# 1970 Ariens H70 snowblower question



## AriensH70 (Aug 5, 2013)

I have an old Ariens H70-130158A snow blower that stopped working last winter. It would start but when I put it under load, it would stall. I started it again and after sitting for a few seconds it would stall again. I'm in the process of changing the carb and the fuel line. My question is should I continue to change the carb or put it out to pasture? It is over 40 years old.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

First thing to know is H70 is the Tecumseh number from the engine and not the number for the snow blower.

That being said I would keep it. The interlocking controls, heavy weight for traction and locking differential for turning on those machines are great features you will not be finding on anything modern. Ok, so they do have locking controls and some of the more expensive ones do still have some kind of turning assists, but you still won't find the shear weight and that helps with traction.

First thing to check is the gas cap. Old gas caps had a defective design and when they broke they would create a vacuum which would starve the engine for fuel. Look to see if your gas cap still has a dish on it. The test is just to run the engine with the gas cap off / loose.

Fuel lines rot from the inside, swell up and shed little pieces of rubber to plug things up. Look on youtube for carb cleaning videos as just getting a can of carb cleaner and a couple gaskets would be cheaper than a new carb. Take the bowl off yours and evaluate the internals before buying parts.

It does sound like a carb problem, but it could also be a compression problem. Old worn vales could be leaking, they could be loose, the piston rings could be worn out or the cylinder walls could be scratched.

One other alternative you you is to go with one of those $100 Harbor Freight engines. There are some purists here that will yell at you for putting a Chinese engine on an American blower, but they are hard to beat for the price. They are marketed as 6.5 or 7 HP and have lots of torque. They are much quieter than the old engine and start much easier. If you have surging issues and they don't run smooth you might need to open the jets slightly.

Another improvement you can make for your old blower is new tires. There is the X-Trac design and the Snow-Hog design. Either one would probably be much better than the old turf tires and chains those originally had. I have heard X-Tracs are the better ones, but I have Snow-Hogs.

The last improvement you can do is an impeller mod kit. This will bolt pieces of rubber to the impeller and basically prevent jams while also giving you a little bit more distance on your discharge.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

If rough running and stalling is its only problem, it definitely is *not* ready to be put out to Pasture! you would need to spend $800 to $1000 to buy a new machine that would be as good as your 40 year old snowblower..(and most brand-new $500 snowblowers are much *lower* quality than your 40 year old snowblower..even when factoring in the age difference.) (yes, I am saying your 40 year old ariens is, *right now*, in its 40 year old state, a *much* better machine than most "low end" brand-new snowblowers..)..so, its worth fixing! 

My 1971 Ariens, with original Tecumseh engine, also had carb issues..I was afraid of taking the bowl off and taking the carb apart for cleaning, because I had never done it before, had no clue what I was doing, and I was afraid of messing it up further!  but last winter I finally "went for it" and did it..and im glad im did! its running much better now! the carb just needed a good cleaning..here is my carb story, on another forum:

Carb rebuild on a Tecumseh - Engines - RedSquare Wheel Horse Forum

Scot


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## AriensH70 (Aug 5, 2013)

Thanks for the tips. I picked up a new carb and a new fuel line. I checked the belt and saw that it was almost broke in half. I ordered that and a new muffler. The fuel cap looks worn so I'm going to find one of those. Hopefully after all of that I can get it running again. The true test will be the first storm of the season.


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## toydrone (Jul 31, 2013)

AriensH70,

Would be interested in your future progress with the fix. I picked up a 1969-70' Ariens for $10 on Craigslist a few weeks back so this thread might prove helpful at some point.


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## Simplicity Solid 22 (Nov 27, 2012)

Shyrp, will AriensH70 have to make any mods to a Harbor Freight....say pulley or controls??? AriensH70 most on here will not yell at you we will just make sure you know both sides....haha. Both engines have their pluses and are welcome.

Shyrp, I learned my lesson the hard way teasing people with Chinese engines. To each his own from here on out! Unless I hear Tec's being insulted over and over then I will defend. heh heh.


AriensH70 I would save the original carb as well if it is the original....probably has a lot of adjustments on it which is nice which the newer carbs do not have and a good cleaning will make it like new again. Go to have a back up carb always.


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## Ray 1962 10ML60 (Oct 14, 2011)

*fuel starvation?*

Just a thought cause I had a similar problem last year...my H60 would run then want to die out after a few minutes, then run fine and want to die again. I had the bowl nut too tight and it seemed to restrict the amount of fuel in the bowl. I backed it off a little and its been running beautiful since...


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Simplicity Solid 22 said:


> Shyrp, will AriensH70 have to make any mods to a Harbor Freight....say pulley or controls??? AriensH70 most on here will not yell at you we will just make sure you know both sides....haha. Both engines have their pluses and are welcome.
> 
> Shyrp, I learned my lesson the hard way teasing people with Chinese engines. To each his own from here on out! Unless I hear Tec's being insulted over and over then I will defend. heh heh.
> 
> ...


I believe the engine would bolt right on with no issues. He will probably have to knock the studs out of the frame and use longer bolts and then possible move the chute crank a little. He should be able to use the old pulley as well if he can get it off.


