# Blowing oil from my ST26DLE!



## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Hello, snow gurus --

Newbie here, I've enjoyed reading (lurking) on some of your forums. Now I find that I have a problem with my much-loved Ariens ST26DLE.

I did a search of the Forum but it kept returning 'no results.' I find that hard to believe, so forgive me if this is a topic that everyone has seen/read about a hundred times.

I prepped it in October 2017 for the season and it ran just fine. I use ethanol-free gas only in all my yard gear.

Today when I started it up electrically, it immediately spewed oil out of the left side of the engine compartment. I quickly killed the blower and then stood around staring at the dirtied snow with my mouth hanging open. DOH.... I've never had the slightest problem with it.

I'm not an especially gifted wrench-turner, although I do a little bit on my motorcycles. I removed the lower black casing on the B&S engine and couldn't really see anything amiss. There is a black hose that seems to be just floating around, but I suspect that might be a breather hose. 

Also, after reading some other posts here, I took a sniff of the dipstick -- and dang it, it *does* smell like gas. I looked like a freak because then I was sniffing my John Deere dipstick, then my two motos' dipsticks. They all just smell...oily. But the Ariens smells like a gas station. So -- gas in the crankcase, maybe? :crying: 

If so, that's currently beyond my tech abilities, and I'll have to look for a repair shop.

Here's a link (I hope) to 4 photos on Imgur. The photos are out of order, I'm afraid.

Thanks for any advice!


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## vinnycom (Nov 6, 2017)

only seen/find one pic. idk the problem but if u can attach photos to post it be much better for future reference, very easy todo just make sure photos are max 1080p


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Welcome! Sorry to hear that. As I was reading, I was wondering about gas in the oil, raising the "oil" level too high. 

Does it have a fuel shutoff valve? Typically, when you get gas in the oil, it's because the carburetor's needle valve isn't completely stopping the flow of fuel for some reason. As the machine sits around, the fuel overflows from the carburetor, runs through the intake, and into the cylinder. It then gets past the piston rings, and ends up down in the crankcase, with the oil. 

If it's a slow leak, then you can close the fuel shutoff when you're done, and run the engine until it dies. This will use up the fuel that's in the carb, and also help stop any more from flowing to the carb between uses, as a short-term "fix". 

If you need to use the machine, you first need to drain all of the "oil". The level is probably too high, which could cause the spraying. But also, gas is a bad lubricant, so if you kept running it with gas in the oil, you could cause engine damage. So, close the fuel shutoff if it has one, drain the oil completely, and fill it with fresh oil. When you need to use it, check the oil level, and see if it smells like gas. Hopefully not. Open the fuel shutoff, clear your snow, close the fuel shutoff, and run it until the engine dies. Next time, do the same routine. 

This is a stop-gap, to try and let you use the machine if you need to, until you can get it fixed. It's likely that the carburetor needs to be cleaned, and maybe use a rebuild kit to allow replacing the needle-valve parts if needed. You could do this yourself, or take it somewhere. 

And if you want to do it yourself, there are plenty of people here willing to help.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Welcome to SBF! 

Time to roll-up your sleeves b/c i see a carb rebuild in your future there Tracey! 

Good job catching it in time and finding the "source" of the geyser. 

RedOctobyr hit all of the keypoints. It could be the carb float as well...swamped w/ fuel or even stuck to the bottom of the float bowl.


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Hey, Vinny, thanks for the heads-up on the photo issue. 

I'll try to get that squared away.


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Hi, RedOctobyr,

The fuel shutoff was closed when I first tried to start it today - so yes, I believe that I left it stored in the shutoff position. And when I ran it in October '17, it was fine. So I think I shut it down properly in January '17. 

The blower was spraying oil today as though a line had separated, so I'm going to do an oil change as you recommended. One question, though: it's bitterly cold here for the next 4-5 days. I'm *not* going to use the blower during that time. Will it hurt it to sit with possible gas in the oil reservoir (if that's the right term) for those 4-5 days? Or should I just go ahead and drain the oil tomorrow, and refill it with fresh oil? 

<sigh> OK, I'll confess: I'm a 63-year-old woman who just started riding motorcycles 3 years ago. With that came a certain degree of working on my bikes. I like doing my own maintenance...sort of. I like knowing how stuff works and fits together, but I'd rather just get out and use the blower/motorcycle. So yes, darn it, I will probably jump into a carb cleaning. But if I win this week's $550M lottery, then I won't. ;-)

Thanks for the great info, and to recap --- can I wait until it's a tad warmer to drain the oil? Or should I get on that right now? Not planning on using the blower at all until this issue is fixed. 

