# 2014 Ariens Deluxe 28" Carb Adjustment?



## EnigmaGrey

Purchased a new Ariens 28" (921030) with AX 254cc engine (PW6HK17750178EABGILOQUVX59E1M) from Home Depot last year. It ran well throughout the winter season. During the summer, the fuel shutoff valve developed a leak, however, resulting in a full tank of treated fuel evaporating. From this point forward, the snowblower wouldn't run without full choke. I've since replaced the fuel shutoff switch.

I figured the carburetor probably became gummed up, just like the fuel switch, after trying to start it up, so I ordered a replacement. (Since people seem to have mixed experiences with cleaning carburetors, I figured I'd clean the old one and save it for the Next Time.)

Well, it's not working out that way. I've just installed the new carb today and the engine is now producing much less power than it should, running rather rough, and doesn't sound like it's hitting the same RPMs as prior; but at least it runs without any choke. :blush:

So, what'd I miss? There -is- a tiny little screw (under the throttle) on the carb that looks like it could be for adjustment, but I'm not sure I'm even on the right trail here, as there seems to be very little info about these models available online.


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## CarlB

I suspect the screw is just the idle stop screw and that there are no adjustments for fuel mixture on that carb. 

Sounds like you may not have hooked up the governor linkage correctly.

Also check the oil level in the engine and check to see if it has a gasoline smell. If the fuel shutoff was not working correctly fuel could have bypassed the needle valve in the carb and gas could have gotten into the oil.


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## Kiss4aFrog

:welcome: to the forum EnigmaGrey.

Since you purchased it new you should have the manuals and in those it should tell you how to adjust the carb.

How about a photo of the old carb showing the screw you're asking about ??

I would guess too that it's the idle stop screw for setting idle.
Any chance you are off a hole in how you installed the new carb with it's linkage(s) ??


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## gozzling

Did you ever find out what the issue was? I cleaned my carb up and am now facing the same issue.


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## Kiss4aFrog

:welcome: to the forum gozzling

Since this thread has been dead for a year and the original poster only posted this one time it's likely you're not going to get a response.

Did you remove the carb from the engine to clean it ??
Did you take photos or mark the linkage so you're positive you put it back on with the linkage in the exact same holes ??

What problems are you having with yours ??


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## Town

gozzling said:


> Did you ever find out what the issue was? I cleaned my carb up and am now facing the same issue.


Perhaps the carb on my machine is set up the same as yours. There are no fuel mixture setting adjustments that I could find. I have pictures of the set up of my carb linkage and the carb to governor linkage which may help you. A few are attached (the orientation changed when posted):
Pic #1 shows the idle throttle position with the throttle plate linkage touching the black idle screw.
Pic #2 shows same features from a different angle.
Pic #3 shows full throttle with the throttle plate linkage clear of the black stop screw.
Pic #4 shows the governor arm with the small spring and throttle plate rod attachment to governor arm and the governor tension spring location on the arm and its mounting to the cowling anchor.
Pic #5 shows the stock position of the governor tension spring.

For me, adjusting the idle speed to 2200 rpm amounted to adjusting the black throttle stop screw and re-attaching enough bits to get the engine running to check if fast enough. Repeat procedure until it is right.

If your setup is different post some pictures and perhaps a solution can be found.

Hope this helps you. Good luck.


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## Paul Martell

Thank you for the pictures of the governor linkages. I too replaced the carb and realized/know that the spring from mid arm was broken. Ordered and received the governor linkage kit as well. See the general idea and will investigate where the stationary connection is. Mine is the 28" Deluxe. So point is different but concept the same. I know it came toward the carb but not attached to carb linkages, as that spring is much softer - not as much flex. Connected to the throttle plate adjustment. I believe this is necessary to be a fixed location.


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## gozzling

Sorry I'm late in getting back to this but hopefully if someone has my exact model they will come across this. My engine is different from the pictures here. I was however able to get the right info by reaching out to LCT support. They sent me a diagram of how the governor linkage should be setup. Hope this helps someone! 

Ariens Deluxe 28 Info:
Model Number: 921030
Serial Number: 12XXXX

LCT Engine Info:
Model: PW6HK17750178EABGILOQUVX59E1M


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## [email protected]

I had an issue this week where the blower would not start. After quite a bit of troubleshooting I decided the governor was not working the throttle right. I found I could start the engine by manually moving the throttle to about the 3/4 position. And it would stay there when running. 


I took the gas tank off so I could see the entire linkage. I couldn't see any problem. 
I jiggled the linkage quite a bit and could not feel anything suspiciously wrong.