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## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

A tune up wouldn't hurt either. Especially points and condensor. Who knows when they were done last.


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

As to tune ups I would always put in a new spark plug every year and clean the carburetor on my old Tecumseh 5hp powered MTD 5/22 and when it was cold it could still be difficult to start. I replaced my engine last year with a Harbor freight Predator 212cc OHV engine and I could not be more pleased with the new engine. It always starts on 1 to 2 pulls and runs quietly and smoothly and it has tons of torque and with the impeller mod it will throw snow 40 feet or more. Since the Predator 212cc is a single shaft engine it was a bit more work to make it work well in my snow blower since the old engine has 2 shafts. I still have the old engine sitting on my garage floor and it still runs but not as nice as the Predator 212cc. As to replacing the points it may help it to run better but there is a reason why Breaker points were replaced with electronic ignitions in the 1980's. I much prefer modern engines to older engines because they tend to be more fuel efficient OHV or even OHC designs and they are much easier to start than the old flat head Tecumseh's and the Tecumseh's were notorious for breaking connecting rods under heavy loads such as when blowing deep wet snow especially on the 7hp engines.


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## rhixon (Feb 16, 2014)

Read this on a number of forums and its seems this is a common theme with H-50 and H-70 Tecumsehs.

Put a carb kit in mine this fall and it blew through last weeks 13" of cold dry powder like a champ.

This weeks 18 - 24" of heavy wet snow has been a problem. The old Ariens attacks and chews threw it like a champ at first, but after about 10 minutes facing into the wet discharge it begins backfiring with blue flame from the muffler.

So I am pondering whether this is not enough fuel, or perhaps the effect of the wet snow plume on the intake? I read with interest on another forum mention of an intake baffle plate, mine doesn't have one, but I was contemplating fabricating one- does anyone with an Ariens or TEC H50 have an intake baffle plate, and does that prevent this problem?

Slainte,
Rick


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

Do you not have a carb cover? It serves 2 purposes. It shrouds the carb and muffler together so the carb will pull warm air in. It also keeps snow out of the carb. Without it, you may get icing.


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## rhixon (Feb 16, 2014)

Thanks NT. Yes do have the sheet metal shroud in place but with the opening for the choke lever and gap around muffler there's opportunity for snow intake when a wind gust directs it onto the machine. Not on my machine or none I have seen is there anything under the shroud between it and the carb intake.


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

I would start by looking into spark. I'd clean up the plug wire and wax it or something to keep the water from being a problem. Backfiring isn't usually a mixture issue. Too rich and it will sputter and blow black, too lean and it'll stall.


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## rhixon (Feb 16, 2014)

Yes I'll follow this up; when this problem occurs the top of the engine is covered with water; the blue flame out the exhaust may not be too lean but an overrich mixture caused and then ignited by the weak or intermittent spark.


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## motorhead64 (Dec 15, 2013)

I find the H70 Tecumseh engines among the finest ever built. Properly tuned and lubricated, they will give a lifetime of service. Most of the 10000 series Ariens with H70's are pushing 40 years old. They are still everywhere in New England and running strong. Like all Tecumsehs, the carburetors need to be cared for. And you must check your valve lash yearly and use a fresh spark plug. I just sold one that started on one pull and ran flawlessly...on its second blower. If you have 65 lbs of compression or better, they are always worth saving. MH


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

Try putting something over the top to keep the plug/wire dry and see if it runs good. That'll kind of nail down the cause.


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## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

It sounds like you could have an exhaust valve that needs the clearance adjusted. The exhaust valve will expand from engine heat to the point of not sealing and spitting flames out the muffler. Remove the carb, pull off the breather cover and check both valves with a feeler gauge. Intake should be .004 thousandths?, exhaust should be .008 thousandths? I just did the exhaust valve on a HSSK-50 that needed .007 filed off the stem to reach proper spec.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

For clarification that is .004" and .008" or 4 thousandths of an inch and 8 thousandths of a inch. 

.004 thousandths would be pretty tiny. :O


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## Mr Fixit (Nov 19, 2013)

Flywheel/fan push incredible amounts of air through the fins of the block/head to keep it cool during heavy work. If it sucks air around the recoil, it sucks flying snow. The snow hits the head, turns to a fine hot water vapor. It can continue into the carburetor (cold) air intake it can turn to ice. If vapor gets in the cylinder possible misfiring.
That water vapor also wraps/flows around the high voltage ignition wire. Any defect there can cause fail or weak spark. 
Some machines are very prone to quit is any snow flies by the recoil. A hot engine has less effect I found. A cotton shroud filters incoming air.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Shryp said:


> For clarification that is .004" and .008" or 4 thousandths of an inch and 8 thousandths of a inch.
> 
> .004 thousandths would be pretty tiny. :O


That would be 4 millionths of an inch..about 1/4000 the thickness of a piece of paper..

Scot


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## rhixon (Feb 16, 2014)

I have the carb off so will check the valve clearances while I'm at it. How did you make the cotton shroud? Not much clearance between carb opening and inside of metal shroud.


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## rhixon (Feb 16, 2014)

I realize this is a very old thread but as I am still using the machine in question I would update that it has run like a champ since the magneto unit was replaced.


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

Thank you for the update


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