# Ariens wont throw snow far, boggs out



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

Hey all, just joined the forum today. I have been messing with the snowblower for a while now and was hoping to get some results here....

First off, i used this site to identify the year, and im 99% sure its a 1973: The Ariens 1960's and 1970's Sno-Thro info site.

So i have been messing with the carb since this summer. i got this thing for free, threw on a new belt and cleaned the carb and got it running good. i played with the jetting and got that good as well. but when i would hit snow it wouldnt throw it very far. and after like 5 mins of use, it would want to die when i hit snow. i went through the carb again, installed a rebuild kit, messed with the jetting again etc etc.

so i tried it again today and the same thing is happening. it worked good for 5 minutes (except only threw snow about 6 feet). then after a few minutes when i hit snow it wouldnt throw any and would want to die. the only snow that would come out were logs. after i stopped the drive it would slowly push out 3 or so solid blocks of snow and ploo em right on the ground next to it. any insight?

i made a perfect video of all this but cant upload it! here are some pics though
















and i must add, one of the inner rotor fins is bent, but i dont think its causing such an issue....









HELP I AM A NEW ENGLANDER! THANKS IN ADVANCE!


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Welcome*

First off, welcome to the forum.

From the sound of what you're throwing, sounds like it's slushy to begin with. If it is, about the only thing that might improve what you're seeing is a Clarence impeller kit or equivelent. Snowblowers don't do well with wet sluchy material in most situations.

Carbs on Ariens seem touchy to me on getting to work right plus when it's cutting out, is the governor working or not? Could be sticking.

Just some thoughts.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

If it works for 5 minutes then dies out I am thinking either the gas cap vent is plugged or the valves are heating up and then not fully closing. You can try loosening the gas cap a bit, but I suspect a valve adjustment might help you out and fix your problem.


----------



## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

another thought to keep in mind if its not getting a quality spark. enough to run ok but not enough to get full power have you changed out the points?


----------



## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

hello tony, welcome to SBF


----------



## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

another thought. I dont know if it would apply to 4 stroke but just had an old 3 or so hp homelite chainsaw that would die down once I started cutting. after a good deal of hair pulling the muffler was changed out for a good one and had zero problems after that. I had done carb, ignition, everything. muffler wasnt blocked, it was empty, rotted all internals out. saw had no back pressure.


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

HCBPH- thanks. i guess the snow was a bit slushy. it wasnt fresh- i was just out testing it, it hasnt snowed here in mass lately. so i guess i am more concerned with the stalling under high loads. i am not sure if the govener is working becuase im not sure exactly how its supposed to work. it does move. when i was adjusting the main jet, and i turned it very lean the govener would go back and forth until i richened it up. i have had the carb off many times. is it possible that one of the connecting rods got bent? one is supposed to have a bend so i cant tell if its right or not....

Shryp- thanks- i will try loosening the gas cap. hopefully i wont need a valve adjustment..

td5771- good thought- when you say changed the points, what do you mean? something besides the spark plug? i havent changed either.

detdrbuzzard- thanks

td5771- to your second thought about the muffler---- it made me remember that when the previous owner gave me it he said all it needed was a muffler (im not sure why he thought that, mind you it needed a belt and a carb clean). but i just pulled the old one off- it was rusty outside, but the metal on the inside was there- is there supposed to be any packing? because there wasnt any. i have seen a few small flames come out of it too now that i think of it. i know back pressure is important for the 2 smokes but i didnt think it mattered as much on a 4.


so i found a new muffler on ebay for 20 bucks... may try it. and also found carbs on there too. mine is leaking out of the bottom from the bowl bolt. it just needs a new gasket- anybody know where i can buy a few of those by themselves? i found an oregon replacement for under 30 bucks- Carburetor for Tecumseh 640349 640052 640054 | eBay but the tecumseh one is 90- Genuine Tecumseh Carburetor 631660A Fits Some H80 HM80 1550XX Spec Engines | eBay

thanks again all!


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

also, what rev is this thing supposed to be run on? i have been using high....


----------



## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

tonyvisone said:


> also, what rev is this thing supposed to be run on? i have been using high....


Tony,
yes, you want to have it on "high" when in use..
full RPM's gives the best performance..

