# Carb Help Needed



## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

The engine on my Craftsman blower would sputter once in awhile only when idling. Otherwise seemed to run fine. Since it's simple to do, I took carb bowl off & found a bunch of small particles in the small amount of gas still in there. 

So, should I remove carb, take in all apart & clean it. If so, can someone tell me how? I just successfully did this to my Honda generator following step by step instructions. So, I feel confident that I can do it. 

Blower info is down below. But I'm unsure of the make of the engine & the type of carb. Found the emissions label which had "MTD" on it. And I watched some YouTube videos but my carb doesn't seem to be a fixed jet or an adjustable.

Please help.


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## jtclays (Sep 24, 2010)

Chuck, You need to get the numbers off the engine. There should be a sticker somewhere on it. I think the 357 is a Briggs motor. It may still say MTD and have long code type numbers, but there should be something like a (model, family, type, code, serial), blocks on the sticker. Those are the numbers you want. Post up those numbers and we can easily find a schematic of your carb.
I'm thinking it's a Powermore now that I look around a little more. They are kind of a PIA to work on as they have a bunch of shrouding to remove to even get at the carb. I'd try cleaning it, but at this replacement cost, you may want to buy new.
Could be an LCT or Powermore also.
http://www.oscar-wilson.com/MANUALS/MTDENGINES/483-SU-10.PDF


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Ok. Here's a pic.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

You have the manual?
Is this yours?
It has a picture of the carb in there.

247888301 CRAFTSMAN SNOW THROWER Manual | SearsPartsDirect


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Yes & I'm the original owner.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

I found this,
357 cc Horizontal Shaft 483-SU, 483-SUA, 483-SUB
So I am guessing an MTD engine?

MTD Engine Parts | Model 483-SUA | SearsPartsDirect

For the number you listed.
It came off this site,
Craftsman Branded Engine Parts MTD Powermore Parts - MovingSnow.com

Someone should be able to tell you exactly what you have, the above is just what I found while searching your number.

Are they little black particles you found in the carb? Is there an inline filter on it? Can you see into the gas tank?


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Thanks Big Ed. 

The carb looks like the one in your link. Model # 483SUA.

There are some black & some shiny gold particles. No in-filter but I'll be adding one. I'd consider adding a shut off value also but it'd be located under tank & I'd have no access to it. I have the tank off right now but can see inside only a small amount.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

It shouldn't be that dirty for it's age.

I would slosh some ethanol around and clean it out, but I get mine ethanol for free.
You could use some rubbing alcohol, Isopropanol to rinse it out as long as it is off. 99% if you can find it otherwise use the 91%. Other percentages are denatured with solvents, I would use either 99 or 91 %'s.
I get my Isopropanol for free too. (I get all my chemicals for free.)

Sometimes the black may come from a new plastic gas can?
The gold from the new tank itself?
Or maybe a fuel line is deteriorating? Or a primer bulb if there is one.
Do you add to the gas?

My little Craftsman was stuttering a little too, I added a carb cleaner to the gas and it smoothed it out.
I really should take mine apart as I have never had it apart and the blower is around 14 years old now. but I figure that it is running good why mess with it.

A lot here recommend using Sea Foam additive to the gas. I use Stabil and a shot of the carb cleaner to each tank. Some say that the Stabil marine grade is better to use.

Someone more experienced then I am should chime in with some suggestions.


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Why would I not want to use gas? I didn't know ethanol could be bought. I do have that rubbing alcohol. Must be nice being able to get stuff for free.

I have been using Stabil for years. And recently started using an additive for the ethanol.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

Chuck2 said:


> Why would I not want to use gas? I didn't know ethanol could be bought. I do have that rubbing alcohol. Must be nice being able to get stuff for free.
> 
> I have been using Stabil for years. And recently started using an additive for the ethanol.



What do mean that you use an additive for the ethanol?
Are you calling the gas you use ethanol?

The ethanol I am talking about is either 190 or 200 proof grain, for drinking.
You can buy ethanol, but it is denatured mainly with a percentage of either methanol or isopropanol. That is so you can't drink it. The ethanol with the isopropanol is better to use in my opinion. Ethanol when denatured is labeled as denatured alcohol. But you have to watch as there are a lot of different blends of denatured alcohol. Some are denatured with chemicals that will eat through rubber and plastics. Any ketone will harm plastics and most rubber, they are more of a paint stripper solvent, Methyl Iso butyl ketone or methyl ethyl ketone,etc. And a lot are also denatured with acetates, a lot of acetates will eat through the rubber and plastics too. Butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, etc. 
But denatured with just methanol or IPA (isopropanol) won't harm anything unless someone drinks it. 

