# Older (1997?) MTD snowblower with HMSK80



## xxdcmast (Feb 11, 2015)

So I have an older MTD snowblower with a Tecumseh HMSK80 engine on it. My parents and I have been using this snow blower for what seems like 15 years if not longer. 

Lately this snow blower has begun to show its age with some harder starts, seems a little less reliable when running etc. Small problems nothing too major. Yesterday I think the start motor seized in the extended position and then my father tried pull starting it breaking some teeth on the starter motor and breaking the pull chord. 

I was able to repair the pull start with the help of some youtube videos to get it back running again but now I have a few questions. 

I am planning on buying a replacement starter motor and already have a new carb to put on this snowblower. If I replace the motor and carb am i right in my assumptions that this should be a reliable snowblower?

I have already purchased an ariens deluxe 28 so this will be a secondary snow blower but I would still like it to be reliable for use. I have seen some snowblowers that are much older and still running. I just want to see if there is anything else I should be doing to keep this snow blower working well.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Welcome to SBF!!!

I have 3 tecumseh engines dating back to '72...that I brought back from the assumed-dead...and have plenty of life left in them as long as they are cared for. They are very simple engine designs but they do require some tlc.

A few tips that immediately come to kind:
-Familiarize yourself with the tecumseh l-head service manual.
-Install a tach and keep RPMs below 3600. 
-Use fresh fuel...preferably ethanol free. 
-Treat the fuel with 1% sea foam to minimize carbon deposits. 
-Replace the fuel line
-Install a fuel filter and fuel shutoff
-I run my tecs dry every time...you never know when it will be called to action again. 
-Maintain oil levels; check before every use.
-Change the oil once / season....or more frequently for heavy use.
-Check the torque on the head and crankcase bolts.
-Check compression. 
-Pull the valve cover and check clearances.
-Inspect/check spark plug.
-Winterize; fog cylinder and intake at the end of the season & drain the fuel completely.

The first thing I do with an old, tired engine is check compression, pull the head (regardless of compression) to do a thorough decarb and valve job, check the bore / piston and install a new head gasket.

I dont know much about that blower...im sure someone will swing by to help with that!


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

It's not that old.
Sid


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## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

I totally agree with classicat's excellent recommendations on a future maintenance schedule. Adding a new starter and carb will certainly add to future reliability, but as we all know, anything made by man could last one day or a hundred years. 

Here is a copy of the Tecumseh flat head service manual to help with current and future maintenance chores.

http://www.barrettsmallengine.com/manual/tecumsehlheadmanual.pdf


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Sid said:


> It's not that old.
> Sid


For a '97 MTD, it is.

Scot


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## HJames (Oct 28, 2013)

sscotsman said:


> Sid said:
> 
> 
> > It's not that old.
> ...


17 years is 17 years period!!!


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

HJames said:


> 17 years is 17 years period!!!


Yes it is..but we aren't talking about 17 years in a vaccum, unrealated to anything else.
For a house cat, 17 years is old.
Same with a 1997 MTD.

For a person, 17 years is not old.
If were talking about a 1980 MTD, 17 years would not be old.


So sure, you can say "17 years is 17 years"..but without any context, its a meaningless statement. 

Scot


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

Very Good engine maintenance recommendations by Classiccat.

Recoils break over time. That is normal wear and tear. If you use synthetic oil you will have a better chance of staring on a cold day if the E-start is not working. Plus you get the other benefits of Synthetic.

If the machine is relatively rust free and the bearings are sound you are likely good to go.

You may need to change out the belts and rubber friction disk but they are not expensive and you can do it yourself. Springs tend to rust over time and can break. I have seen this on expensive Ariens as well as cheaper models in the MTD family. Again they are cheap and replace them if they look suspect.

Post some pics of the machine.


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## HJames (Oct 28, 2013)

sscotsman said:


> HJames said:
> 
> 
> > 17 years is 17 years period!!!
> ...