As I said via email, I think the poor throwing performance is simply due to "poor snow"!  2-stage machines dont do much of anything with less than an inch of snow, and they do even worse with slush..you really need 3" to 6" (or more) to get any real throwing distance..the machine needs a certain "volume" of snow to work with..So that is probably all that is going on there..there probably isnt anything actually wrong with the throwing distance..

as for the stalling out..I had a recent similar problem with my '71 Ariens..it wanted to stall out when asked to do any "real" work..digging into snow..

a good carb cleaning, and replacing the needle and O-rings from a carb rebuild kit solved the problem! running fine now..

although you say you have already cleaned the carb on yours..
so maybe yours has a different issue..
how fresh is the gas you are using?

Scot


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

thanks scot,

yes when i did the rebuild kit i used all the parts- needle seat etc, and i even used the new welch plugs, after cleaning under the old ones. its extremely clean in there, all passages are clear.

the gas i am using is not very old. maybe one month max. i put stabilizer in it the day i bought it. i have been running it in my small 4 stroke dirtbike without any issues either. i took it out today as a matter of fact.


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

just got this response from the PO on why he thought it needed a new muffler:

"As the snow blower got louder from muffler wear I thought it was loosing some power. Maybe loss of back pressure? .......plus some sparks were coming out of the exhaust."


----------



## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

I don't believe the mufflers have packing. As long as all the parts are intact.

Always do the small wear/basic maintenance items to ensure they are good before you dig I to a deep fix.

You have to do the plug. Gapped to .030

Depending on the year of the engine (it may have been replaced at some point during the life of the snowblower) it will have a set of mechanical points that tell the spark plug when to spark instead of an electronic ignition. It is a standard tune up item and can easily cause poor performance.


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

td5771 said:


> I don't believe the mufflers have packing. As long as all the parts are intact.
> 
> Always do the small wear/basic maintenance items to ensure they are good before you dig I to a deep fix.
> 
> ...


are you saying to replace the muffler because its a basic wear part, or the opposite?

i will check the plug after work. what is the technical name for the "points" so i can look them up?


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Misc*

Mufflers typically are nothing more than a metal shell with baffles in them. If removed and shaken, if they don't rattle then they're ok. The gasket between the block and muffler can go bad when removed but they're cheap.
Gas line can break down inside other time, but again that's a cheap replacement. The gas tank can get crap in it that plugs the filter on the inlet to the fuel line, take a peak there and see.
In addition to the gas cap possibility, I've found most of the engines I've rebuilt run better on non-alcohol gas than gasahol. Costs about 50 cents a gallon more but worth it in my opinion.
One other thing I do when I buy a blower is clean up the carbon in the engine. I've had a couple with poor compression that had alot of carbon on the valves, piston and head. Once cleaned up, that took care of the copression issues and ran alot better. Read what I do here:
Evaluating a used engine

Let us know what you find.


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

great site HCBPH, thanks.

today i didnt get much into the bogging issue, mainly because i found some rubber at work that i thought would be great. i pulled the chute off, bent that bent impellar fin back to normal, and installed the rubber. after taking a self tapping screw to the finger, i used my brain and used wood to hold it haha. but yes i still finished adding the rubber after the cut! pics below....


































so i guess for the other stuff::: exhaust doesnt rattle, spark plug was checked and gap was right on at 30 thou, i could blow through the gas cap, from the outside in, and as for the fuel filter inside the tank, i had the tank off and apart last spring. i cleaned inside the tank, and although the filter was shriveled and ugly, it was all clear. so i may have fixed my short throwing distance issues (although theres no more snow to test it with), but im assuming it will still do the bogging thing. but possibly not, as the bogging seemed to happen after to much wet snow.....


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

oh ya and i tested the spark and it looked very strong, even with the lights on. bright purple. i have had a jet ski where i could only see it in with the lights off.


----------



## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

Tonyvisone, To me it sounds like the carb is not tuned just right. There is some good vid's on you tube. When you tested the spark, did you test it when the engine was hot?


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Resolution*

tonyvisone

You demonstrated one of my New Years Resolutions - try to leave less skin and blood on the machines I work on 

From the sound of it, you're getting your 'lifetime' machine set up correctly. It likely will outlive you and become a 'pass along' some time in the future. There's something about fixing it up yourself that has a high degree of satisfaction and watching it blowing snow where it's never gone before.