Thanks!


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Thanks, Classicat, standby for carb questions unless the Snowblower Fairy visits tonight and fixes my Ariens!


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Tracey, that's somewhat odd, then, to have gas in the oil, if you had the fuel line shut off during storage. 

Before you drain the oil, how is the oil level? Is it above the Full mark? If not, then maybe the gas in the oil isn't the cause of your spraying. It's still Bad, and would need to be addressed, but if the level isn't over-filled, then it likely wouldn't explain the spraying. 

It's fine to leave the gas in the oil if you're not running it, and it's just sitting around. No rush, drain it when you can. 

Maybe someone more familiar with your engine can confirm whether the rubber tube from the OHV valve cover is the breather tube. I had a generator with a rubber tube coming from the valve cover, I believe it went over to the air intake, behind the air filter. But I don't know if that tube was the same function as the breather tubes I'm familiar with on my Tecumseh snowblower engines (those tubes are open to the atmosphere, they just aim at the ground, only 1 end connects to the engine). Trying to think it through quickly, you may be able to accomplish the same breather function with a tube mounted on the valve cover.


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Thanks, RedOct, I'll wait for a few days before trying to change the oil.

OK, newbie question -- When I check the oil level, do I seat the dipstick fully into the engine or no? Reason I ask, one of my motorcycles is emphatic about *not* screwing the dipstick back into the case to check the level. 

Am working on trying to post the photos. 

Thanks!


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I don't know, sorry. As you alluded to, it can vary. The best bet is to check your manual. 

If you were just curious, as a start, I'd say screw the dipstick in. That would show the highest-possible level. If you did that, and it still wasn't above Full, then that would be interesting. 

But unless someone who knows that engine can chime in, I'd say take a look in the manual, and follow whatever they say. With your model and serial number, you can download manuals from Ariens for free, if needed.


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Uh-oh, I did it wrong -- they're small thumbnails. I believe they'll show OK when clicked on -- they are also out of order! sorry for the ineptitude. 

From top to bottom - black casing that I partially removed to peer inside; oil sprayed onto the snow; inside of the compartment just aft of the spark arrestor; the mysterious 'breather hose', perhaps?

Any tips on posting would be appreciated, too. I read the FAQ and still didn't do it right.


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Thanks, Red! I'll hit it tomorrow and see what I can come up with.


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

I've seen many fuel shutoffs not work, even a new one. And if your carb is level with the port into the engine and had a float problem, fuel could definitely seep in and fill the crankcase. On the old Tec engines, the intake port is 3 inches above so fuel would just pour out the carb.


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## dhazelton (Dec 8, 2014)

I agree that the fuel shutoff is not working properly and the fuel overfilled the crankcase and it just blew out of the breather assembly. Can you unhook the fuel supply line running into the carb and put it in a piece of larger tub running down into a glass jar? Leave your fuel lever in the OFF position and see what you get in that jar after a week or two. The needle/seat also probably has a bit of dirt preventing it from fully seating so a combination of things.

Most dipsticks need to be screwed in and seated EXCEPT for Honda (assuming you have a Honda bike) which specifically just is wiped down and seated against the hole without screwing it in.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Good idea with testing the fuel shutoff. You could even try to do just do this briefly, while sorting out the problem. Or it it's the off-season, sure, give it a while to drain into the jar. 

The fuel-shutoff valve shouldn't even be needed to prevent this problem. To get fuel in the crankcase, with a closed fuel-shutoff, the shutoff needs to be leaking, *and* the needle valve in the carb needs to be leaking. Or, as classiccat said, there needs to be some sort of problem with the float in the carb. But you usually need a combination of two problems to get fuel in the crankcase in this situation. Hopefully it's just bad luck, and fairly-easily resolved. 

A little more evaluation of the problem will help figure out a path forward. Like checking the oil level, checking for leaks through the fuel shutoff, etc. If the carb is part of the problem, it can likely be disassembled and cleaned/repaired. 

But if that's something you'd rather not get into, you might be able to just buy a replacement carb and shutoff for less than the cost of taking it to a shop. It depends on what you're willing to spend, and how much of the work you're interested in trying yourself.


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## jonnied12 (Jan 14, 2017)

Does this look like your setup?


