Warmed engine dies on snowblower

Hi!

I have a Sears Snowblower that is a Sears Craftsman "3/20". I'm not sure how old it is, but I found a picture of it here...

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My problem with it is that it starts up fine, and it runs fine, up until about 30 minutes into snowblowing. At this point, the engine then dies out. I try to start it again, no luck. So, I prime it once or twice, pull the rope, and it starts back up again. But as soon as I let it go into some snow, it dies again.

Just wondering if anybody had any ideas. I *THINK* that it might be a choke problem, but don't know for sure. I use it with the choke

3/4's of the way closed. If I flip the choke all the way to "Off", the engine dies out. But if I leave it one notch above "Off", it works fine...well, up until the 30 minute mark.

Thanks!

Reply to
wiz561
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Hmm classic hot engine failures are generally related to a bad coil and then once cooled it restarts easily BUT first check to see that there is no water in the fuel system.

Reply to
beecrofter

So it dies under a load? i.e., when you force it to work again? it could very well be a fuel problem, if it needs to be primed to start again even though it is warm. I'd try and clean the carb out as best I could. Also check to see if the air filter is clean.

Dave

Reply to
Zephyr

If you're running it with the choke on, there's a problem. Not a choke problem, but mostlikely a main mixture problem. If there's a proper level of fuel in the float bowl, quite possibly there's some sort of crud restricting the main jet, which is adjustable, typically, under center of float bowl. "Exercise" the adjusting screw. Open it up some (back it out) until you don't need choke to run engine. "Exercise" and adjust a/r until it stabilizes. Or, just pull the main jet body and clean it and the tapered needle. Very gently.

HTH, J

Reply to
barry

agree...air filter or pin hole in gas cap is most likely cause. Heres a site for craftman small engine help.........

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Reply to
avid_hiker

If this is the 2 stroke Tecumseh then I have the same snow blower.

If so your snow blower is running lean. Do you have to much oil in the mixture? Does it need a tune up?

Mine is quite a bit older than yours and still works. I had the same exact problem with it a few years ago and it ended up just being bad gas. This snow blower is very finicky about gas. Make sure you have the proper mixture and use fresh gas every year. If you have the manual use the directions to tune the carburetor with a proper fresh mix of gas.

Reply to
tnom

Sounds like your fuel delivery system is failing. Either it's sucking air from a bad hose, or the filter is clogged. It's not normal at all to use ANY choke after it's running.

Reply to
Steve Barker

Don't go JACKING with the carb adjustment until you rule out the delivery problem. I can't believe people want to start twisting on screws that they know nothing about when the fukin problem is an empty tank or something else.

Reply to
Steve Barker

Thank you for the information. I will try the easy things tonight. It *could* very well be just bad gas...who knows. The gas I used was from the summer. I always thought that it was a myth, but it might actually have something to do with it.

Now that I think about it, I have a Ryobi weed whacker/edger as well. I remember, the last time I used it, it would die when the engine was warm. It's also a 2-cycle engine, so I used the same gas in there.

So now that I have about 1 gallon of gas left that could be "bad", what do I do with it? I hate just 'dumping it out', but just don't know how to dispose of it properly.

Thanks!

Reply to
wiz561

the small vent hole in the gas cap can get clogged with flying snow...happend to me...same symptoms... Mark

Reply to
Mark

I had a similar thing happen with a lawnmower. Turned out the mixture screw had vibrated out and it was leaned way out. I had to run it with full choke and it had no power. Adjusted the mixture and it was fine again.

Reply to
Zu

Put it in your car. As long as you have a full tank it won't hurt it.

Reply to
tnom

Steve, you have a delivery problem.

Reply to
tnom

My snowblower runs fine. As does every other engine in my charge. Because I know what I'm doing with them. And I don't turn screws that haven't been turned and don't need to be turned. I systematically get to the root of the problem and fix it. You quoted me twice, thanks.

Reply to
Steve Barker

A mixture screw vibrating OUT will richen the mix. And I doubt this really happened.

Reply to
Steve Barker

Because you are the expert and claim that you wouldn't turn screws that haven't been turned and don't need to be turned, then we would have to conclude.............that my snow blower, if left in your care, would have been scrapped many years ago because YOU would never turn screws that haven't been turned and don't need to be turned.

Reply to
tnom

Why would leaving well enough alone, cause it to be scrapped?

Reply to
Steve Barker

If the screws on a 29 year old snow blower would of never been turned then the snow blower would of been scrapped many years ago. It wouldn't run with the same settings that it had back in 1978.

Reply to
tnom

I have exactly the same problems with my Toro snowblower (2 stroke

1:50 mix) and my WeedWacker. They will start, run and once stopped when hot , will not restart again until cool. I had already dismantled the engines and cleaned up everything. It still happened. The final anaylsis is that the fuel mixture is not correct. Too much lube and it runs slow, weak, smoky exhaust and needs a full choke to keep running. It also fouls the spark plug. Too little lube and the engine runs hot, expands and seizes the cylinder. That's why it needs to cool off first for the piston to cycle correctly.
Reply to
PaPaPeng

We got a few inches of snow up in Chicago and I ran out to get some new gas. Sure enough, the snow blower only died about 3 or so times....which is a huge improvement than before. And I was even running it with the choke off the whole time! Plus, I even did our neighbor's driveway, which was a LOT more than I have ever done in the past.

So, I guess gas does get bad and it's no myth!

Thanks for all the help. Mike

Reply to
wiz561

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