# Just bought a snowblower off craigslist, did he sell me a lemon?



## cmbezln (Jan 29, 2014)

It's an ~10 year old craftsman 24" two stage with a tecumseh motor. Checked it out and everything seemed to work fine when I was there, but since getting it home, the following has happened:

* Was trying to cut into some fairly deep snow and the motor bogged out and stalled, wouldn't start back up
* in the process of trying to pull the rope, it snapped
* let it sit a couple days, after which it starts back up (electric start), but was backfiring and eventually stalled
* Tried turning the choke open, loosening the gas cap, etc....no luck
* Noticed just today that it stalled out as soon as I opened the choke

He claims he got it from a guy that accidentally filled it with water, but he cleaned the carb up and it was fine

I also noticed that he started it up without the choke while I was there. What could be the issue on this?


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## Hkellogg (Jan 22, 2014)

have you checked the carb adjustment screw ? do you have spark ?


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## motorhead64 (Dec 15, 2013)

Never heard of anyone accidentally filling a gas tank with water....I would start with the carburetor. If it was bogging down under load, it probably needs a cleaning and retuning. Add some sea foam to your tank to condition your gas. MH


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## cmbezln (Jan 29, 2014)

Hkellogg said:


> have you checked the carb adjustment screw ? do you have spark ?


This is a newer tecumseh engine and has a fixed jet, so the only thing you can adjust is idle speed


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## cmbezln (Jan 29, 2014)

motorhead64 said:


> Never heard of anyone accidentally filling a gas tank with water....I would start with the carburetor. If it was bogging down under load, it probably needs a cleaning and retuning. Add some sea foam to your tank to condition your gas. MH


He claimed to have boiled the carb and added seafoam to the tank. I think at this point I would replace the carb if you think it's carb-related.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

If he started it without the choke that probably means he had it running before you got there and warmed up. He probably turned it off as you were pulling into the driveway and then started it back up. It could be he knew it had troubles starting cold or it could be he was just making sure it worked before you got there. Could also be someone else was looking at it right before you.

Was the cord rotted? Did you pull the cord slowly and get it to engage before you pulled it or did you just yank it? The proper way to pull the starter cord is to pull slow until everything locks together and then give it a yank. If you just yank it the sudden jolt of the lock up is bad for the handle, the rope and the locking jaws inside.

Fairly deep snow is hard on a machine and some bogging down is to be expected. If it starts to bog down and you don't let up it will stall. This could be operator error or it could have been running poorly to begin with.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

* did he sell me a lemon?

*Well, since it died and wouldn't restart, trying to start it the cord broke and now you can't get it to stay running so you can't use it as a snowblower without finding the problem and solving it , , , yup, he sure did.

Does it have electric start ?? Does it work ??

But it's a matter of turning a lemon into lemonade 
If all it takes is a properly cleaned carb or a new carb then you have lemonade. Check for spark and if it's there it sure sounds like it's a fuel (carb) issue. Starter cords are going to break so if you can wind in some cord yourself and you're not stuck taking it to a shop each time you can still be ahead of the game.
Any photos, what model number, what did you pay ??


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## mtd1024 (Feb 2, 2014)

cmbezln said:


> It's an ~10 year old craftsman 24" two stage with a tecumseh motor. Checked it out and everything seemed to work fine when I was there, but since getting it home, the following has happened:
> 
> * Was trying to cut into some fairly deep snow and the motor bogged out and stalled, wouldn't start back up
> * in the process of trying to pull the rope, it snapped
> ...


Just curious.... How much did you pay for it?


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## cmbezln (Jan 29, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> * did he sell me a lemon?
> 
> *Well, since it died and wouldn't restart, trying to start it the cord broke and now you can't get it to stay running so you can't use it as a snowblower without finding the problem and solving it , , , yup, he sure did.
> 
> ...


