# Fix old blower or buy new?



## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Hi there. Blower is from 1981, Canadian tire “brand” with a tecumseh HM80 155734n, maybe 7n. 

Ran great until a few years ago when I left fuel over the winter, no stabilizer. Paid for a carb rebuild and it ran great until last year. 
Last year would not start. Ended up being a cracked primer line. Replaced line and all was good until now. 

Since themrebuild I’ve always **** off fuel line after use, and completely run dry/empty fuel tank for the summer. Sea foam in every gas can fill up. Fuel is kept up to 6 months. 

This year would not start. Took off carb bowl. Full of crap. Cleaned out/sprayed everything with carb clean. Started up but quotes after a few minutes. Today again took off carb bowl. Little particles. Emptied tank, cleaned bowl, etc and put 4ozs sea foam, and 8oz fuel into tank, and primed carb. Letting it sit over night. 

If it still won’t run........ do,I try fixing (replace carb and fuel lines?) not sure where the crud is coming from. 

Or do I buy new? I’m thinking an Ariens Platinum efi. 

I’ve had this blower since 1981 so it literally owes me nothing. Not one dime. 

The efi arians seems nice. No more carb issues (I,thought I’ve done everything,right) not sure what else I can do?

And I’d have a more powerful blower. 

Thoughts?


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

I'd replace lines and carb...buy the new Ariens and keep this one for a spare.....


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

I myself think if your Canadian lasted this long time to treat yourself to a new blower. I had my old Craftsman for 19 years and upgraded. In my pea brain one does not marry a blower so 28 years you were a great couple.


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## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

I would start at the tank clean it and flush it. replace fuel lines including primer lines and bulb as they can be deteriorating on the inside and if possible install an inline filter. Order a new carb for $20.00 and install everything all at the same time.

Now this is something to think about, you can replace the entire fuel delivery set up on this engine for under $30.00.
You mentioned a EFI unit and no more carb problems, you may want to look up part prices for EFIs before you jump that fence to greener pastures.


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## tlshawks (Feb 9, 2018)

Fuel storage to me is where to start diagnosing. You seem to be keep getting bad/dirty fuel to the carb. I worked my way back from the carb to resolve my gas issues.

To me...fuel line may be eroding from inside - that'd be my first hunch. However, "little particles"...to me, the source is 3 things.

Storage tank for gas - dust/dirt (or rust), insects making more insects in the neck, etc
Gas tank on blower - it receives it's gas from one source, but can also be the source itself
Fuel line - they do go bad

1981 blower - ever changed the fuel line? Is the tank steel? Are you storing the gas in a plastic container or steel and is the container capped (nothing from outside can get in)?

To me...solving particles in a carb is a LOT cheaper than a new blower. I speak from experience. Both my "inherited machines" from my father/brother...they were using a 50+ year old steel 5 gallon gas tank that my brother was filling full. The gas would not get used up for years...wasn't ever treated etc. Go figure...all their lawn mowers and snowblowers always had fuel issues. The last time they got the carb rebuilt, the repairman wrote on the invoice "rust particles in gas tank".

I inherited the blowers (one has a darn near 50 year old steel tank that I still use today). I again had to rebuild both carbs but I also changed out both fuel lines (they both were the original 40+ year old lines) and used clean gas to clean out anything in them (then recycled that gas) and then after they dried I sprayed compressed air in them to blow anything remaining in them. I also use plastic 1 gallon containers that have caps on them to keep out spiders/bugs, dust and dirt.

Never had a gas issue since with both blowers.

A new fuel line is $5. A new plastic gas tank is $30 (if you have a steel tank) - or if plastic, simply remove the tank emptying the gas out of it completely and clean the inside thoroughly. If you're using an older steel storage container, plastic fuel containers are ridiculously cheap. 

Whereas a complete new snowblower no matter what will probably be at the very absolute least 10x what you might spend resolving the current issue(s).

I've gotten very anal about my gas "process" this past year. I've overhauled my entire "supply chain" because I discovered that old gas is not better than new no matter how well any treatment is. I also discovered even a simple plastic gas container...you'd be amazed at how much dust and dirt and bugs can get in those things if they are not capped.

