# Ariens 1024 Woes and couldn't come at a worse time!



## Bloodhound1941 (Feb 1, 2019)

Hello Everyone,

Newbie here from "Sunny" Buffalo NY. I have an Ariens 1024 I bought new many years ago. Aside from some cosmetic wear I've gone out of my way to maintain the machine all these years. Sadly, she's having issues now that are tough to diagnose for a newbie. Last season she was plagued with an idle surge issue. After some research I found this video on youtube 




I followed the instructions and voila! Problem solved! Holes were blocked solid and after cleaning them out I figured I was good to go. She idles wondefully and I revelled in my victory confident she was ready for this winter. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Now there's a new problem. She takes awhile to warm up and if I turn off the choke to fast and increase the throttle she backfires and sparks out of the exhaust. If I'm patient and give her five minutes to warm up she comes up just fine after that UNTIL I get rolling! After maybe 5 minutes of blowing snow she starts losing power, boggs down and stalls under load. I've checked for blockages and debris and everything including the impeller will turn freely by hand. She fires right back up and idles like a dream then the same thing happens after a few minutes. I even loosened the gas cap to make sure she wasn't vacuum or vapor locking and it made no difference whatsoever.

The carb has never been rebuilt and I'm hoping someone might have an idea of what's going on or what I can try to address this. We're getting buried here so any help or advice is most appreciated!

Thank You!


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## Homesteader (Jan 12, 2019)

Sounds like its running lean. (not enough fuel or too much air) 

Might be time for fresh gas, new fuel lines, spark plug and a carb clean/rebuild. 

And check the intake manifold gaskets for damage. 

Best of luck.


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## Bloodhound1941 (Feb 1, 2019)

Thanks homesteader. With our current situation I need to take the fastest most direct approach to this that I can. A carb rebuild is out of the question due to time restraints and no heat in the garage but not entirely impossible. I'd prefer to replace the whole carb and the intake gaskets with it but that's where my lack of experience stops me in my tracks. I have no idea what engine I have or what carb I would need to buy let alone where. I've read some nightmare stories about chinese knock off carbs that are absolute garbage. I'm partially disabled as well so for me this approach makes more sense even if it its more costly. I'm hoping to bolt a new one on and be done with it if the general consensus points to the carb being my issue. If I have to adjust the lean/rich mixture and dial in a new carb then forget it. If I have to learn how to do that then I'll take the time to rebuild the one I have if there's a kit readily available. I'm more frustrated than anything else. If we weren't getting buried with snow as we speak I'm sure I'd be up to saving the $$ and rebuilding the carb at the kitchen table. Well, when the wife leaves for the day anyway LOL!


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## aveteam (Sep 3, 2018)

I'm assuming it has fresh fuel while this is going on.

I would probably start at the gas tank and work my way to the carburetor. Drain the tank, check the in-tank filter, all the lines and the shutoff valve. If this passes I'd pull the bowl and float off the carburetor and check for water or debris and deposits. It does sound like it's starving for fuel. Could be something as simple as a partially plugged filter.

The engine serial # should be on a sticker on the engine. This should help you with parts, etc.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## Bloodhound1941 (Feb 1, 2019)

aveteam said:


> I'm assuming it has fresh fuel while this is going on.
> 
> I would probably start at the gas tank and work my way to the carburetor. Drain the tank, check the in-tank filter, all the lines and the shutoff valve. If this passes I'd pull the bowl and float off the carburetor and check for water or debris and deposits. It does sound like it's starving for fuel. Could be something as simple as a partially plugged filter.
> 
> ...


Thanks Aveteam. The gas is fresh. I wasn't aware there was a filter in the tank. I was never able to find a fuel shut off valve so my guess is she doesn't have one. I'll start there and report back what I find. Is the in tank filter something special or can I grab one at home depot or lowes? Wouldn't even know what to look for. I've never removed the fuel bowl and I'm not sure where to look for debris and deposits. This is uncharted territory for me. :sad2:


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## aveteam (Sep 3, 2018)

Bloodhound1941 said:


> Thanks Aveteam. The gas is fresh. I wasn't aware there was a filter in the tank. I was never able to find a fuel shut off valve so my guess is she doesn't have one. I'll start there and report back what I find. Is the in tank filter something special or can I grab one at home depot or lowes? Wouldn't even know what to look for. I've never removed the fuel bowl and I'm not sure where to look for debris and deposits. This is uncharted territory for me. :sad2:


On my 724 it's a fine mesh screen inside the bottom of the tank where the fuel outlet is. If it's this type it's built in to the tank.

Any debris or water should wind up in the bottom of the float bowl. It's held on by a bolt and fiber washer. 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## Motor City (Jan 6, 2014)

Those bigger HP Tecumseh's are notorious for the valve clearance closing up, also. Its a good idea to replace the fuel line periodically, also. ethanol degrades rubber. And small chunks could get in the carb.


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## Bloodhound1941 (Feb 1, 2019)

Motor City said:


> Those bigger HP Tecumseh's are notorious for the valve clearance closing up, also. Its a good idea to replace the fuel line periodically, also. ethanol degrades rubber. And small chunks could get in the carb.


Learned about Ethanol fuel the hard way. Ruined 2 weed wackers so I switched to ethanol free fuel this past spring. Sadly, this snowblower has been running on ethanol fuel 10 years or more. Found a video on youtube I'm watching now. Now sure if the carb is the same but it may be the informative crash course I need if a rebuild is in order...


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## aveteam (Sep 3, 2018)

Ethanol free is definitely the way to go if you have a station close by that sells it. Seafoam isn't a bad idea either. This is my first season for both and so far so good.

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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

as motorcity mentioned, check the valve clearances... your new symptoms have the hallmarks of a valve not closing completely.

Pop-off the valve cover, go to top-dead-center and measure the valve-stem / rocker clearances using a feeler gauge. I believe both intake and exhaust should be 0.004".


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## Homesteader (Jan 12, 2019)

If you’re looking for the quickest and least involved remedy considering what you said about your current timetable and experience, then first I would seafoam the carb and add some to the fuel tank. 
https://youtu.be/WdT4DPFXIkM

(I would recommend adjusting the valves then the seafoam the carb so the seafoam can do the best job possible)

Second I would adjust the valves. (It’s really easy. If you’re not comfortable with this then just seafoam)
https://youtu.be/CSZ_gYUDUwA

Third I would replace and properly gap the spark plug if you haven’t alreay this season.

Good luck.


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## JayzAuto1 (Jul 25, 2016)

B/H, 
In your first post, you stated, that you cleaned the holes..... They were blocked solid. Which holes are you talking about? In the carb?? If so, you already had it apart?? Is your carb adjustable???

Can you provide model number and serial on machine??
And the engine?? So we know what you have exactly...

That looks like an OHV engine that you have....Valve adjustment is a lot easier than the Flat Head Tech's.

Did you check the spark plug since this happened??

Start with the numbers on the machine.

GLuck, Jay


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## Bloodhound1941 (Feb 1, 2019)

Thanks Homesteader! I'll try the seafoam and plug and tackle a valve adjustment later if needed...

JayzAuto1

I didn't remove the carb or take it apart. I removed the cap covering and pictured screw...



Both the large and small holes of the pictured screw were packed solid. I cleaned them out, reinstalled the screw and that solved my idle surge problem... As for whether or not it's adjustable I do not know.

The machine is an Ariens 1024 Pro Model#924117 Serial#002256
Engine is a Tecumseh.. Engine Model Type OHSK100 221608C (H)
Family ITPXS 3182AF
DISP 318

As for the spark plug I have not checked it or replaced it.... Thanks


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