The context is snowblowers and they age in years just the same, if not why call one old and another new? I have an older Ariens of 1968 vintage and a newer MTD of 1999 vintage. The Ariens is considerably older than the MTD. In the context of snowblowers 17 years is not old, but 34 would be.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

HJames said:


> The context is snowblowers and they age in years just the same, if not why call one old and another new? I have an older Ariens of 1968 vintage and a newer MTD of 1999 vintage. The Ariens is considerably older than the MTD. In the context of snowblowers 17 years is not old, but 34 would be.


Ah..now I see..you totally didn't get my original point! 

Generally speaking, a '97 MTD is much older than a 1980 MTD, when it comes to overall expected average lifespan. Because not all snowblowers age the same..because they are not all equal in build quality when new.

17 years is not 17 years..some 17 year old snowblowers are very young, other 17 year old snowblowers are very old..depends on who built them, and when.

That is what I meant by "for a '97 MTD, it is."

Scot


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## HJames (Oct 28, 2013)

I understood your point, I just don't share you point of view. While people can be brand bias, age is a measurement of time and thus knows no bias.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Reality disagrees...but ok.


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## HJames (Oct 28, 2013)

Others real world results vary from your reality. Including my own. I could take your word for it, or believe my own eyes.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Others real world results vary from your reality. Including my own. I could take your word for it, or believe my own eyes.


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## HJames (Oct 28, 2013)

sscotsman said:


> Reality disagrees...but ok.


You continously convolute your "opinion" with reality on this forum. I understand that you believe MTD is an inferior brand, I have not seen any indication that you have ever used or have experience with an MTD snowblower, so your opinion lacks real world experience. You have no "factual" basis to make the claims you do about the durability of MTD snowblowers, only opinion and conjecture. You are very knowledgable when speaking to Ariens snowblowers, always citing documents and facts. Show me the documents and facts to support your MTD claims.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

HJames said:


> You continously convolute your "opinion" with reality on this forum. I understand that you believe MTD is an inferior brand, I have not seen any indication that you have ever used or have experience with an MTD snowblower, so your opinion lacks real world experience. You have no "factual" basis to make the claims you do about the durability of MTD snowblowers, only opinion and conjecture. You are very knowledgable when speaking to Ariens snowblowers, always citing documents and facts. Show me the documents and facts to support your MTD claims.







and yes, I do have direct experience with MTD, with lawn tractors/mowers.
a 10 year old MTD tractor is a far inferior machine to a 50 year old Wheel Horse tractor. 

Other facts to support my claims are: 6 years of reading every thread on this forum. Its simply an undeniable fact that MTD's are not built as well as other brands, everyone (well, almost everyone) understands this.

Scot


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## ELaw (Feb 4, 2015)

HJames said:


> age is a measurement of time and thus knows no bias.


Uh... in the context of the post you were originally responding to... no.

You objected to the use of the word "old" in describing the age of various machines. The word "old" is subjective and is not a "measurement of time" - it's a measurement of perception which can vary depending on the person and the context. "17 years" is an objective measurement of time.


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## ELaw (Feb 4, 2015)

sscotsman said:


> For a house cat, 17 years is old.
> Same with a 1997 MTD.
> 
> For a person, 17 years is not old.
> If were talking about a 1980 MTD, 17 years would not be old.


Are you trying to imply that 35 years ago, MTD machines were built well? 

Around 1980 (+/- a year or two) my best friend's parents bought an MTD snowblower. At the time I owned an Ariens that was built in 1962. I acquired it around 1979 and owned it until 1996.

That MTD had more problems in its first two years than the Ariens did the entire time I owned it. In fact I think by year 4, my friend's family had given up on the MTD and hired someone to plow their driveway.

The old Ariens I gave to a neighbor when I inherited a much newer one, and as far as I know it's still going.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

ELaw said:


> Are you trying to imply that 35 years ago, MTD machines were built well?


"Built well" is subjective! 
I was however implying that 35 years ago MTD's were built significantly "better" than they were 17 years ago..many many posts here, and all over the internet, over the years strongly support that conclusion..

