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Question -
I have a lawnboy two-stage snowblower. It is only two years old and it seems to have a hard time keeping up with a load. It wants to choke out. I have noticed that I have to keep the choke fully closed or it will not run at all. As soon as I touch the choke, it stalls, even after it is fully warmed up. The first year I had it, it worked like any other small engine. Full choke when cold, and then open choke as it warmed up. I pulled the cover off the carb and it looks clean but I sprayed the carb with jet spray Gumout anyway. I added an octane booster to a full tank of fresh gas and let it run for 15 minutes and that did nothing. I am open for any help I can get before I take to someone to have it fixed. I have no way of getting it to a service center because of the size of the thing and I am currently driving a Mustang, so that is never going to happen. I will have to rent a truck to take it in for service. Please help.
Thank You in advance for help you can provide.
Answer -
Most of these problems are carburetor related. Almost every blower that comes into the shop requires a good carb cleaning/rebuild.
Do you have any experience with simple carburertors?
Do you have some basic tools and access to an air compressor?
Finally, what brand of engine is on the blower?
Let me know.
Eric
It is a Tecumseh engine. Yes I have acces to tools and a compressor.
Yes I have rebuilt many carbs in my life, but never on a snowblower, always on cars. I have rebuilt 1, 2, and 4 barrel models on cars but on this little thing...I don't even know where to start. The idle mixture screw has a plastic plug over it and I don't even know how to get it out. Do you think just taking it apart and cleaning it will solve the probelm? I have no qualms about taking it off and taking it apart. I just thought maybe somebody out there knew a quick fix. The scary thing about this carb is the lack of any type of air filter. There is a metal cover over it, but there is no bottom to the cover and there is no filter to stop dirt from being sucked up into it. Since the blower is only 2 years old and maybe has been run 40 times, I just find it hard to believe that it needs a rebuild. But the lack of an air filter would explain that. Let me know what you think, and thank you for responding.
Mark
AnswerWHAT, you lost the air filter? Just kidding...snowblowers do not have air filters...at least I have never saw one with a filter.
I'm guessing from the size of the snowblower that it has a float style carb similar to a 1 barrel auto carb. Tecumseh carburetors are very sensitive to any dirt/devris in the carb. Since you have some experience will try a quick fix first. If you a float bowl style carb, remove the float bowl nut located on the bottom of the carb. This will allow you to remove the float bowl. Be careful removing the float bowl; one side of the bowl is slighlty shorter than the other. The shorter side faces the inlet needle valve side of the carb.
With the bowl and nut removed you can clean these two parts. There is at least one or maybe 2 small holes in the nut, this is the high speed jet and the carb draws fuel up these holes.
I would also blow out the carb orfices in the carb throat. They're easy to get to and allow air to enter the float bowl and other carb circuits. You can also blow out the main fuel pickup tube where the float bowl nut goes.
This should get it running. If not then the carb may have to be soaked.
FYI, keep an eye on the inlet needle valve seat. The inlet needle seat is viton, rubber, and is prone to getting stiff and brittle. When is the seat gets brittle the inlet needle will leak and gas will enter the engine oil. The seat and needle are very easy to replace if you need to. You can use a small pick or compressed air to remove the seat. To install a new seat just spray some lubricant in the hole, install the new seat GROOVE down and push it in with a flat punch or Briggs point plunger.
Let me know if this works. It's sounds like a long process but should only take about 15 minutes to do.
As for the idle mixture screw I'd recommend leaving it alone unless all else fails.
I'd like to know if this fixes the problem.
Eric