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Well, I'm so embarrassed. I realized today that I have never, ever used the fuel shutoff on my snow blower. I am an idiot -- I was always putting the throttle control to stop. Why the heck I never thought to swing the red Fuel switch down, I don't know. <sigh> 

Hokay, so I did this to myself. I'm picking up the pieces of my shattered life and moving on. LOL

I drained the fluid out of the oil reservoir today -- 1/2 gallon of gas and oil. Toward the bottom of the drain pan, I could see metallic flakes. Hooboy, peachy.

Refilled the oil case with a quart of 5W-30 synthetic and the oil level is perfect now. I expect to change out the oil again to try and get any residual gas out.

Took the blower outside and tried to start it electrically -- no go. It made a terrible buzzing noise. The pull cord was locked and wouldn't budge, either.

Started Googling and found a post on reddit with a link to a YT video: 




(Grr, sorry, trying to embed the link rather than having the video display.)

My Ariens is making exactly the same noise. I suspect it's a bad starter, but I'm not sure why it would go bad all of a sudden. 

Thank you all for your input and advice. You were spot on about the gas in the oil case! And I learned a BIG lesson.


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Dhazelton, 

I'd like to give this a try! Thanks for the guidance. Great idea to see if there's a leak.

Thanks!


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Hi again, Red --

*But if that's something you'd rather not get into, you might be able to just buy a replacement carb and shutoff for less than the cost of taking it to a shop. It depends on what you're willing to spend, and how much of the work you're interested in trying yourself.
*
I'd like to take a shot and fixing this myself, actually. Taking it to a repair shop is always an option. So I'd like to try it first and save the $200 repair as a last resort. 

Y'all have been very helpful, thanks, guys!


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I'm glad you're at least learning more about the machine's situation, at least. 

It may have liquid gas in the cylinder, making it difficult to turn over. The liquid gas won't compress, unlike air, so the piston doesn't want to move. Remove the spark plug, and try pulling the starter cord. If it now turns, then pull it quickly several times. Watch out for the gas that might come splashing out of the spark plug hole. 

Then reinstall the plug, and try starting it. When done, close the fuel shutoff, and run the engine until it dies. This will get the fuel out of the carburetor. *Then* lower the throttle lever to the Off position. Even if it won't start, close the fuel shutoff before putting it away. 

Then let us know what you find.


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Thanks for the guidance, Red! I'm sidelined for 4-5 days now with work and will try your steps ASAP when I'm back home.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Hydrolock is pretty common when you either tip the engine over or have a carb leaking like that. The gas runs into the carb and then down into the cylinder and then locks the piston.

As was said earlier, remove the spark plug and pull it over several times. You might want to put a rag over the hole to catch the spray.

Be aware that if it does start after cleaning it out it might smoke quite a bit for a short while.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Just bear in mind that if there *is* liquid gas in the cylinder, even with the fuel shutoff now closed, that gas may leak past the piston rings. It will go down into the crankcase, re-contaminating your newly-changed oil. 

I'd check the "oil" level before actually starting it again, to see if that level is now too-high, and if it smells like gas again. If it does, the safest thing is to change the oil again. But before you do, remove the spark plug, and pull the cord several times to ensure that you've at least tried to remove any remaining liquid gas from the cylinder area. Then change the oil, then try starting it. 

And until getting the carburetor issue sorted out, shut it down every time by closing the fuel shutoff, and letting the engine run until it dies (takes a minute or so for my machine, depending on the throttle setting). That should avoid the risk of gas leaking through the carb, into the cylinder, then down into the crankcase, and into your oil. You will have used up the gas in the carburetor, and fuel shutoff will prevent additional gas from flowing. 

This is also the procedure you should use at the end of each season, it gets as much gas out of the carburetor as possible, to reduce the risk of degraded fuel gumming up the carb while the machine sits around. Fuel stabilizer, plus running the carb dry, is good practice when putting any engine away for, say, >1 month.


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## jonnied12 (Jan 14, 2017)

TraceyinVA said:


> I drained the fluid out of the oil reservoir today -- 1/2 gallon of gas and oil. Toward the bottom of the drain pan, I could see metallic flakes. Hooboy, peachy.
> 
> .


 Well the good thing about this is that all the contaminants were flushed out of the engine!:wink2:


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Update on the spewing oil issue!

Let me start by saying that you guys are the best! Thanks for being so generous and helpful with your suggestions and advice. 

OK, on to the show: I did as you all suggested -- I started by removing the spark plug.