I put things back together enough so I could start the engine. And it started right up. So I put it completely back together and addressed our latest 10" snowfall.


The blower worked fine, but I noted that when not under load from either the blade or the drive, that the "idle" speed was a little high.


I don't believe that the throttle is at the idle position against the idle screw when the engine is running. But I could well be wrong. 
I am not going to mess with the engine unless it breaks again. Then I will try to determine what position the throttle is in under various load/no load conditions.


So a couple of questions are:
Can I adjust the no load rpm by turning the idle adjust screw? (I think not?)
Where is the mechanism that causes the governor linkage to move? Is it inside or outside the engine. I have done a lot of online searching and think I have seen both situations. I would like to be able inspect this and make sure it is working. But I am not willing to open up the engine anytime soon.


There a lot of videos around about adjusting mechanical governors, but I couldn't find one for adjusting a pneumatic one, like I believe is on this engine.


Thanks


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## tadawson

The mechanism that actuates the gov arm is internal to the engine. Sometimes crud can build up where it exits the block and make it stick.

Idle is typically not governed, and the stop screw should be able to set your idle speed. (Idle, though is not necessarily 'no-load rpm' . . . . it's RPM with the throttle set to low. RPM at high throttle is regulated by the gov, load or no load.


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## RedOctobyr

[email protected] said:


> I am not going to mess with the engine unless it breaks again. Then I will try to determine what position the throttle is in under various load/no load conditions.


Welcome to the forum! 

If the governor isn't working right, be careful. If the RPMs are too high when there is no load on the engine, the engine can be seriously damaged, if the connecting rod broke. You can check the actual RPMs with a tachometer, such as this one. They don't need to be installed, you just wrap the tach's wire around the spark plug wire: 

https://www.amazon.com/KEDSUM-Upgrade-Tachometer-Outboard-Replaceable/dp/B00YTXKKDQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550877867&sr=8-1&keywords=replaceable+tachometer



> So a couple of questions are:
> Can I adjust the no load rpm by turning the idle adjust screw? (I think not?)
> Where is the mechanism that causes the governor linkage to move? Is it inside or outside the engine. I have done a lot of online searching and think I have seen both situations. I would like to be able inspect this and make sure it is working. But I am not willing to open up the engine anytime soon.
> 
> There a lot of videos around about adjusting mechanical governors, but I couldn't find one for adjusting a pneumatic one, like I believe is on this engine.
> 
> Thanks


 I'm not familiar with this engine. But typically there is a mechanism inside the engine that causes the governor arm to move, based on how fast the engine is spinning. Pneumatic governors would be a new thing to me, mechanical is common for these sorts of engines.


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## [email protected]

Thanks for the info. I ordered the tach. Next I guess I will have to figure out what the rpm is supposed to be. I have seen both 2200 and 3600 in my online surfing.


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## RedOctobyr

3600 would sound right. 2200 might be the idle speed (low RPM). 2200 would be extremely low for blowing snow, and would perform very poorly.


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## [email protected]

Earlier I reported I was having a problem with the machine engine running at too high rpm with no load.


I bought the tach that was suggested and found it very useful. The engine was running at about 4200 rpm when hot and no load.
The engine ran at 3600 when moving and blowing snow.


We had a lot of snow in late Feb and early March. We had a lull last week and I took it apart again.
I had read where pneumatic governors could be subject to debris problems and thought this was my issue.
But the Ariens governor is safely inside the crank case and debris is very unlikely.


In taking it apart I noticed a few incorrect items from my previous reassembly. The plate where the governor spring mounts was slightly loose.
The bright metal baffle on the air intake to the carburetor was mounted incorrectly. I missed the left bolt hole and the baffle was tilted and may have been partially blocking what looks like an air passage.


While I had the gas tank off I sprayed carb cleaner on all the governor moving parts and then wd-40.


I used the machine today on about 5" of heavy snow and it worked great. No engine racing. I don't know which of the 3 things I did actually fixed it.


This whole mess originally started about a month ago after I lent it to a neighbor. When he brought it back, it was running great. But when I went to start it a few minutes later, it wouldn't start, even with the electric starter. I probably spent 10 minutes trying to get it to start with no luck.


I now believe this was my fault. After seeing how the governor works I believe one always has to choke the engine to get it to start even when hot.
I had kind of noticed this in past, but pretty much blew it off as a fluke.


The reason is that the pneumatic governor holds the throttle in the full open position when the engine is off as opposed to the idle position.
I think being at full throttle means one has to apply the choke. Don't know could be wrong.
I will be watching this in the future.


Just wanted to provide some feedback on what worked for me.