Heck, I even zip tie a coffee filter on it's spout and make sure my funnel is completely clean before I fill my blowers/mowers now. And I always buy my pump gas via a debit carb (for the receipt) and pin the receipt up on my shed wall so I know when I bought that gas in the container.

I'm tired of taking carbs apart. I have noticed once I began being anal about it, the issues with fuel have disappeared.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

If you want to fix it, you probably can for cheap. A new carburetor from Amazon for around $15, and new fuel lines, will probably make a big difference.


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## Dannoman (Jan 16, 2018)

It's worth fixing. An hour or two of repairs is easier than running around shopping for a new machine and you might bring the old girl back to life. No better feeling than that. But if you're fed up and really want something new and shiny - by all means go on out and get that new machine. You deserve it after all these years of work to keep that Canadian Tire blower going.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Thanks for the replies so far!

To answer a few questions......

Fuel tank is plastic , and other than a carb “kit” rebuild everything is factory 1981 original. 

I understand the fuel thing. Up until 2013 I used untreated fuel and just used the fuel shutoff after use, and drained tank for summer. 

Since the carb rebuild I e used treat fuel (seafoam) and shutoff valve after use, and drain for summer. 

My process hasn’t changed so I’m wondering if it’s more than carb related, or is fuel just getting worse? The fuel was in the blower for about 3 months but it’s always been that way. 

My jerry can is the spill proof one,from fleet farm. It’s got a green button on it. Easy pour or something. It’s got a cap on the spout. 

I will replace,carb, and fuel lines. 

How would i go about cleaning fuel tank?


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## 59ctd (Jan 25, 2014)

Nan_wpg said:


> I will replace,carb, and fuel lines.
> 
> How would i go about cleaning fuel tank?


When you have the fuel line and air shroud off unbolt the tank to clean it with gas or something and drain it out and let dry well. You should be able to check it pretty good with a flashlight. The cheap carbs for <$15 really work well, so find the right one and get that. You might need to swap out the choke and/or throttle lever from your original carb but that is fairly easy to do. I recently put a $12 carb on a 50 yr old Ariens and it sprang to life & ran perfect.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Lots of opinions on this front, but IMO, Seafoam is a product that tries to do it all, but isn't a specialist in anything. I use something that's just a stabilizer (StaBil Marine, in my case). 

Your fuel practices seem pretty reasonable to me. I would switch to an "official" stabilizer, if it were me. Maybe your fuel lines are degrading, given their age. Though that wouldn't explain finding gunk in the carb, only black bits of rubber. 

Even if you chose to replace the machine, a $20 carb & fuel lines replacement would probably help the current machine's resale value significantly, if you got it running normally again. 

For cleaning the tank, you could remove the tank, slosh clean gas (or maybe rubbing alcohol, etc) around in it, and dump it. Or, without removing the tank, maybe disconnect the line from the carb, aim it into a bucket, and flush the tank with some clean gas. 

If you don't already have one, I'd definitely install an appropriate fuel filter between the tank and carb. Just make sure to use a filter for gravity-fed machines (not engines with fuel pumps). The gravity systems use a filter with a looser mesh, to reduce the restriction to fuel flow. Like this, 150 micron (smaller microns mean tighter filtering, but not enough fuel flow without a fuel pump): 
https://www.amazon.com/Briggs-Stratton-Filter-Micron-5018K/dp/B00004RB1A/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Ya the “junk” in the carb don’t appear to be black rubber, but I’ll change out the lines. It’s cheap and I’ll have everything apart anyways. 

As for the carb, how specific do I need to be? 
If it’s hm80 compatable is that enough? I,can’t read all of the numbers/letters due to age of the machine (rust). I cleaned it up with a wire brush and still can’t read everything. 

Ready to place amazon order, just want to confirm exact fit. The one I think fits has two screws on the bowl. My current one has only one. I’m guessing the secon d screw is a fuel drain?

