlet being on one side of the tank with no low spot. Often times once mounted to the machine the outlet side of the tank can be higher than the other side since almost all blowers lean either forward or backwards a little.


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