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## tadawson

Unless something has radically changed, I have never seen a snowblower with a pneumatic gov . . . That's a mower thing, and uses the air blast from the flywheel/fan. The internal govs are all centrifugal weight based - no air in play at all, and, as noted, can't get dirty.

It's amazing how small an adjustment on the links with the spring will make such a change in speed, so I suspect that the loose bracket was your issue. And yes, I have found that I need at least a bit of choke to restart just about every blower I have ever owned as well . . . likely even more so now that the EPA has forced things to run so lean.


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## RedOctobyr

Oh, *now* I know what you're referring to with a pneumatic governor. What's also called an air-vane governor, using the blast from the flywheel fan, as was said. I thought you were talking about some sort of interesting setup with vacuum lines or something. 

With the throttle set to high-speed, at least, any governor should be holding the throttle plate open with the engine off. Regardless of the type, the engine speed is too low (not spinning), so it should be trying to hold the throttle plate open. 

I actually have a blower with an air-vane governor. It's a Toro single-stage, with a 2-stroke Briggs R-Tek engine (based on the Lawn Boy Duraforce 2-stroke). The governor seems to work pretty well on it. I haven't needed to re-adjust the governor, like I've done on my Tecumseh. I've only bent the spring tab a bit, to tweak the RPM (like a lot of SS machines, there's no throttle control, it runs at a single speed).


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## tadawson

My bad . . . living in snow conditons like I have, I don't really regard single stages as real snowblowers, since, for us at least, they are pretty much useless, and I have never seen a single one used in 45+ years . . . But yeah, I can see the air gov's there . . .


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## [email protected]

I bought the governor part that goes in the engine thinking I might have to replace it if it turned out to be outside the crankcase.


It is called a "paddle". And it looks like something air would blow on to make the governor arm move. It is definitely not some kind of spring mass.


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## tadawson

The AX 254 parts diagram shows at least three parts in the gov system, and it looks like that is only the output link. This stuff is in the block, awash in oil . . .

And, from photo I have found, the part called 'governor gear' carries the flying weights and is the heart of the gov:

https://www.jackssmallengines.com/Products/LCT/Governor/s


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## dlcnws

Thanks for the diagram gozzling. I'm in the process of adjusting my governor on a two year old 920027. Awaiting the tach I ordered.


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## dlcnws

Hi Tadawson. North Dallas is a long way from "da U.P." I've been out of there for about 40 years but only made it as far as Green Bay. I've got two year old Ariens 920027 with the 223cc inch AX engine. Not a big fan of the throttle-less engines. Liked my 12 year old Ariens way better than this one, but let it go with the house when we sold. Mine has the surging at idle, but runs a lot smoother under load. I replaced the carb and adjusted the idle, and that seemed to help, but the idle adjustment only lower the rpm's slightly. I've seen a lot of posts where these run lean, no doubt Ariens trying to make it under the EPA requirements. Do you think moving the governor spring to the first hole closest to the bolt would slow it down? I'm on the middle hole now and when I push the governor back slightly, it slows and becomes smoother. I'm going to pick up a digital tach before making any changes and realize it can't be run above 3600 rpm's..


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## tadawson

I really can't say . . . every engine I have had that surged, I resolved by cleanimg the carb. It's natural that putting pressure on the gov arm would reduce the surging, since you are dampening it's movement. It certainly can't hurt to try, but I suspect that since it has little effect on the linkage geometry, I'm not optimistic. I've also never had to replace a carb . . . too easy to clean, especially when that new! You might also check for any binding or restriction in the gov and carb linkages, since that can cause it to overshoot and surge as well. You might also check to be certain there are no air leaks to the intake that can lean it out as well.

Wish I was back in 'da UP' badly as well . . . not a big fan of TX. Follower my ex here and basically got stuck . . .


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## dlcnws

I'll check for air leaks, and in all honesty, probably didn't need the new carb. I cleaned out the old one and was considering drilling out the idle jet, but decided to give the new carb a try instead. I'm pretty leery of making any adjustments on the governor and will probably just leave it alone. Was in Marquette two weeks ago and I haven't seen that much snow since I was a kid. Garage roofs were caving in from the weight. More snow than I care to deal with. Thanks for the suggestions.


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## tadawson

And Marquette doesn't get all that much compared to further north! 212 this year in Marquette vs. 333 in Calumet (and a record of 390 inches in 78/79 . . . my last year as a full time resident . . .).

Not sure on those, but on Hondas, you can get different size pilot jets. Myself, I'd make sure I had a spare available before drilling, just in case (or try a new one first . . .).


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