How hard are these things to,adjust? I.e the spring/screw on the bottom, etc. I’ve always,taken the bowl off and never fiddles with any adjustments.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

Adjustable is best...I start at 1 and 1/4 turns out on the idle screw and 1 1/2 turns out on the main jet


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I haven't bought a replacement Tecumseh carb, so hopefully other people can chime in. If it says for HMSK80, and looks like yours, I'd think that's a pretty good start, at least. 

I would definitely buy an adjustable carb, rather than a fixed jet. It will probably be adjusted OK from the box, but if needs a little more gas, or a little less, you just give one screw a small twist. 

This one is adjustable, which you can tell because it has a screw in the bottom center of the bowl (and because it says it's adjustable): 
https://www.amazon.com/QAZAKY-Carburetor-Tecumseh-Snowblower-Adjustable-x/dp/B078BBMW3Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8

It also has a bowl drain, which is great for fully emptying the carb for storage (gets more gas out of the carb than just running it until it dies). The drain is the brass spring-loaded "plunger", which is offset towards the side of the bowl.


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## 59ctd (Jan 25, 2014)

Nan_wpg said:


> As for the carb, how specific do I need to be?
> If it’s hm80 compatable is that enough? I,can’t read all of the numbers/letters due to age of the machine (rust)


Look for one that has a similar choke lever setup as the one you have and also the throttle plate where the governor rod hooks up to find one similar if possible. The main high speed mixture jet on the bottom is good to get vs a fixed one and is easy to adjust. Once the engine is running and at full throttle, open (counterclockwise) the mixture screw till it starts to run a bit rough and then the other way back in until it runs steady/full again. Then, adjust the idle speed screw as needed to your preferences. Typically I've not had to adjust the idle mixture screw on replacement carbs as they come with reasonable preset.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Just ordered the adjustable one,with drain. To drain, do you unscrew, or just push up on the “screw”? 

In the past I’ve just run dry, then take off bowl and dump/wipe. 

I just don’t understand why I’m having issues if I’ve done,all the right things? Bad fuel two in a row?


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

You just push up on the spring-loaded "screw" to drain it. 

Good call with removing the bowl and wiping it out. 

In that scenario, I should think nothing would get worse during the off-season. There's nothing in there to degrade. 

If you just closed a fuel shutoff for the off-season, perhaps the shutoff is leaking, and letting gas back into the carb? 

I don't know what could mess up your carb again, with the precautions you're describing. I use stabilizer, and close the fuel shutoff at the end of the season, running the carb dry. I have not had issues with this approach.


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## tlshawks (Feb 9, 2018)

Nan_wpg said:


> Just ordered the adjustable one,with drain. To drain, do you unscrew, or just push up on the “screw”?
> 
> In the past I’ve just run dry, then take off bowl and dump/wipe.
> 
> I just don’t understand why I’m having issues if I’ve done,all the right things? Bad fuel two in a row?


Logic states it's something in common with each occurrence. Fuel line, tank, source of filling the tank, or fuel itself.

If there's any doubt whatsoever on the fuel line, change it out - especially if it's the original line. Just do it, they're inexpensive.

What I'd do with the gas tank is when you clean it out, remove it completely and drain it into a clear glass container straining it via a coffee filter - then see if the filter caught anything. If it did...then say fill it a quarter tank full with gas. Then plug up all openings (cap and line plug)...and swish it around for a full minute like you're mixing a martini shaker. Then pour the tank strained just like the first time and see what you get. I let it dry out completely, then using an air compressor I blow it out upside down thoroughly.

Chances are, it'll be clean after that.

So that's fuel line and fuel tank. Next is the gas storage container. Me personally...I have seen my tanks have bugs in them like box elders and Japanese beetles. I've seen cocoon type things in the spout. I've ran them down to just about empty and using a flashlight I'll swish it around into the light and I've seen black floaters galore in them (I then clean it out exactly the same as above). This is why I now filter my source container. Refueling takes longer, but it's not like I have 3 gallons to pour every time either.