There is no doubt that many brands, MTD being the most obvious (but not limited to MTD, some would say it also applies to Ariens, Toro, and other brands) began a serious decline in build quality corresponding with the rise of Walmart and the Big Boxes..exactly when that happened is subjective..some say mid-1980's, some say mid 1990's..it was a gradual process, took about a decade, perhaps two..I would say it mostly happened during the 1990's..regardless of the exact timeline, there is little doubt that a year 2000, or current, MTD is not at all the same quality as a 1980 MTD..there was a definite decline during the 20 year span of the 80's and 90's..many would say, and I agree, that we are still in the middle of that decline today..its still happening.

Scot


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Toro-8-2-4 said:


> Very Good engine maintenance recommendations by Classiccat.
> 
> Recoils break over time. That is normal wear and tear. If you use synthetic oil you will have a better chance of staring on a cold day if the E-start is not working. Plus you get the other benefits of Synthetic.
> 
> ...


With the exception of the above post, not much content in this thread helps the OP with maintaining his snowthrower.

A few things additional tips for keeping the machine operational for many years to come: 
- treat rust with a wire-brush, primer & topcoat...preferably as close to the machine as possible...if color doesn't match, it gives the machine character 
- ! Check the auger's ability to shear the shear-bolt when an obstruction is encountered: remove the shear bolts and try to rotate the auger on the auger shaft. If it doesn't rotate on the auger shaft, then check back; you may have a project on your hands. Not attending to a seized auger / shaft can lead to a damaged gearbox.
- After each snowblowing session, try to get as much snow off of the machine before putting back into storage. I'm fortunate enough to have a garage that stays just above freezing...so I'm able to pull it in, allow the snow/ice to melt, then blow off the machines with an electric leave blower & spray with WD40. 
- Also prop-up the wheels to allow the impeller housing to drain when the snow melts...you don't want melted snow to re-freeze in there.
- !Keep the skids adjusted. If your area is flat, set the skids so that the scraper bar is 1/8" off of the ground...many use a paint stick; I use metal stock. If it's an uneven surface and/or gravel...even more clearance is needed.
- Go around the machine and tighten all of the bolts; loose bolts can lead to stress cracks on the machine due to concentrated stresses. If you already have stress cracks, get them welded. 
- Install an impeller kit for to reduce/eliminate clogging and increase throwing distance.
- Maintain tire pressure with what's recommended on the tire sidewall; make sure both tires have the same pressure.
- clean-up any old/crusty grease in the traction assembly & relube with low-temp synthetic grease; try not to get any on the friction disk or plates. (SBF thread here)


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## mister bob (Nov 14, 2017)

my mtd hmsk80 was bought 7/18/94 and is still running got it at Walmart in dicksoncity ,pa. going to have to put new tires on this year or may be just put new tubs in the tires

bob


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## Ballroomblitz (Nov 20, 2015)

I have a sister machine with a 30" swath of same vintage with Tecumseh HMSK100 engine, it's a loud beast of a machine but still going extremely strong after many years of service and having been thrown to the curbside by a previous owner three years ago.


I changed out the electric starter and carburetor, oil change, spark plug...fixed as few minor items like the light and general lubrication on all the moving parts, replaced 1 inner tube, calibrated RPM, etc. Checked all the belts and replaced missing parts seeing the previous owner went a little overboard prior to discarding....expect to be running well into my retirement and that is 15 years away....lol.


I say go for it if you enjoy tinkering with older machines, most of us put so few hours on the engines year to year they can last quite a while and still provide great service. I recommend always running ethanol free gasoline and running all the ga out of the machine before storing for the summer, ethanol seems to be a killer and gums up the carburators and that is where a lot of problems seem to reside. Once they have problems starting people kill the electric starters seeing the engine will not kick over, and things go south from there. On my machine I don't even use the electric starter it kicks over first time every time single pull, hardly worth taking the 30 seconds to run the extension cord.


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