I didn't see any oil or gas on the spark plug, just carbon deposits. I ran out to the parts store, grabbed a new one and a spare, gapped it, threw it in. 

Wah-lah, the previously locked pull cord now pulled just fine!

I pulled it through about 6-7 times, then hooked up the electrical cord.

I was thrilled to hear the starter sounding great! However, the engine never caught. I tried it a second time - same thing.

Decided to change the oil just in case there was still some gas in there. (The level looked OK.) Plus, I was out of ideas. :grin:

The color of the oil also looked fine, not deep brown/black like before.

Tried to fire it up again and - YAY, the engine caught without missing a beat! There was some impressive white smoke for a few seconds, but that quickly stopped. The engine was running smoothly.

I let it run for about 10 minutes, then turned the fuel to shut off. As y'all predicted, it took about a minute for the gas to run through and the motor to stop.

I left the fuel off and moved the throttle control to stop.

I am VERY happy! 

This doesn't answer or fix the potential issue of whether there's a leaky carburetor or a stuck float needle, does it? But at least I can move the blower onto a trailer if necessary under its own power to go to the repair shop. AND i think I can use it if we get any snow. I'll test it again tomorrow.

I'm hoping that maybe it's healed itself with the fresh oil/gas. Is that even remotely possible?

I do have two follow-on problems:

(1) I had a devil of a time getting the red choke knob off the plastic shaft. Finally decided to put a little more muscle into it, and it popped off. Now, I can't get it back on securely. It is way too loose. Any suggestions?

(2) After I buttoned everything up, there were two metal pieces that had fallen under the blower. They look like spacers of some sort, but I don't know exactly where they go. Maybe on the spark arrestor shield? 









Any ideas? TIA!


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## DriverRider (Nov 20, 2016)

There is a plastic shield which installs over the carb studs and I think those spacers belong in that plastic piece.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I'm glad you're making progress! 

I don't think changing the oil would have to do with it starting or not starting. Fresh gas could help, but only if the existing gas was really old. My guess is that it started after changing the oil primarily because you were simply making more attempts to start it, not because of the new oil. 

As you said, no, this does not answer or fix whether the carb is leaking, or has a needle valve problem. But it does give you a means to more-safely use the machine (without gas getting into the oil) for now, until you can address the carb question. 

And simply replacing carbs, with a ~$15-20 eBay carb, is becoming a more popular approach, vs spending a bunch of time troubleshooting and fixing the original carb. You could, as an option, look into a replacement carb, and keep the original one, either just in case you need it in the future, or to be able to work on it without timing pressure. 

1) My engine is older than yours, and a different brand (mine is a Tecumseh). My choke knob pulls off, and pushes on, though it takes a decent push for both. Maybe yours is similar? A picture of the choke lever where it attaches, and the back of knob, might help people better understand how they go together. 

2) I don't know, sorry, but at least DriverRider has some info.


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## deezlfan (Nov 8, 2017)

> (1) I had a devil of a time getting the red choke knob off the plastic shaft. Finally decided to put a little more muscle into it, and it popped off. Now, I can't get it back on securely. It is way too loose. Any suggestions?


Many of those choke knobs have a small metal clip inside the knob. Ill bet you lost yours.


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## Boston_Rob (Feb 24, 2017)

Nothing much to add here...the team is on point. Just wanted to chime in and give Tracy kudos for jumping ALL IN here and really kicking butt tackling this issue. Rob


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

DeezlFan,

_*Many of those choke knobs have a small metal clip inside the knob. Ill bet you lost yours.*_

Oh no! I'll look outside on the driveway tomorrow and see if I can find anything like that. 

Thanks for the heads-up!

UPDATE: Just now figured out how to fit the choke knob over the plastic shaft in the proper way. They popped together easily, the knob is solidly attached now. I don't think mine had any clip inside, but thanks for the idea, Deezl


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

Hi, Red!

*And simply replacing carbs, with a ~$15-20 eBay carb, is becoming a more popular approach, *

This sounds like a great option. I'll start looking on eBay.

*1) My engine is older than yours, and a different brand (mine is a Tecumseh). My choke knob pulls off, and pushes on, though it takes a decent push for both. Maybe yours is similar? A picture of the choke lever where it attaches, and the back of knob, might help people better understand how they go together. *

Well, whaddaya know...just now went back out to the garage and really looked at the underside of the choke knob. I realized that there's a fat end and a skinny end on the shaft. Oddly enough, the choke knob was shaped the same way....fit the two together and they popped on with a soul-satisfying _snick_. No brute strength necessary. LMAO. Thanks, Red!! Problem solved!

