# Ariens 624E With Starting Issue from 10% Ethanol Gas



## YKT (Feb 23, 2013)

I was told by the repair shop I need to buy a new "ethanol compliant" carburetor. The rebuild kit would be a waste of time since it would be clogged as soon as it's been cleaned out with "carb cleanser".



Also does anyone know if it's better to try to start the thing with adding a tbsp of gas in the spark plug hole or the air intake of the carburetor?
The machine is like new, but it had gas left in it that was about 1-2 years old.
Spark plug is good & brand new. Denso brand, has sparks.
Engine has compression,
Has oil as well


Also does anyone know what the 2 yellow screw caps are on the bottom of the engine are for?
 
Tecumseh OH195SA engine

Right now I'm trying to just start the thing up. 

So any suggestions you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

hello ykt, welcome to SBF. what ever repair shop you went to run from them. we have had ethanol in gas since way before you last used your snowblower. clean your carb, drain and clean the gas tank. if you have a fuel filter replace it also. then start with some fresh gas or if your machine is a two stroke fresh gas and oil mix. don't put any gas in the spark plug hole and do use some type of fuel stabilizer


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## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

There are possibly millions of small engines that were around before ethanol was introduced into gas. they are all still running fine.

A rebuild would take care of the carb then you would just have to keep the gas from sitting in it too long.

the 2 yellow caps I am not familiar with, can you show a pic?


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## YKT (Feb 23, 2013)

Hey DrBuzz & TD, 
Thanks for the welcome and taking the time out of your weekend to respond. 


I was going to follow what this person did to his machine on this site. 
My Ariens 624E wont even sputter when trying to start. Ive - JustAnswer



 My friend HIGHLY RECOMMENDED I get the engine to FIRE up first before I mess with the carb/float bowl/bowl nut with the little holes.
 
I'm trying to start the thing up first but seems like the primer bulb on the 6HP does absolutely nothing. Makes absolutely no sound like with the other 9.5HP Tecumseh.

Do you guys prefer the pictures to be linked or posted on the thread like this? 



Also notice the black & red gas caps, is the black cap missing something?
Red cap is from the 9.5HP Ryobi that has a spinning auger but no power. I want to get the Ariens started up FIRST.
The Ryobi I'll create another thread later.
There's the 2 yellow screw like plugs. One on each side of the machine. Right below the tube you pour the oil in.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

you are not going to have much luck getting it started with stale gas and possably a gummed up carb


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## YKT (Feb 23, 2013)

Hey Dr, 



 Gas has been replace with new winter gas that's been "Sta-Bil"ized.
 I'm trying to figure out WHERE the fuel filter is located.
Same goes for the location of the air filter, I have no idea where it is.
Not going to put gas in the spark plug hole
I've looked through the manual and the yellow plugs are not listed.
 
I was going to remove the bowl nut to take a peek at the carburetor. 

I have about 30 minutes of daylight remaining. 

I've already shut off the fuel shut off thing. 



If I'm going to clean out the carb, don't I need the rebuild kit?
What type of chemical/cleaning product would you use to clean out the gas tank?
Any idea if the (black) gas cap is missing something?
 
Whatever happened to this fella? Did he ever get his 1 year old with leftover gas from the previous season to start up? 
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/ariens-snowblowers/1191-new-ariens-does-not-start.html


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## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

The yellow plugs are oil fill plugs.
The black gas cap is missing the rubber baffle
see if it starts on starter fluid

Chances are the float needle is stuck closed not letting any gas to the carb

When you take the bowl off the float pivots pushing a small needle up and down. It is prob stuck in the up position


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

some snowblowers don't have fuel filters and most newer snowblowers don't have and air filter. drain the gas tank then disconnect the fuel line from the carb and with an empty fuel tank you can spray carb cleaner in there to loosen up the goop. open the fuel valve so it can flow out the line and flush it out with a little gas


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## Simplicity Solid 22 (Nov 27, 2012)

First, listen to what everyone has said previous first an foremost....

There should not be an air filter since it is a snowblower engine you have a heater box which is the black box that has the throttle and primerbulb etc. It is the black shroud that goes under your muffler and covers your carb. If you have the plug out of your blower and gas removed put it on it's face (auger housing(bucket)...or face down...hence the wheels are now pointing to the sky. This gives good access to the carb.

This is probably what you having issue with:





 




 

Since yours is probably fixed this might be more for you but both will help:





 

Once you have cleaned it this will be of help:


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## YKT (Feb 23, 2013)

*I got the Ariens up & RUNNING.....*


Seems like something was clogging the priming bulb. I used a newly opened extendible juice box straw to siphon out a few drops of gas, and released the fuel into the spark plug hole.
Reconnected everything, spark plug, lightly tightened, capped the plug, tightened the gas cap, connected the extension into the starter. Full choke & full throttle.
When I pressed the button, the engine FINALLY started up for the very FIRST time in TWO YEARS!!!!! It ran fine for about 30 seconds & then stalled out. (I just bought the machine not long ago, previous owner tried a bunch of different things, but it wouldn't start up)
I tried the juice box straw method again, and engine started up again & ran for 1 second before it quickly stalled out.
Now, I noticed when I PUSHED the priming bulb you would actually get some sort of NOISE. Before, there was no sound, no suction type feeling, and no gas seemed to be leaking out if you overprimed/flooded the carburetor.
Eventually.... I realized I forgot to turn the FUEL shut off switch from the CLOSED back to the OPEN position.
Before this, I was planning to remove the carburetor bowl nut to inspect the bowl for residue/debris/clog/etc.....
Once the fuel line was OPENED up again, I primed 2x, full choke, full throttle, and it started up again, but ran a bit rough.
After 15 minutes of slowly adjusting the choke, I decided to test it out on the snow that I had left from February's "Snowstorm Of The Century."
Worked pretty well considering it's size. Runs a bit rough but it starts up with no problem now.
Once I use up the rest of the gas in the tank (I just filled it all the way up) I'll tilt the machine up, check the carburetor bowl and clean the jet bolt out in hopes it's run smoother.
I've seen dozens of DonyBoy73 & SixtyFiveFord informative YT videos. 