Ah okay. Electric start does work but at this point it's not starting at all, as if it's not getting any fuel. I might look into just purchasing an entire new carb for it after I make sure it's not a fuel line issue.

paid $150 for it. Model# 247.88355 . Here's a video of the same blower:


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Have you checked to make sure you're getting spark ??

*Craftsman Engine Model LH195SP-67514 For Snow Thrower Model 247.883550*
The picture of your carb shows a drain valve. You can push the drain valve and see if there is any fuel in the carb and that would also let you know if it's flowing to the carb buy placing something to catch gas and holding it open 5-10 seconds.

If it needs one I think this is the PN 640084B and they run 27 bucks shipped on ebay.


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## cmbezln (Jan 29, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Have you checked to make sure you're getting spark ??
> 
> *Craftsman Engine Model LH195SP-67514 For Snow Thrower Model 247.883550*
> The picture of your carb shows a drain valve. You can push the drain valve and see if there is any fuel in the carb and that would also let you know if it's flowing to the carb but placing something to catch gas and holding it open 5-10 seconds.
> ...


I haven't yet since it was starting and running for 1-5 minutes before. I'll check it just to make sure, though. Thanks for sourcing the carb!


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I "think" that's the one but hopefully if you do order one you'll double check me  I'd hate to be wrong.

Some carbs are so cheap they just aren't worth messing with unless you just like to do that sort of thing.

Maybe you're lucky and it's just a bad fuel line that's swollen from the alcohol in the gas


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

Personally, I'd dive into carb repair because you have nothing to lose and you'll get an education about it. There's some videos by Doneyboy to guide you and there's always us here.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

cmbezln said:


> It's an ~10 year old craftsman 24" two stage with a tecumseh motor. Checked it out and everything seemed to work fine when I was there, but since getting it home, the following has happened:
> 
> * Was trying to cut into some fairly deep snow and the motor bogged out and stalled, wouldn't start back up
> * in the process of trying to pull the rope, it snapped
> ...


 
no, you didn't get a lemon. It sounds like it's a blower that everyone is trying to dance around and avoid delving into the real repair issues, because it takes a good amount of experience and expertise to do, and understanding of how the engine works. when I hear "sea foam" that says a guy that maybe doesn't know his wrench sizes and is trying to spray and pour liquids into a motor trying to get it running. there's no such thing as "liquid valve" or "insta-spray on carb". you have to go in and remove the parts, disassemble, replace the wearing or defective parts, and re-assemble, then start it and adjust. it sounds like the previous guy didn't want to pay for that, or didn't know how, so he pawned it off on you. 

having said that, $150 for any machine is not a ripoff, that's a good price and I paid about that for a much older machine with tons of problems.
no, it's not a lemon, just a project. a good small engine repair shop will whip that right into shape for you. don't waste your time with the sea foam, etc. fixes. sea foam is a waste of time and money.

what many don't understand, is any engine in a car, truck, snowblower, lawnmower, tractor, whatever is a complicated machine with hundreds of parts, all part of a system, and asking someone online general questions how to fix it or what's wrong, is like asking a brain surgeon online how to do brain surgery online, while you have someone's skull cut open. He has to be there to really diagnose it 100%. It could be a really simple problem like the petcock on the gas tank shut off, really. I knew a TV repairman that got many calls because the TV was plugged into a power socket on the wall, that was also shut off/on with a light switch. He'd show up and turn the light switch on and "fix" it.