The ethanol will cut the varnish residue that might be built up in the tank.
The ethanol will clean it out better then gasoline and it dissipates (drys) quickly.
But like I said I get mine for free. 
Straight grain is great for taking off sticker glue, if you ever tried to remove a old bumper stickers glue you know how hard it is to come off. Rub a little ethanol on it and it comes right off.

I was just thinking that you can use the isopropanol to rinse out the tank as long as it is off.
I guess you could also use some fresh gas if you want.

My main point was to get it clean as long as it is off.
Whatever you use get a coffee filter when you pour it out after you rinse it.
See what if anything gets caught in the filter.


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

I was trying to understand why you're saying it is better to use ethanol or rubbing alcohol rather than gas to rinse the tank out. Which now I do understand. 

The additive for the ethanol I'm referring to is StaBil Ethanol Treatment. Which you had mentioned. It's to counter the bad effects the ethanol in our gas has on fuel system components. 

I'm hoping someone will be able to guide me through removal of the jets & other parts.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

to tell the truth i personally use hot water to rinse my gas tanks out with. i know probably not the greats idea but it usually works and a little bit of water in the gas wont hurt anything especially if you run the engine enough. 

as far as cleaning the carb goes i wouldn't have gone to crazy with it yet. i would have remove the crud from the float bowl and let some gas flow through the needle and seat and then put it back together to see if it would run better. a lot of the time that is all it takes.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

crazzywolfie said:


> to tell the truth i personally use hot water to rinse my gas tanks out with. i know probably not the greats idea but it usually works and a little bit of water in the gas wont hurt anything especially if you run the engine enough.
> 
> as far as cleaning the carb goes i wouldn't have gone to crazy with it yet. i would have remove the crud from the float bowl and let some gas flow through the needle and seat and then put it back together to see if it would run better. a lot of the time that is all it takes.



Do you do it in the kitchen sink?
You could do that but afterwards take a little Methanol (dry gas) and slosh it around it will eat all the moisture up and it drys real quick. Note that the new dry gas is isopropanol, methanol is better for eating up water. They still make the old dry gas for older cars.
On my tanker truck in the winter the domes screw down handles get frozen solid with ice, it is hard even to beat them with a big brass hammer! I carry a bottle of methanol and pour a little on the ice and within seconds the ice is gone.
Isopropanol won't do that. IPA will just sit on top of the ice, the methanol eats it up. Some of our aluminum trailers (the ones that look like a gas tanker) when the top gets frozen solid with ice it is a witch to walk on. I pour a few gallons of methanol on ice and with in minutes it is all gone.

I have one problem gutter on the front of my house that freezes, it never gets any sun. In the winter I keep a few gallons of methanol to pour in them to unfreeze them when it gets loaded up with ice. I don't pour a lot at one time, maybe a quart, that is all it needs to eat the ice up and works its way down the downspout.
I tried an electric heater line but they burn up a lot of electric plus it really didn't work that good.

Plus.......I get all my chemicals for free. 
That helps or else I wouldn't do it.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

Big Ed said:


> Do you do it in the kitchen sink?


no i usually use the bathroom sink lol. the bathroom has the best ventilation.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

If you leave the cap off the tank the water should evaporate fairly quickly anyway. If it was nice out you could leave it in the sun.

It is probably a Honda style carb.

http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/honda_carb_16100-zf6-w10.asp

To be honest, most times you just have to remove the bowl and clean that and maybe the jets. You can do it pretty easily without removing the carb from the engine.


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## RoyP (Oct 16, 2014)

Just today I cleaned the carb on my Honda 1132. Go to NAPA get the gallon can of Carb Cleaner, there's only 3 qts in the can, comes with a basket for holding your parts. Pay close attention, or better yet take pictures of the carb before taking it apart. Count how many turns you have to do when taking the needle valves out. then just put them back with the same amount of turns. Let the carb and parts, needle valves, whatever you have soak for a few hours in the cleaner. Rinse it with water, then blow it dry, as dry as you can. I used 2 cans of the keyboard cleaner compressed air cans. Worked great for me. Carb will be as clean as the day it was made.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

Shryp said:


> If you leave the cap off the tank the water should evaporate fairly quickly anyway. If it was nice out you could leave it in the sun.
> 
> It is probably a Honda style carb.
> 
> ...


i agree. i have never really worked on my snow blower while it was warm out but the hot water usually evaporates pretty quick if you get most of the water out before it cools. 

ya. most carbs are like that. once you cleaned one the rest are all about the same. i also don't usually remove the carb unless i need to. in most cases they are fairly easy to get at. sometime i will tilt the blower forward onto its bucket to make it easy to see everything.


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Thanks for all the advice. 

I will be doing it without removing the carb & with the blower on it's bucket. I'm intending to be removing the jets & anything else that is easy to.