Fuel itself...about all I try to do is always buy ethanol free pump gas...and in my area 91 octane is readily available. I don't skimp on gas for my small engines ever, I buy the best stuff I can find and only from one location. And again, I simply do not keep a whole lot of gas on hand. The convenience store is 3 minutes away. There's no need to keep any more than 1 gallon.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

In addition to what the others said about cleaning/renewing the old fuel system, after 38 years I'd treat myself to a new Ariens, but not the EFI model, and keep the old one for a spare. From reading posts here, when the EFI works, it's terrific. But when it doesn't work, hope it is under warranty or bring lots of $$$$ and have lots of time, so you'll need the old one. 

If buying new I'd get the carburetor model. There is little to be gained with EFI other than "Hey, that's neat!" over the carburetor model. I think they'll even rated the same amount of snow per hour so other than the "wow" factor I don't see the gain.

Signed,
Old fuddy-duddy


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

tlshawks said:


> Fuel itself...about all I try to do is always buy ethanol free pump gas...and in my area 91 octane is readily available. I don't skimp on gas for my small engines ever, I buy the best stuff I can find and only from one location. And again, I simply do not keep a whole lot of gas on hand. The convenience store is 3 minutes away. There's no need to keep any more than 1 gallon.


If the 91 is ethanol-free, that's awesome. If it still has ethanol, the benefit of 91 is debatable for small 4-stroke engines. 

Only keeping a gallon on-hand is a great way to minimize the time is sits around. I tend to keep more like 5 gallons (stabilized), for better/worse, since I also want to have some available for the generator if it's needed. Especially in winter. 



WVguy said:


> In addition to what the others said about cleaning/renewing the old fuel system, after 38 years I'd treat myself to a new Ariens, but not the EFI model, and keep the old one for a spare. From reading posts here, when the EFI works, it's terrific. But when it doesn't work, hope it is under warranty or bring lots of $$$$ and have lots of time, so you'll need the old one.
> 
> If buying new I'd get the carburetor model. There is little to be gained with EFI other than "Hey, that's neat!" over the carburetor model. I think they'll even rated the same amount of snow per hour so other than the "wow" factor I don't see the gain.


Same here, I'd stay with the carb, after seeing some of the recent issues discussed here.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

91 doesn’t mean ethonal free. There is one station that has ethonal free. I’ll start buying it. My gas can is “sealed”. There is no spout, and there is a cap on the pour “stub”. Nonetheless, I’ll check it, and clean it. 

Honestly I’ve kept gas for up to 6 months, then dump it in my truck

As to EFI, I think it’s a good thing. Not sure how expensive it will be to fix. Doesn’t matter. I need my blower to start. Period.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Sounds like something has gone real wrong here. Seafoam is IIRC 1 oz to 1 gal of fuel. As far as the crap in the carb goes, clean the tank, replace the lines and do a thorough cleaning of the carb including pull the welch plugs and use a fine copper wire to clear all the ports in it. If you'd rather not mess with the carb, check on places like ebay for one that looks the same format and is for the size engine you have. I've had good luck with Oregon carbs and they're very reasonably priced. You'll likely have to do some adjusting of the jets (get the one with the high and low speed jet). If you change the carb or pull it, be sure to get all your linkage correct on reassembly.
As far as fuel goes, get non-alcohol gas if you can, mix the Seafoam based on the label in the right proportions.
If you have spark and all is basically good with the engine, I think you'll have it running in no time at all.

IMO I'd fix what you have and see how it goes first. Just for comment, my one neighbor has a 2-3 yr old blower. It's one of the newer ones with a OHV engine. I had the Searsasaurus started and blew both his place, mine and a couple of neighbors and he had yet to get his running. Sometimes older stuff seems more reliable and dependable if kept up.


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## MSB1766 (Jan 25, 2019)

I just went through the same thing, I ended up replacing the carb, primer bulb and line and also the fuel line from the tank to the shutoff valve and the line from shutoff valve to the new carb. I also run an E3 spark plug in all my small engines.
All the fuel lines were hard and brittle I bought the snowblower new in 1993.
Here is the carb kit I bought from Amazon it fit my HSMK80 engine.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075XLMLWG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Nan_wpg said:


> 91 doesn’t mean ethonal free. There is one station that has ethonal free. I’ll start buying it. My gas can is “sealed”. There is no spout, and there is a cap on the pour “stub”. Nonetheless, I’ll check it, and clean it.
> 
> Honestly I’ve kept gas for up to 6 months, then dump it in my truck
> 
> As to EFI, I think it’s a good thing. Not sure how expensive it will be to fix. Doesn’t matter. I need my blower to start. Period.


