Any small engine gurus out there?

[aebsledder]

So I bought a snowblower from a guy who got it as a wedding present and never used it. It looks brand new out of the box. Only problem is that it hasn't been started in about 2 years and won't start. I am getting a new spark plug, it has new gas and oil, I checked the fuel line to see that it wasn't clogged. What am I missing? Maybe take the carburetor off and clean it? I figure it has to be something simple.
Thanks

 

[woodzy]

clean that carb, bet it's just bad fuel.

 

[Motley Doo]

Go through the carb, what kind of motor is it running? Briggs? Kohler? etc...

Regardless, all those carbs are about the most basic fuel mixers built, just blow out all the circuits and check all the gaskets/diaphragm.

 

[aebsledder]

Tecumseh

It's a tecumseh motor. I took apart the carb and noticed there was a bunch of gunk in the bowl so I cleaned that out with some carb cleaner. I also cleaned the needle and sprayed some carb cleaner in the there as well. The motor runs when I spray carb cleaner directly into the cylinder, so it must be the carb I am thinking. I will keep tinkering with it till it's fixed. Hopefully.

 

[woodzy]

fuel line full of gunk?? fuel filter?

 

[Boondock]

Better send a PM to Gimpster! He is the small engine master!

 

[snowbunny chaser]

fuel line full of gunk?? fuel filter?

he siad he checked the fuel lines but nothing about the filter. I would check that filter if not already done.

 

[Snowizard]

on those tecumseh sno blower engines its common to have the adjustable needle jet that protrudes from the borrom of the carb to get crud and sedement stuck in the passage.

Unscrew it with the larger nut around it.
The carb bowl will now come off too.
Careful not to have the float needle drop out.

Uncscrew the needle from the retainer nut. Clean out passages.

Reassemble, set the jet about 1-turn open from closed down tight.
It should start.
Adjust needle +/- 1/4 turn when engine is running for best performance.

Seems almost annual problem on mine despite draining fuel in the spring.

 

[Greg B.]

the damn EPA has those things running so lean its sick. what you need to do is run a wire though every little hole you can find. any little piece of varnish or dirt will cause that thing to surge or not run at all. with it been sitting for that long it you maybe better off buying a carb rebuild kit.

 

[Sambo11]

I'm sure this isn't your problem but it could be worth checking. I had a similar issue on a Honda.

The cables were out of adjustment enough to not allow the choke to come on when it was cold. I reached down held the choke on and it fired up first pull after I had pulled my arm off trying to get it to start.

 

[aebsledder]

Thanks for all the responses

Wow,
Like I said above, thank you for all the responses. It just proves the point that I have been telling my GF for a while. You can find out almost anything you need to know on the Snowest forum. Still good to see some people hanging around amidst all the forum turmoil. I will heat up my garage again tomorrow to do some more battle with that thing. I found a whole new carb on e bay for about 35 bucks, so if worse comes to worse I will try that out.

 

[Jaynelson]

on those tecumseh sno blower engines its common to have the adjustable needle jet that protrudes from the borrom of the carb to get crud and sedement stuck in the passage.

Unscrew it with the larger nut around it.
The carb bowl will now come off too.
Careful not to have the float needle drop out.

Uncscrew the needle from the retainer nut. Clean out passages.

Reassemble, set the jet about 1-turn open from closed down tight.
It should start.
Adjust needle +/- 1/4 turn when engine is running for best performance.

Seems almost annual problem on mine despite draining fuel in the spring.

Yup, same deal on my old craftsman blower with the same motor. I am anal about fuel stabilizer and all that....but pretty much have to do that exact procedure with the same needle every year.

 

[aebsledder]

Other than the engine, how does the blower work overall? I figured for seventy five bucks I couln't go wrong.

 

[Snowizard]

Other than the engine, how does the blower work overall? I figured for seventy five bucks I couln't go wrong.

My machine is a MTD with the 8HP Tecumseh, I bought in 1991. Still works just fine. Done nothing to it other than oil changes, and the occacional carb problem mentioned.

Regardless of brand name, most walk behind snow blowers are all pretty much the same.

 

[polarisrmk800]

Take the carb off and all apart and soak it in a can of carb dip it will eat out all the varnish then put a 6 dollar carb kit in so you have a new needle, and gaskets. On some of those carbs there is a little plastic plug for the low speed jet on the side of the carb remove the plug and unscrew the jet and clean and on some the bolt to hold the carb bowl on has a built in jet so look very closley on the threads of the bolt you may find a small hole plugged with varnish.