# Gas in Crankcase of MTD engine on 24" Troy Snowblower



## The Old Salt (Jan 12, 2019)

Always good to start at the beginning. Month ago I could not get my 24" Troy snow blower to start. I had left it sit over the Summer with gas in it. Yes ... Bad Me! I could get it to run as long as I squirted it with Starting Fluid but it would not burn gas. Siphoned the gas out of the tank. Re-filled with fresh. Still would not run except on Start Fluid. At that point I knew it was a gummed up carb. 

Now a month later I have time to work on it. While attempting to remove the carb, fuel started running out as I loosened up the 2 nuts that hold the carb on. So I tightened them back up. Pulled the starter rope. It was stiff and gas sperted out of the exhaust. Checked the dip stick, on oil and smelled like fuel. Checked fuel tank and found it near empty. Tank had been full last time I worked on it. I believe it is all in the crankcase and it will have to drain out. 

I suspect the float got stuck and bled the fuel through the carb and into the crankacse. 

I would appreciate greatly if someone would advise as to the best way to be sure I get all the fuel out of the crankcase and exhaust systems. I believe the rest is just cleaning the carb and putting it all back together. Or am I missing something here. I am not a mechanic, but spent my work life with tools in hand as a Powerhouse electrician and have a pretty fair collection of mechanical type tools. Thx in advance for any assistance you can offer.


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## jsup (Nov 19, 2017)

The Old Salt said:


> Always good to start at the beginning. Month ago I could not get my 24" Troy snow blower to start. I had left it sit over the Summer with gas in it. Yes ... Bad Me! I could get it to run as long as I squirted it with Starting Fluid but it would not burn gas. Siphoned the gas out of the tank. Re-filled with fresh. Still would not run except on Start Fluid. At that point I knew it was a gummed up carb.
> 
> Now a month later I have time to work on it. While attempting to remove the carb, fuel started running out as I loosened up the 2 nuts that hold the carb on. So I tightened them back up. Pulled the starter rope. It was stiff and gas sperted out of the exhaust. Checked the dip stick, on oil and smelled like fuel. Checked fuel tank and found it near empty. Tank had been full last time I worked on it. I believe it is all in the crankcase and it will have to drain out.
> 
> ...



Drain the oil, refil it, slap on a new $15 carb and be on your way. You're right, the carb stuck and leaked into the crankcase. Now you have a nice clean crankcase.


Those engines take about 18OZ of oil, I recently drained one that had the same condition, with about 40 OZ of gas/oil. It ran fine after draining it. Don't lose sleep over it.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i would 2nd changing thee oil, run it for a while and maybe change the oil again depending on how it smells. i would open up the carb first and take a look at it. a sticking needle is pretty common with some engines especially if the fuel you use has ethanol in it. i had to do the exact same thing to my BIL's snowblower this fall when he was complaining about it smoking excessively when he fired it up. gas in the crank case


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## The Old Salt (Jan 12, 2019)

Thanks guys. 

I have it apart now and have blown the cylinder out with compressed air and drained the crankcase. Carb is off and as suspected the needle vlv is stuck. Watched a You Tube on how to clean the carb. Retired so gonna do that short term so I can run it while getting a new carb. The advice on the fuel type is good also. I need to be more focussed about the Stable. 

Main concern was the gas in crankcase situation. So fill it with fresh oil, then a second oil change. Sounds simple enough. Lots easier that getting it apart. Now after this one, I get to do the same on my 5.5 KW generator carb.

Once again, Tks.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

you probably won't need a new carb if you found the needle was indeed sticking. just clean if up and try it out. if this happened again this season i would recommend replacing the carb but no point throwing parts at it that it doesn't need. the 2nd oil change would be a just in case to try and flush out any more gas since it is hard to get nearly everything out.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

put a shutoff under the tank...and use it......


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## jsup (Nov 19, 2017)

crazzywolfie said:


> you probably won't need a new carb if you found the needle was indeed sticking. just clean if up and try it out. if this happened again this season i would recommend replacing the carb but no point throwing parts at it that it doesn't need. the 2nd oil change would be a just in case to try and flush out any more gas since it is hard to get nearly everything out.



Eh, for the $10-15 for the carb, I'd change it, because I'm paranoid. It would always be in the back of my mind if the carb was still sticking. If it happens again this season, you're going to find out when you need the machine. for me, the piece of mind of a new part is worth the price. 


HOWEVER, with the good advice about putting in a fuel shut off, that wouldn't matter. I put in shut offs on machines wherever I can fit one, if they don't have one.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

Ironic, in that my paranoia tells me to always clean and not use questionable 3rd world parts . . . If the old carb didn't stick for 20 years, it's not likely going to do so for another 20 once cleaned. 3rd world parts and their dubious quality control are a far bigger crapshoot, at least as I see it.

And never had one I cleaned fail to work like new . . .plus, I can teardown and clean in an hour or so, and a lot of folks would take longer than that to just find the right one and order it, much less have it come it.


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## The Old Salt (Jan 12, 2019)

Thx guys for all the great responses. The needle vlave did not come out until the carb had been through 2 cycles of the ultra-sonic cleaner. Normally that gets used to clean shell casings. Carb cleaned up really nice. Got the carb back together and the blower re-assembled. Will add a shut-off vlv after I get the snow out of the drive so I can go get one. Down to oil and gas and fire it up. 

I discovered I don't have any 5/30 oil. Only have 10/30 oil. Such a delima. Need to run it to get the snow out of the drive so I can go get the oil I need to run it. So my thought is, even after draining the crankcase and blowing it out w comp air, there is still gonna be some gas left int he crankcase. That will have the effect of thinning the oil. I'm thinking fill it up with the 10/30 I have and run it just this one time to clear the drive enough to get out and go get the 5/30 it calls for.

Am I way off base or can I get by with this?


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

IMO, 10W-30 won't hurt it. The 5W-30 is better suited to really-cold temperatures. But let it warm up (maybe near idle) for a few minutes before putting a load on it, and the oil will have a chance to warm up before you really hammer the engine. 

If the cord was hard to pull, I'd remove the spark plug, put a rag over the plug hole, and pull the cord a few times. This should help get any gas out of the combustion chamber. You likely have liquid in there, which can't be compressed, so is making the cord hard to pull. Reinstall the plug, then fire up the engine. 

Changing the oil again isn't a bad idea, especially if that's what's needed to get to to 5W-30. And another vote for installing a fuel shutoff. They're cheap insurance against this kind of problem. Plus you can close it, and run the engine until it dies, so there's no gas sitting in the carb, waiting to gunk it up, while the engine is sitting around. 

The ultrasonic cleaner is a great tool to have available. I use Simple Green HD in mine, for cleaning carb parts (or other stuff), I've had very good luck with it so far. It won't damage aluminum, which is good.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

really doesn't sound good that it was so stuck that it needed 2 cycles through the ultrasonic cleaner to free it. usually they should break free by hand. i still think the carb would be fine now that you cleaned it with a ultrasonic cleaner. if you can ad a fuel shutoff valve it wouldn't hurt. i just don't know where you would be able to put it on the machine especially newer machines. on older machines it is super simple but those machines are less prone to having the needles sticking since the area around the needle is not as tight as on new machines. 

10w30 should be fine. the 5w30 would just be a bit nicer for very cold starts since it is a bit thinner at cold temps but once warmed up they are both the same.


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