I asked about the ethanol because for some folks in Canada, apparently, the 91 octane is the only one that doesn't have ethanol. So some people have said they buy the 91 (implying also ethanol-free), and didn't necessarily realize that while *their* 91 doesn't have ethanol, it's not a given that 91 is ethanol-free. So I just wasn't sure what kind of 91 you have in your area 

EFI can have a lot of advantages, to be sure. But before buying anything, do some reading here about recent EFI experiences, if you haven't already. Several people have had their machines stop running, due to a mysterious EFI problem. Which then sometimes took the dealer 1-2 weeks to fix. 

I 100% agree that I just need my blower to start. But if it's a carb, even if it gets dirty, I can clean it myself. Or I can keep a spare on the shelf for $15. Swap it, and figure out the issue later. If your EFI machine suddenly won't start, it can be expensive and time-consuming to resolve (especially for the homeowner, who can't easily swap parts out). It seems like EFI on blowers is still a little in the teething stages, at least IMO.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

EFI is new. So ya there are growing pains for sure. I haven’t seen a lot of bad only good, but it’s what 3 years old. 

I’ll try a new carb and fuel lines, and clean out tank. 

Who knows maybe I just got a bad batch of fuel. 

Maybe I should start rotating fuel monthly as opposed to semi annually. 

Either that or just start using that TruFuel stuff. 

Do most blowers and mowers now come with fuel shutoff, and/or carb drains?


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Fuel shutoffs seem pretty common. Bowl drains seem to be going away. My mid-90s machines had them, but my current 2000 does not. I assume for EPA reasons, they'd presumably don't want to encourage people to drain gas onto the ground. 

If I bought a new machine that didn't have a shutoff, I'd definitely add one. I just got a single-stage, I plan to add one to it, though it may be a bit tougher, since the fuel lines are all hidden inside the engine enclosure.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Ok guys some good news. I “swished” out the fuel tank, “swished” out the gas can. Got some 91 ethonal free fuel. 
Took off the bowl and gave it all a good spray with carb cleaner. 

Into the fuel tank..... 4 oz seafoam and 8 oz fuel. Primed the carb and left it overnight. Just now I started her up and although she was rough I ran the “super seafoam” through the system until it died. Then I topped up with the ethonal free fuel right to the top (also has normal seafoam amount) and did a few test patches. 

All seems well! Fuel tank is full to the brim and I turned off fuel supply and ran it dry. 

I did order a new carb, and fuel lines. Fuel lines,will be replaced but I’ll shelf the new carb for a spare or quick swap out after a big snow if old faithful quits again. 

My only concern was that it took almost 10 minutes for me to be able to run with no choke. Is,this normal?

I choked for the start and then one,click to the left for a few. I’d try the second left,click and it would “lurch”. No choke would almost stall so it ran half choked for 10 and all was good. 

I,really wanted to buy a new blower, lol


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## tlshawks (Feb 9, 2018)

I'd be curious if the 10 minutes choke will happen the next time.

I also wouldn't necessarily go that much a mix of Sea Foam also.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

You shouldn't need choke for 10 minutes. But with the super concentrated Seafoam mix, maybe there wasn't enough actual gas in the mix, thus needing the choke.

Maybe as you get back to a normal gas mix, it will be able to come off the choke sooner.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

The 1-2 ratio of seafoam is what they recommend for a carb clean. I normally just use 1oz per gallon in my gas can. 

So what’s a “normal” or reasonable choke time?


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

Mine will come down in a minute or so . . .


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Interesting, I hadn't seen that super-mix suggested before. 

Seafoam's instructions: 
https://seafoamsales.com/uploads/2018/12/HOW2_Gummed-Up-Carburetor.pdf

I can usually turn my choke off in around a minute, like tadawson. Once it starts, I usually turn it down by 1-2 clicks immediately (gauging by how it sounds). Then completely off in probably under a minute, though I don't time it. But much much less than 10.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

That’s the exact instructions I used for the super mixture. Unless I read it wrong...... add seafoam than 8oz fuel. 1/2 ratio would mean 4oz foam and 8oz fuel. 

