Well, Since I am not an engine mechanic and all the 'easy' stuff didn't work, I loaded the snowblower into my van and took it to the "hospital". They think that the carborator will need to be rebuilt and it should cost less than $100, and take a week.
Thanks for all your ideas both the sensible and the funny.
All they will do is remove the bowl and clean the jets
From Mel & Donnie in Bluebird Valley
If they have him convinced it has to be "rebuilt" (I laugh at that term) they will charge him for the kit - maybe replace the needle valve, gasket and an O ring.
Yep, that's all they did. Drained the gas and put new in.
All for less than 50 bucks.
And it took less than a day too!!
Well, it didn't have to be rebuilt. They did in less than a day what I don't know how to do. I am usually a DIY, but not with gas engines.
And what would have happened if I broke it more?
Wait a moment. That came out wrong. The did remove the bowl and cleaned the jets and drained the gas and put in new. Whew!
Absolutely - you did the right thing. A carburetor is not something to experiment with without some "training". Very easy to do damage or lose a small part - or tighten something too hard. But a small engine carb is very simple for someone with a little experience. There are only a few parts that can be cleaned or replaced and only a few passages where gas flows that need to be cleaned / blown out. And only one moving mechanism - the float and it's needle valve. Getting the carb off the machine is half the job - once off it's only about an hour to take it apart, clean it, and get it back together. (unless it's 20 years old and needs to be soaked in carb cleaner overnight). It sounds like in this case they didn't even have to take it off the machine.
Plus the butterfly valve, choke or primer bulb.
I agree, but I didn't want to chance it.
Thanks again for your insight.
That in itself, is important. I worked in an Aircraft Instrument Repair Shop and setting aside the "can do" attitude to really understand one's own limits took me a while to figure out.
Thanks for the compliment. It's not like I am not mechanically inclined or anything. I have taken model steam engines apart and repaired and rebuilt them. I was just hesitant about something that could do me great harm if I screwed up.
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