# MTD 1024 leaking fluid



## MTD1014

I was using the MTD 1024 I bought at Sam's Club and she was doing fine until I tryed to kleen the snow at the end of the driveway. It stalled like to normally does under a heavy load like that only this time she will not start. It was snowing so I didn't notice but it also started leaking what looks like transmision oil all over the garage floor. Could I have burned up the transmission? I have changed the engine oil on a once or twice a year but I never changed the transfluid.


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## Shryp

Your MTD is going to have a friction disc transmission for the drive wheels. There only thing in there to burn up is a rubber wheel. Well, maybe some bearings too, but no real transmission parts or fluid like a car.

The fluid you are seeing is either oil from the engine or oil from the gearbox up front. MTD most likely used grease instead of gear oil in the front gearcase so that leaves engine oil. 

You say it died and won't start. Does the starter rope feel the same? I kind of wonder if you might have broke the connecting rod and totaled the engine. When that happens you usually end up with a hole in the side of the engine under the fuel tank and behind the electric starter. This causes the oil to leak out.

Without more knowledge of what is going on or possibly pictures of said leak it is hard to know for sure whether you just have a small problem or ended up with an expensive problem. The more concerning thing is you said when you get to the end of the driveway it stalled like it normally does. Your snowblower should not be stalling. Either the carb is partially blocked up and the engine is starving for fuel, you have some other mechanical problems or you are pushing the machine way too hard. "1024" is a designation that usually means 10 HP and 24" wide. That is a whole lot of engine for a little tiny bit of width and that engine should not be stalling.


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## Colored Eggs

I would check your transmission. The only 2 ways it could be transmission fluid is if you have 1. A regular transmission like a lawnmower has and 2 a hydro transmission. If you take a look under the cover and see a disk with a black rubber disk around that is a friction disk setup and does not use transmission fluid. In that case I would take a good look at the engine to make sure you do not have an engine oil leak. 

If you want you can include the model and serial number to your machine so we can take a look at its parts list to see what you have. 

Secondly. Does the engine turn when you try to start it?


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## MTD1014

Yes you are correct it is a 10hp 24" and cost almost $800 when I bought it. The reason I paid the additional money over the 524 was for the light and larger engine. What do you mean pushing it to hard? It has an drive system and there is no pushing involved. I bought the bigger engine to go kleer the drive near the road and drifts and it does a decent job on the drifts but the end of the driveway is where it struggles. 
The oil/fluid is coming from the engine near the tires. I am thinking the drain plug has come loose.


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## Colored Eggs

Sorry about that Syryp. I was typing as you were, but I'm definatly thinking the same thing as you are with it being an engine problem and not a transmission unless its one of thoes rare ones that actually does have a transmission.


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## Shryp

When the snow is heavy you have to go really slow. If the engine is bogging down too much or you are pushing snow instead of throwing it you need to go slower. If you are already using first gear then you need to modify the linkage to make first gear slower or you have to start and stop the drive lever. Drive it like a foot then stop and wait a second then repeat.

Does the engine have a low oil shutoff switch? Some engines have a kill switch in the bottom that turns the engine off if the oil level gets too low.


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## MTD1014

I do not know about and oil shutoff. Its a 10hp Snowking engine. My father inlaw just looked at it and said its shot. That is either had a broken crankshaft or broken rod or both  It is 8 years old but does not have more then 30-40 hours on it. He said to call the manufacture on Monday and see what they will do. Do you guys know how many hours the Snowking is made to last?


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## Colored Eggs

If your engine is a Tecumseh they are now out of buisness. You might want to look for a replacement engine, or see if a honda, honda clone would work or check to see if it has a hole in the caseing Btw if your thinking of getting rid of it you can put a small price on it if it is in good shape as there is always people out there that would like to buy it for parts or to rebuild if possible.


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## HCBPH

*Motor*

If you have a 10 HP engine and it died after 30-40 hours, I'd say something is really wrong with it. Most of the blowers I buy, rebuild and sell are more like 30-40 years old. Assuming this is a valve-in-block engine and it's out of warranty, I'd do a little looking before doing anything else. First is whether the engine turns over. Pull the belts and remove the sparkplug and see if it turns over using the recoil. If it does then put your thumb over the sparkplug hole and see if you get compression. If you don't then the connecting rod is suspect. If that's the case, then it's teardown time. It's possible the rod only failed. There are videos on Youtube regarding replacing a broken rod if that's all that's broken and no other issues. It would need careful examination including the crankshaft journals on possible damage or leftover material. Same thing with the cylinder walls.
I have putchased a LCT 10 HP clone engine for a possible project. Just under $200 delivered so it could be a viable replacement for something like you have.

If you can narrow down the issues, someone surely can help you along the way.


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## MTD1014

My father-inlaw took the unit to his garage and very quickly realized the leaking oil was from a hole busted in the side of the engine. He said the engine is not fixable the rod had broke near the crankshaft. What would cause the rod to break when I have changed my oil every season and always ran fresh gas in the engine? 

I am going to check craigslist for a cheap running snowblower and chalk this one up to a bad experience.


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## detdrbuzzard

i wonder if there is a better connecting rod for 8 - 10 hp tec motors cause i would like to sell my 826 and get an 824xl or power shift


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## Shryp

If you want dirt cheap you can get a cheap Harbor Freight engine for $100. Also you could look on craigslist in an attempt to find a non running blower. You could get one that needs minor engine work or get one that has the front gearcase broken and just get it for the engine.

Tecumseh engines seem to like to do that. It could be from low oil, dirty oil or revving too high. I am not saying any of those are your reason, but those are the 3 most common reasons. Was your driveway sloped a lot? Maybe your blower was used on an angle. Stalling an engine is not good for it. You are basically going from 3600 RPM to 0 RPM in a very short time and that does put a lot of shock and load on the parts as well.


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## MTD1014

I was not originally looking for "cheap". I tried what I was told was the best way to go. Running this machine cost me more than $20 per hour. Looks like it might be best for all us snowblower people that Snowking is no longer making engines..it appears they are the achillies heel of many of these otherwise fine machines. 
Did they go out of business as a result of a class action lawsuit?


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## MTD1014

Well GREAT NEWS! ! !  My father inlaw dropped of my MTD with the new 212cc Predator engine he got at Harbor Freight for $120 with a 24 month exchange plan. I just got in from running it and all I can saw is WOW! I think they must have put the wrong sticker on this engine because it runs as good or better than my 10hp Tecumseh. It started on the 3rd pull and just ran very smooth and quiet. 

For anyone who might be sitting on the fence as to weather they should repower their snowblower. all I have to say is DO IT! And you will not be looking back second guessing yourself. I think the best thing that ever happened was my tecumseh braking the crankrod! Really.

Oh, the only thing that I have to adjust to is my gear and speed selector is reversed. . . which is not a big deal to me. Thanks Dad for the great job and helping me out. . . your the best!


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