Hope those guys are well compensated for the time they've taken to create those videos. 



Really, wish I saw Dony's video before I started to tinker with the 9.5HP Tecumseh. That was an absolute disaster.
Dr, once I run out of gasoline, I'll spray down & clean out the fuel lines, also check the carburetor bowl/nut.
The Ariens runs rough now, but at least it DOES actually FIRE up and WORKS. That's all that matters right now.
I ended up clearing snow for at least 2 hours before I decided it's getting way late & I don't want to disturb my neighbors.
I'll have to disrupt their quiet Sunday morning instead.
My injured arms are extremely thankful for everyone's input & enjoy the rest of the weekend.



 Glad I called the local repair place somewhat late, they closed 5 minutes before, but the owner still picked up. Guess he won't be seeing me on Monday.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

get a can of seafoam, mix it with your gas. you won't need but a drop or two in the tank of the snowblower. put a tablespoon of seafoam in your gas can for your next filling of the snowblower. it will help clean the carb without opening it up. it might run worse than it is now but thats just all the carbon and bad stuff in the fuel system


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## YKT (Feb 23, 2013)

Hey Dr, I came across the Sea Foam when I was doing research, but I thought it was used primarily for boats and marine purposes. Had over 165 positive reviews on one of the car parts sites.
 FYI, 16oz container of Sea Foam is currently on sale at PepBoys for $7. You can reserve a bottle ONLINE before you stop by the store to guarantee you don't waste your time driving down there for nothing. 



AutoZone has 16oz Seafoam for $11
AutoZone also has 16oz STP® Multipurpose Motor Treatment which is their version of SeaFoam on sale for $6.
What about the Lucas Engine Oil additive? Thoughts on that? I think I have the Lucas Fuel Treatment too.


 Simplicity..... the reason I was looking for the air filter is because the guy/mechanically inclined friend of mine, has serviced/maintained small engines since he was in grade school. However, he's never tinkered with snow related machines till maybe 5 months ago, but that was only ONE small 3 or 4HP machine. Friend was convinced there was a air filter & I should find it in the manual where they break down the parts of the machine. I couldn't find it, so I was like WTF? Very frustrating, because then I tried to locate a service manual for the machine which didn't seem to EXIST. (This advice was given on the phone. I don't know my way around a machine or how to ID the less obvious parts so it was sheer madness)
 

 Anyway...That's how I knew those other areas were covered, spark plug, compression, etc.... Friend was the one that pointed it out. Just wouldn't start for some reason. But since we couldn't figure it out, it helped lower the final price I bought the machine for.


 The primer bulb was the thing that I never expected would be the cause. But since I had a larger 9.5HP Tecumseh machine next to it, I noticed something was CLEARLY different about the two.


 As you can clearly see in the photos up above, the Ariens that I couldn't get running in the beginning is a very CLEAN looking machine, the old gas that was left in the tank was the root cause of all the issues.
 
After reading this thread, it made me wonder if my machine was a lost cause since this OP had gas only sit for 1 YEAR not 2. 
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/ariens-snowblowers/1191-new-ariens-does-not-start.html



 One thing I did notice yesterday when I used the ARIENS is the LEFT wheel has POWER, but the RIGHT one has NO POWER.
 
Is this normal?


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i've been using seafoam in my motorcycles and ope since '07. seafaom was developed for two stroke outboard motors to keep the carb clean but does the same for four stroke motors and stabilizes the fuel


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Air Filter - Nope, snow blowers don't have them

Service Manual - Ariens has almost all of their manuals online at. You just need the model number and serial number from the back of the machine.
Support

1 Wheel Power - Something else to find in the manual. They call it pin lock axle and it lets you disconnect one of the wheels from the axle. It will make it easier to turn, but as you see it costs you traction and makes it harder to go straight. Just pull the pin out of the axle and line it up with the wheel and it it back in.


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## YKT (Feb 23, 2013)

Afternoon Shryp

Fixed the strange wheel. .... The right wheel wasn't locked into the drive gear. Had to remove the tire to figure out where the slot was. It was at a slight angle. 

I read that part of the manual before, but I thought it was only trying to explain how you would REPLACE a wheel. 

I used some of the Lucas Fuel Treatment since I had a brand new bottle I haven't used yet. The smoke that came out the exhaust was white for a little while. I'll get some "Sea Foam" next time I pass by the store.

I think the oil was a bit low too. Couldn't tell the level at first because the dip stick is discolored black. 

Having both wheels running definitely helps dig into the water packed snow from a a couple weeks ago. 

Going back out to finish up since it's in the 40's today. 

Thanks again for the suggestions


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