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

69ariens- it seems that way, but i must say, i found a manual on the carb and did as it said, started at stock settings (1 out on idle screw, 1.5 out on main), then i put in on high rpm and tuned the main both ways til it would die, and left screw in the middle, and then tuned the idle screw at idle for highest smoothest rpm.


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

HCBPH- much agreed. i wind up going through all the toys i have- dirtbikes jet skis etc and then can never sell them lol. good luck with your resolution!


----------



## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

sorry about the confusion. the muffler is not a normal wear part but when stuff gets that old it can fall apart. hcbph covered it, if its soild--no rattles--no holes its fine.

The points are a normal part to change and should be done with every tune up.

sounds like you are getting a good spark so they are working fine but if the adjustment is a little off it can advance or retard the motor timing. the spark takes longer to jump a bigger gap and shorter for a smaller. they should be set at .020 

re the spark plug. I have had some that even after running them through a spark plug cleaner they didnt work. but a new one worked great even though the old was crystal clean 

most tecumsehs of that era are the same points.

see first item on below link. that would be yours

Tecumseh Ignition Parts

or look up your engine number. they are called points or breaker


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

thanks td, i set the plug at 030 like you said, but now you said 020... which one is right? my exhaust seemed fine based on the rattle test

and for an update--- we got about 3 inches of snow here in mass today. i couldnt test the blower until after work and by then we had a misty rain for a bit. mind you, i added the homemade impellar kit. surprisingly it seemed to be working good, it was throwing snow about 9 feet or so-i assume thats probably normal of a 70's blower.

only issue was, it was still getting plugged up in the chute, until the point where it would want to kill the motor again. i guess this may just be normal, but i wouldve thought the motor could muscle through a little more. the chute clog would become a hard pack. once i shut the motor and unclogged the chute it would work good again. is this just normal? is the motor tired? at the rate it was clogging, it would take quite a while to do my entire driveway


----------



## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

had to double check my post to make sure I did not make a mistake. lots going on here constantly and I try to squeeze posts in when I can.


I stated .030 for the plug and .020 for the point gap. 

I dont think you have a problem with the points.

what your experiencing is common. it got better with the impeller kit. 

you need to make sure the hole out of the impeller area is free from roughness and rust and as smooth as possible. as well as the inside of the chute. high gloss paint. the smoother you get it the faster the snow flies through and has less tendency to stick.


----------



## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

Tonnyvison, yesterday 3'' of wet slop ,I saw new ariens clogg and not throwing far so I would not worry. What size motor do you have?


----------



## minitrk (Dec 26, 2012)

How thick is the rubber you used for the impeller kit and does it touch the sides of the housing? From looking at your pics the rubber looks thin and not able to touch the housing, looks like it only goes to the end of the impeller vane. I had the same problems as you did with clogs, until I changed my belt and put my own "kit" in. The heavy wet snow we got yesterday never clogged the chute and was being thrown about 20ft. I must say the impeller kits do work, wish I would have put it in when I got the machine.


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

td- got it. so my plug is right (at 30 thou) and i havent checked the point, but im assuming they are good.

69ariens- good to know. i honestly dont even know the motor size, my guess is 8hp? the motor is hm80 155026 (or 155028)

minitrk- the rubber i used is pretty thick- its about 3/8" thick. and yes it touches the impellar- i placed it so it just barely rubber. when i first started it there was a lot of resistance. i let it run and the edge of the rubber got hot and a little chamfer melted into them.


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

just noticed that my above sentence didn't make much sense. i meant to say that the rubber does rub on the impellar housing. almost a little too much, but i expect it the wear just right


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

hey guys, just to bring this case to closure, here's a final update. we got that big blizzard in mass, and i broke the ariens out. she worked phenominally. somewhere between the jetting tweaks, hi-gloss paint on the chute, and rubber pieces to close the impellar gap, it works. but most of all, i think it was the slush and lack of snow that killed me before. now theres lots of powdery snow. it must've been throwing almost 20 feet!


----------



## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

its good to know that your snowblower is working as it should


----------



## tonyvisone (Jan 12, 2013)

detdrbuzzard said:


> its good to know that your snowblower is working as it should


thanks. so do you really own 9 snowblowers??


----------