Well I can tell you it works, even if I read it wrong. I just hope I can now “down choke” right,away. 

If not, what could the issue be? 

New carb, fuel lines, sure, but I’m not going to put hundreds into something this old.


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## tlshawks (Feb 9, 2018)

A carb rebuild - or a new carb that's a match - tops is maybe $20.

I just removed a Tecumseh carb that looked like it had never been cleaned before in it's life from an engine that needed 1/2 to 3/4 choke 100% of the time to run - and it still ran like crap. Turn it off, dies immediately. 

I bought the machine for $50 cause the PO says "I can't get it to run right and I want a new blower".

I removed the idle screw/o-ring and brass washer, I removed the high speed screw too exactly the same. I took the float/needle and seat out - and then using a can of Gumout I gave all the passages a good squirt. I then did the same with the high speed nut's passages - and then with a shop paper towel with a small squirt of Gumout cleaned off the idle/high speed screws. Then I blew everything out with compressed air.

One needle/seat kit, new o-rings for the 2 screws (the total of these parts was maybe tops $8), re-assemble...as mentioned turn the idle screw 1 to 1/14 turns out from seating, the main screw 1.5 turns.

I mount the carb, started 1st pull. A couple minutes to warm up, then adjusting the screws' mix...runs perfect at both idle and full throttle. One pull to start full choke, turn to half choke almost immediately - and in 30 seconds tops fully off with the choke. 

I used it yesterday, an 8 incher heavy wet storm. Ran like a champ.

Took me an hour Monday afternoon. I learned all this watching DonyBoy's Youtube video on carb rebuilds. I spent, including the partial can of Gumout...maybe $10 at the very most. Engine is a Tecumseh built in 1970.


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## foggysail (Feb 21, 2015)

OK you have it running, good for you! I had similar problems in past years with a 12HP Tecumseh, purchased a new carburetor at Ebay for about $10. Heck even Wally World sells them. I also recommend but for the brave only.....starting fluid. Buying a new machine to fix a dirty carb? Save your bucks unless your machine has other illnesses.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Just wanted to update in case others have the same issues and want to see a progression, and resolution. 

Fuel..... talking to a co worker who is anal as I am regarding fuel (rotate, stabilize, etc) and he has also had snowblower issues. Incidentally we buy gas at the same station. Perhaps bad fuel? Resolution.... once the blower is “fixed” I will exclusively run either aspen, or trufuel. 

As for the carb, I have a new one, but I’m going to do a complete re do. I have waiting for pickup (I’m Canadian and order lots of stuff to the US border...way cheaper), a can of berrymans cleaner, with basket, and I also purchased an ultrasonic cleaner. 

Turns out my mower also will not start on the first pull anymore. 

I have carb rebuild kits for both carbs. Not the simple bowl gasket, and float needle, and spring. We’re talking the whole deal. Welch plugs, o rings etc. 

Both carbs will be stripped down Welch plugs and all. They wil be dipped in the berrymans, then ultrasonically cleaned. Then rebuilt, and hopefully I’ll have two “brand new” machines. 

The blower has a few more years. She’s got some rusting so eventually will be replaced. Who knows, maybe a few years from now EFI will be mainstream with all the kinks worked out and I can confidently buy an EFI machine.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Cool, good luck! There are multiple threads here about ultrasonic cleaners. I've had good luck using Simple Green HD (from Home Depot), and running them for an hour in a heated bath of cleaning solution. So far, I haven't needed to use a secondary cleaning step, like Berryman's. Removing what I can (bowl, jet, etc) and putting them all in the cleaner (not rubber parts).


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

Does it have to start on the first pull? What's wrong with it starting on the 2nd or 3rd?


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

yes It does have to start on the first pull. It did so when I was brand new. Actually it can take 6-7 pulls sometimes to start. Not the end of the world, but somethings not right, and since I’m re doing the snowblower carb, why not re do the mower carb too?