Is it ok to spray carb cleaner & compressed air into the small holes on the carb while it's installed?


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

should be fine to spray carb cleaner and compressed air into the holes while the carb is installed.


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## RoyP (Oct 16, 2014)

crazzywolfie said:


> should be fine to spray carb cleaner and compressed air into the holes while the carb is installed.



Save yourself the aggravation of not having it work....remove the carb.....I don't see that it's available in Canada,,but the best is NAPA part #6402 Carb cleaner w/basket 96 oz. can. soak the complete carb for couple of hours, after you have removed as many jets that you comfortably can.....rinse with water......blow dry it completely.....all the holes that you can see. reassemble then run your engine.....should work great.

if you don't have a air compressor......get the keyboard compressed air cans....worked fine for me


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Ok. Thanks again.

I do have a compressor. So I'm good there.

Wouldn't it be better to rinse it by spraying it with carb cleaner rather than water?


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## RoyP (Oct 16, 2014)

Chuck2 said:


> Ok. Thanks again.
> 
> I do have a compressor. So I'm good there.
> 
> Wouldn't it be better to rinse it by spraying it with carb cleaner rather than water?


As per the instructions on the can.......rinse with water !!


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Ok. Got it. Thanks.

Can you get multiple uses out of a can of that NAPA stuff?


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## RoyP (Oct 16, 2014)

Chuck2 said:


> Ok. Got it. Thanks.
> 
> Can you get multiple uses out of a can of that NAPA stuff?



I would think so...I have a can, only used once. I don't envision myself cleaning another carb......what am I going to do with it.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

RoyP said:


> Save yourself the aggravation of not having it work....remove the carb.....I don't see that it's available in Canada,,but the best is NAPA part #6402 Carb cleaner w/basket 96 oz. can. soak the complete carb for couple of hours, after you have removed as many jets that you comfortably can.....rinse with water......blow dry it completely.....all the holes that you can see. reassemble then run your engine.....should work great.
> 
> if you don't have a air compressor......get the keyboard compressed air cans....worked fine for me


i was talking about the spray can carb cleaner. not the stuff you soak the carb in. with how new the engine is on Chuck's blower and the fact it was running it should not be that dirty or clogged up that it needs to be soaked.

i got a 60 gallon tank attached to my compressor. i can blow air all day


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

Thanks, crazziewolfie.

I was thinking the same thing about my blower being only 2 years old.


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

*Update*

Abit of an update:

I found it easy to take the carb completely off the engine & also easy to disassemble. This is only the 3rd carb I've ever worked on & I'm not so intimidated by them like I once was. So, I sprayed carb cleaner & blew 30psi compressed air through the jets & every hole on the carb. Removed the fuel tank & drained the remaining fuel out of it thru a coffee filter in a funnel. Some particles did come out & I could still see more in the tank. So, I removed the fuel hose nipple from the tank & found that it has a very fine mesh screen that's attached to it which protrudes into the tank. It had alot of particles on it which I cleaned off. I also discovered that there is a magnet in the tank attached near the mesh screen which has quite abit of particles stuck to it which I had no way of removing. I did however slide the magnet down alittle to a lower area of the tank which seemed like a better place for it to do it job. I rinsed the remaining loose particles out of the tank with alittle clean gas. I installed an in-line fuel filter & reassembled everything. Added some Lucas ethanol treatment & some gas & fired her up. She ran smoother than ever! 

After letting her get fully warm up, I ran her at full throttle for several minutes to check that there was ample fuel supply with the in-line filter installed. Turns out there was not. Had to cut the fuel hose shorter & seems fine now.

But while running it at full throttle, a considerable amount of oil began coming out of the breather tube. The open end of which is located right near the carb intake and some oil got sucked into it! After shutting it down, I cleaned around that whole area will a paper towel. I then discovered the reason for the oil coming out the breather was due to the engine being abit overfilled. This was rather surprising to me cause I'm usually meticulous about doing things. Anyway, I drained the excessive oil which thankfully was easy to do. Fired her up again & she ran like she did before I had done anything. Not so smoothly anymore! Being determined to get her running smooth again, I pulled the carb back off & began the whole process over. This time I let the jets & other parts of the carb soak overnight in a jar with some carb clean in it. When reassembling it the next day, the tiny o-ring on the idle jet tore. I'm thinking that it was not ok to let it soak in the carb cleaner. Currently, I'm trying to obtain a new one locally which I started a new thread on. If I'm unable to, I'll have to order the carb kit & wait for it to arrive.

Also, my machine's carb does not have the Carburetor Insulator (#132 in diagram on pg 33). Should I be concerned?
247888301 CRAFTSMAN SNOW THROWER Manual | SearsPartsDirect


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