Now if I can get DriverRider to elaborate on the carb studs....


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

DriverRider,

Forgive my ignorance, but the carb studs...they're supposed to keep the carburetor secure against the manifold, right? 

Would the spacers have come off if I never loosened or touched the carb at all?

Just trying to figure out where they could have come from. 

Thanks --


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

DriverRider said:


> There is a plastic shield which installs over the carb studs and I think those spacers belong in that plastic piece.


Hey there, DriverRider ---

I think I may have found where those spacers belong. I took another look at the blower, and, based on what you said, I think they *have* to go on these two posts. 









(One spacer is installed on the left; the right one is without the spacer.)

If not, they sure fit as though they belong there! 

Thanks for the guidance!


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

OK, gents, I have a new issue that cropped up while buttoning up all the pieces. 

When I put everything back in place, taking care not to overtighten the thumb screws and the carb stud fasteners, and keeping equal pressure everywhere, I *still *end up having the lower case askew. Check it out:









I'm pretty sure it didn't look like this before I started working on it. Argggghhh.... It looks as though some plastic piece is being pinched or jammed up against another one. I cracked this open at least 3 times today, trying to fix it.

Any suggestions? Otherwise, I'm just going to keep futzing with it until I can get it to seat properly.

Thanks!


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Did you remove that shroud or those studs during the work that you did? In looking at the picture, I'm trying to figure out the purpose of the spacers/bushings, in that context. For the right-hand stud, the nut is still able to screw on far enough to tighten against the shroud, even without the spacer. 

The only thing I can think of that the left-hand spacer is accomplishing is making it so that you don't have the turn that nut as many times, to make it tight, and you wouldn't need to use a deep-well socket on it. But that doesn't seem like a massive benefit to me. 

I could see perhaps placing the spacers on the studs first, behind the shroud. Is the shroud being pushed back and bent by the fasteners? Or is it straight? 

If the shroud is straight and relaxed in its position, then ignore me. If it's being bent some, and moves when you loosen both fasteners, then maybe those spacers go behind the shroud. 

A parts diagram for the engine itself might also confirm where these go. Sorry if I'm over-thinking this.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

TraceyinVA said:


> OK, gents, I have a new issue that cropped up while buttoning up all the pieces.
> 
> When I put everything back in place, taking care not to overtighten the thumb screws and the carb stud fasteners, and keeping equal pressure everywhere, I *still *end up having the lower case askew. Check it out:
> ...
> Any suggestions? Otherwise, I'm just going to keep futzing with it until I can get it to seat properly.


I think we were both writing at the same time. But this may lend some weight to my last post. It's looking to me like those spacers go behind the shroud. Install the spacers on the studs, then slip the shroud over the studs, and see how it looks as you start to tighten the nuts.


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## TraceyinVA (Jan 4, 2018)

RedOctobyr said:


> I think we were both writing at the same time. But this may lend some weight to my last post. It's looking to me like those spacers go behind the shroud. Install the spacers on the studs, then slip the shroud over the studs, and see how it looks as you start to tighten the nuts.


Red, you were spot on! Your idea of the spacers belonging *behind* the shroud also answered a nagging question I had -- I was disturbed that I didn't see not one, but TWO metal pieces in front of me. How could I have dismantled the fasteners and not seen them? Well, I never expected a piece to be behind those posts - and I wasn't looking for them. So when I took the shroud off, one of them was dislodged and fell on the ground. The other one followed suit the next day. 

Another mystery solved! 

After reading your post tonight, I couldn't wait: I went out into the cold garage to reposition those spacers behind the shroud. 

Here's the before:








Here are the spacers in front of the spark arrestor, ultimately behind the shroud:









This is how the shroud looks with the spacers behind it:









I also just realized that the upper snow case has guide rails that fit over the black bottom. I don't think I had them seated correctly the previous times.








Here's the before picture, spacers on outside of shroud. The shroud is askew to a large degree.









And here's the after picture. It's still a little droopy, but I can live with it, unless you guys think it's too excessive?.









Red, that was a great tip! Thanks again!

UPDATE: I found the parts list for the snow blower and it looks as though I left the washers on the wrong side of the shroud. Total newbie mistake, but these diagrams are very helpful!


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