I’d be ok with a 2-3 pull start. Main thing is that the carb is a bit dirty I suppose. Looking forward to resetting both carbs to factory new condition. 

I’ve bought some aspen fuel as well as true fuel. S owblower will get synthetic fuel all the time as it can be weeks or mo this between use. 

Mower will get ethonal free stabilized fuel during the season, and synthetic for storage. Chainsaw and trimmer get synthetic all the time. 

Fingers crossed


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Alright folks, just to update things. 

Today I took the carb off, completely tore it down, Welch plugs and all. Everything,then went into a berrymans carb cleaner dip for about a half hour. Then it was time for an ultrasonic cleaning then a rinse and blow dry. 

Everything back onto blower and I’m happy to report the blower starts fine, and runs completely off choke!

I played around with the two adjustment screws and got it sounding “normal”. 

Tank now has, and will always have aspen fuel, or trufuel. 

Side note I also greased the “transmission bar thingy” and she now shifts gears like she did brand new. I also have a brand new in the box carb for future problems. (Hoping there will be none running exclusive ethonal free fuel). 

Lawn mower is another story. I broke the emulsion tube, and discovered during tear down that the pipe thingy that goes from the carb to the motor was actually cracked. So gotta order new parts. But.... I also super cleaned the mower carb. 

Thanks to everyone who offered up help. It was a 5 hour ordeal but very satisfying.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Nice work, congrats!


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

So while awaiting delivery on the mower’s emulsion tube, I ordered a cheapo carb from amazon. Also, during disassembly I discovered a broken intake pipe (from carb to engine). 

I installed the cheap carb, and tried reusing the intake pipe. (New one is on order). Mower now starts on the first pull, however it runs for 10 seconds and stalls. 

Kinda disappointed as it’s a new carb. Could the carb be defective? Or is the cracked intake pipe the culprit? Perhaps I didn’t get an air tight fit?

Maybe I could take the emulsion tube out of the new carb and put it in the original carb?

I know we’re now talking mowers, but it’s a Tecumseh engine/carb. Same rules should apply right ?


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I tried to see if I could swap parts between my original Walbro carb (for a Briggs), and my aftermarket carb. They're compatible only "as a whole". The internals were different, and not compatible, in my case. You could compare both emulsion tubes, maybe you'll be luckier. 

You can check for air leaks at the intake tube by spraying that area with carb cleaner (or another flammable spray; I would not use gas), while running. If the engine sound changes, you have an air leak where you're spraying. 

It seems odd to me that it would only run briefly, if it was an air-leak problem. I'd have expected it to just keep running lean (surging), or do whatever the behavior is indefinitely. 

You're getting good fuel flow to the carb? Does adding choke help? If there's a primer button, does pushing that help?


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

I’m guessing there’s good fuel flow to the carb. It starts on the first pull. Hasn’t done that years. 

There is no choke, just prime 5 x and go. I didn’t try pushing the primer to keep it running. There’s not enough time to do so. 

So a leak in the intake tube wouldn’t cause a stall? It’s weird because before it would start after 6-7 pulls and be fine. Not it starts on one pull but won’t run. I’ve traded one problem for another. 

While I want to fix things, I don’t want to spend a ton of time and money on a 20 year old mower. 

A carb cleaning and rebuild is cheap enough, but I don’t want to be replacing things part by part, and end up spending more than I would have buying new.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Alright so I went out and played around. As stated 5 pumps on the prime and she runs perfect on the first pull but only for about 10 seconds then it just stops. 

Second attempt I started her up, and just as she wanted to quit I kept pumping the prime bulb. It kept running. When I stop pumping the prime it will start surging and then quit. If I start pumping the prime again it will keep running but she’s definitely surging. 

If this is in fact do to the intake pipe there are no parts locally. I was quoted 100 an hour for welding, or I can source from the US (I’m in Canada ), but the. We are looking at upwards of 75 bucks once shipping, brokerage, etc is factored in. The part itself is like 10 bucks. 

I could try some permatek, or just weld, but because of motor vibration I think it would eventually fail. 

