Snowblower Problem ?

[Robert11]

Hello:

Have a practically brand new Ariens snow blower with a Tecumseh engine. Used just a few times last year; worked perfectly. Having a bit of trouble this year. First time used this year, as we haven't had any snow to talk about.

Starts right up, runs just fine for 5 to perhaps 8 minutes, and then stops. Easy to start again, then same thing: 5-8 minutes, and stops. And again.

Not clogged. New gas.

Doubt that it needs a new plug, as it's been used probably no more than half a dozen times since bought. Think it can be gummed up already ?

Anyway was wondering if this "runs and then stops" symptom, for all you engine experts out there, might suggest what is wrong ?

Thanks, Bob

[professorpaul]

For starters, clean the spark plug. You generally don't need a new one except maybe every three seasons.

If you didn't run the blower engine dry at the end of the season, you left gas in the carb, which is likely the problem Drop the fuel bowl, clean it out with carb cleaner (spray can, any auto store). That should do it. Also, check the air filter, if there is one.

[Rich256]

Then, if you are in an area where they use ethanol drain all the gas and run the carb dry at the end of the season. Don't depend on stabil as the ethanol attracts water.

[SJF]

Possibly a plugged gas tank vent. However, if the engine starts up well immediately after a stall, the logic for this analysis fails. With a time lapse after the stall, an incomplete blockage might pass enough air to permit another run cycle.

SJF

SJF

[Charlie Morgan]

Many of those units have a fuel shut off valve. It's possible that your's is almost but not totally closed. Enough gas trickles by to slowly fill the float chamber, but not enough to maintain operation. he engine runs until the float chamber runs dry. You wait a while and the chamber refills to run another few minutes.

CWM

[greg6755]

I had the same situation with a lawn mower.

Except it would run for only 10 seconds or so before stopping.

As it turns out there was a crack in the rubber fuel line which opened only when the engine was taking on gas letting air in and causing it to stall.

When it stopped running the crack closed back up and the engine would restart with ease only to stop again moments later.

You may want to check that as well.

[Taylor]

Cracks in rubber and seals becoming brittle in the fuel system can be caused by ethanol. Thanks to the MTBE opposition and last year's switchover to ethanol blending with gasoline in many areas, a lot of snow blowers are just now seeing their first longer term exposure to more corrosive ethanol.

I used to store my equipment with the gas tanks full and stabilized, but it will probably be better now to leave them empty. Ethanol corrodes things it touches and absorbs moisture, both of which are bad news for fuel systems.

[Larry and a Cat named Dub]

[Rich256]

I question if the glass bowl would show water with ethanol. The damn stuff mixes with it and becomes very corrosive. In my area we have had ethanol for 10 or 16 years. They outlawed MTBE many years ago after detecting high levels in the rivers. And as I said before all the stations now use it all year because they can sell it cheaper.

I just checked my blower manual ( Tecumseh engine) and it indeed specifies that all gas using ethanol should be drained at the end of the season.

[mm]

The bowl itself can be dirty and cause problems?

I would think it would be the jets, which are small.

Versus the bowl which is big, and where the new clean gasoline only sits on top of any dirty residue for a few minutes until it goes into the cylinders. Can new clean gas dissolve the dried up crud in the bottom of the bowl? I would think not, or we wouldn't need carburetor cleaner.

[Husky]

Assuming you are correct that the failure was not oil related, the only other reason a Tecumseh will throw a rod that violently is governor failure or override. The usual cause of governor failure is gum and varnish in the carburetor from stale fuel.

Good luck finding a glass bowl. You'd be better to find a filter with a clear housing, such as the 65 micron one from Briggs and Stratton, or the replacement for the Tecumseh 34279B offered by Rotary aftermarket parts which is the same filter material in a clear housing instead of opaque grey (like Tecumseh used to use).

[spamTHISbrp]

You can have loose crud in the bowl that gets swirled around, then at some point it gets sucked against one of the jets, engine dies. Crud chunk is big enough it doesn't get stuck in the jet, it just falls off and waits for its chance to do a repeat performance.

Dave

[Larry and a Cat named Dub]

[mm]

OK. Thanks. I'll have to look for that when it seems relevant.

P&M