I bought a brand new $300 kerosene heater once, that the previous owner never even lit, because they "couldn't see the wick" and there was something wrong with it, so they thought. They sold it to me for $40. I filled it with kerosene, pushed the reset on it when I got home, turned the wick up to full, and lit it. I still have it 25 years later. don't think too much into the problem, it may be simple.

start with a carb and gas tank disassembly, cleaning, and re-assembly.

stalling out in wet snow is typical of a lower HP machine i.e. 5HP in heavy slush and packed snow, they don't have enough power to eat it and throw it, so they stall out- especially if they have a smaller 10" impeller.

realistically you need minimum 8HP for a blower, and preferably 10HP and above. It all boils down to HP concentrated over a reasonable auger width, with the biggest impeller size. Concentrated power, with a big port to blow it out. I'd steer clear of 10" impeller machines, look for minimum 12" impeller size, and preferably a 14". The larger impeller by design spins faster at it's outer edge. Put 10HP on a 14" impeller with a 24" or 26" auger width and you have a rip-asz machine that will blow right through the slush and packed snow.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Blower*

Not much able to add to your current issue but I noticed you have a couple of older 3 stages you're working on.
If you're interested, here's a thread on one I rebuilt and did some minor mods to: Evaluating a used snowblower purchase and proceeding with a rebuild in Project How To's Forum
My other 3 stage I swapped out a 26" bucket so it would fit through the garage door and eventually it became the Searsasaurus which is working well for me now.

Still looking for some left side control handles to mod it like the other 3 stage and split the auger and drive controls.

Paul


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

nt40lanman said:


> Personally, I'd dive into carb repair because you have nothing to lose and you'll get an education about it. There's some videos by Doneyboy to guide you and there's always us here.


I'm all for someone learning but with snow falling it might be best just to replace the carb and get it running now and then you can play with the carb at your leisure to learn. Can always keep the original as a spare.


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## cmbezln (Jan 29, 2014)

greatwhitebuffalo said:


> no, you didn't get a lemon. It sounds like it's a blower that everyone is trying to dance around and avoid delving into the real repair issues, because it takes a good amount of experience and expertise to do, and understanding of how the engine works. when I hear "sea foam" that says a guy that maybe doesn't know his wrench sizes and is trying to spray and pour liquids into a motor trying to get it running. there's no such thing as "liquid valve" or "insta-spray on carb". you have to go in and remove the parts, disassemble, replace the wearing or defective parts, and re-assemble, then start it and adjust. it sounds like the previous guy didn't want to pay for that, or didn't know how, so he pawned it off on you.
> 
> having said that, $150 for any machine is not a ripoff, that's a good price and I paid about that for a much older machine with tons of problems.
> no, it's not a lemon, just a project. a good small engine repair shop will whip that right into shape for you. don't waste your time with the sea foam, etc. fixes. sea foam is a waste of time and money.
> ...


Thanks, that's what I was hoping to hear. I've got a newborn and between that and work, spare time is not a luxury I have at the moment. Gonna keep shoveling for now and wait until I get some free time and take everything apart, as you suggested. I have tore down and fixed a few carbs, but beyond that I'm clueless...just looking for someone to reassure me that diving into this thing isn't a waste of time.

Machine look likes it's from ~2007, definitely worth fixing up


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## cmbezln (Jan 29, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I'm all for someone learning but with snow falling it might be best just to replace the carb and get it running now and then you can play with the carb at your leisure to learn. Can always keep the original as a spare.


I don't have the the time or money at the moment to mess around with anything right now, anyway. Just going to call this season a wash.


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## cmbezln (Jan 29, 2014)

HCBPH said:


> Not much able to add to your current issue but I noticed you have a couple of older 3 stages you're working on.
> If you're interested, here's a thread on one I rebuilt and did some minor mods to: Evaluating a used snowblower purchase and proceeding with a rebuild in Project How To's Forum
> My other 3 stage I swapped out a 26" bucket so it would fit through the garage door and eventually it became the Searsasaurus which is working well for me now.
> 
> ...


This is actually the only snowblower I've owned, besides a crappy 1 stage I got rid of, but your post looks really interesting and I'll take a look. Thanks for the help!


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## Hankfard (Feb 17, 2014)

*It's a project and test of your skills!*

+1 on everything that greatwhitebuffalo says!!

I am going to print his post to remind me why I restored my Craftsman!
Once you dive in and decide to go all the way, you'll be proud of what you can accomplish.


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