It’s not the end of the world if I buy a new mower. This one lasted almost 20 years so it owes me nothing. On the other hand if it’s just the stupid pipe.........


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

I suspect most of your problem is the original fuel line is deteriorating from the inside. 
As suggested remove and replace the fuel line and primer line.
Clean/rebuild or replace the carb.
clean the fuel tank.

Just remove the plastic fuel tank and clean it out. on a plastic tank i wash out with soap and water rinse well and let it dry out in the sun.

if this old girl is otherwise performing well i would just keep using it.

I am using a 1982 Large frame cub cadet with a newer engine and it just keeps running great every year. 




Nan_wpg said:


> Thanks for the replies so far!
> 
> To answer a few questions......
> 
> ...


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Snowblower update. Today I did my monthly (or so) “Fire em up and make sure they run” for the blower, chainsaw, etc. 

Last month the blower ran great. Today it started but sounded not so good. It was “sputtering” and “popping” and there was flame/spark coming from the muffler. 

Just to recap........ blower is from 1981, fuel tank cleaned, carb completely rebuilt, new fuel line. Since this was all performed this machine has not seen service station fuel. Aspen, or truefuel only. 

While I enjoy puttering around, ultimately I need my blower to simply work. 

Is there anything else within reason (cost to fix vs buying new) given the age of the blower that I can do? 

I’ve followed the advice so far and thought I had her ready to go next winter. 

I initially tried a full choke start but because it’s warm out now it needed a non choke start, but at times it seemed to run smoother in a half choke


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Sounds like you have some bad gas or a gummed up carb. Cleaning, rebuilding and adjusting the carb is fairly inexpensive and if the machine ran fine earlier, that's where I'd start.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

As stated, carb was rebuilt. Welch plugs, and all. Carb cleaner, berrymans carb dip, and ultrasonicly cleaned. 

Aspen fuel only since then (month or two tops). No ethonal, or gas station fuel. Aspen is pure fuel. 

Ran great but now it’s sputtering and what not. 

Is there something else possibly wrong? Surely I can’t be expected to rebuild the carb each and every time I want to use a snowblower?

The machine is 38 years old. Maybe there’s something else that’s needing fixing?

It initially ran great.


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## AL- (Oct 27, 2014)

Nan_wpg said:


> Snowblower update. Today I did my monthly (or so) “Fire em up and make sure they run” for the blower, chainsaw, etc.
> 
> Last month the blower ran great. Today it started but sounded not so good. It was “sputtering” and “popping” and there was flame/spark coming from the muffler.
> 
> ...


*I'm no expert* but flames/sparks coming from the muffler sounds more like a valve or ignition issue than carb. My question now is since I read your post is what exactly causes sparks/flames to come from the exhaust.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

Two things: Warmer temps change mixture, and may also have a valve clearance issue. I know I had to retune my old Toro that I reworked once it got cold.Check the valve clearances, and retune when it's cold again . . .


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

tadawson said:


> Two things: Warmer temps change mixture, and may also have a valve clearance issue. I know I had to retune my old Toro that I reworked once it got cold.Check the valve clearances, and retune when it's cold again . . .


That makes sense. It was colder when I redid the carb and everything was fine. It’s now well above zero. 

I’ll just leave it alone and hope that it’s “normal” when it gets colder. 

As for adjusting valves, is this something I (an idiot) can do? In relation to a carb rebuild how’s the difficulty?


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## AL- (Oct 27, 2014)

Nan_wpg said:


> That makes sense. It was colder when I redid the carb and everything was fine. It’s now well above zero.
> 
> I’ll just leave it alone and hope that it’s “normal” when it gets colder.
> 
> As for adjusting valves, is this something I (an idiot) can do? In relation to a carb rebuild how’s the difficulty?


you tube has videos on Tecumseh valve checking


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

Nan_wpg said:


> As for adjusting valves, is this something I (an idiot) can do? In relation to a carb rebuild how’s the difficulty?


Yes, very simple, as AL says look on youtube for videos. Ones by Donyboy73 and Bruce Pender are good. So search on "Donyboy73 + Tecumseh valve adjust" or similar and you'll find it.


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