tecumseh/Ariens snowblower carb tune help

It mighty snow again...and I want to be ready this time! The first snow this year that was enough to blow, the engine wouldn't start. The neighborhood kids took care of the driveway for me for home-made chocolate chip cookies and a few bucks. It was too cold in the garage and the birds somehow got into the furnace flue so I couldn't heat the garage. I finally got to it and found it wasn't getting gas.

I pulled the carb and cleaned out the brown concrete in the brass fitting that the bottom needle valve goes through and Gum-Out'd the rest. There are two needle valves, one vertical, one horizontal. I set the horizontal at one turn from closed and the vertical at one and one-half turns from closed...I forget where I read that.

It started instantly but I have to keep the choke 3/4 closed to keep it running and it won't stay running through the throttle range.

How do I adjust the carb? I did look on the web first.

Reply to
Tom Gardner
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If it needs choke, turn the screw out. If it idles, it's the high speed screw that's off. If it won't idle, set the low speed screw first. Out till it runs, in 'till it looses a bit of speed, and back out 1/4. For the high speed, roughly the same, butwhen you find the point where it JUST STARTS to loose speed, turn out about 1/4 - and make sure it doesn't slow down. Then try under load. Might need to tweek it a bit to make it pull strong under load.

Reply to
clare at snyder.on.ca

The Tecumseh "Snow King" engine is a good engine but it is fussy about carbs. If your time is worth anything at all ... pull the carb, take it to a good shop and have 'em boil it out and rebuild it with a new "kit". The "kit" is about 20 bux, they'll want another 20 bux or so if they do the deed -- and they will get it cleaner than you might think possible. Turnaround time here is a couple of days. When you bolt it back on (new gasket, please), it should start first pull and need no tweaking at all to run just right. They've done hundreds of 'em, know exactly how to set 'em up right on the bench.

I do this as SOP about every 5 years.

Henceforth: after using the snowblower, shut off the fuel and let it run dry each time after using. When you put it away for the summer, drain the fuel tank.

Reply to
Don Foreman

In addition to Clarence's excellent advice, you might want to save this Tecumseh manual for future reference:

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Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

Tom.... since you may be needing it quickly... The vertical screw that goes up through the fuel bowl threads into a tube... on the side of that tube is a very tiny hole which allows some fuel to enter... make sure those tiny holes are clean (using a wire from a wire brush). I'm thinking that the gummy deposits aren't completely gone as yet and when they are, it should run fine. Ken

Reply to
Ken Sterling

How did you get this link? Thank you sooo much! I owe you!

Reply to
Tom Gardner

It might need a little choking before all the lacquer dissolves.. I use gumout on the carb to be sure the float and float valve are free, and fill the floatbowl with gumout and fire it up. A partial tank of equal gumout (aerosol only, the stuff in the bottle seems worthless for this) and gasoline will get the majority of the sticky dissolved, the rest will go through in the next hour or so of running.

As long as someone's kid hasn't been turning the screws, they should be right where they should be.. and if they're not then 1 1/2 to 2 turns seems to always get you close enough to dial it in.

John

Reply to
JohnM

Hey, no sweat, hopefully it comes in handy for 'ya down the road. I had to rebuild the carb on my edger (Sears) last month, and after some searching, I found the link on the following page:

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Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

Thanks from me, too. I have Tecumseh powered chipper-shredder that I've wanted a manual for for a while now.

Reply to
Gary Brady

Aw, now where would Tom find a wire from a wire brush? :)

Reply to
John Husvar

That hole is exactly what the main problem was. A twisty-tie wasn't stiff enough so, imagine, I used a piece of .020" knot brush wire. I just happend to have a 2" bundle of wire cut 7" long in the tool box. It's too handy to have around.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

Some of those holes (especially the ones in the new jet style idle circuits) are to small even for that wire. The only wire I've found that will do the job properly is the strands from the kill control cable on lawn mowers.

Reply to
Wayne Cook

I have a collection of bundles of cut High-Tensile wire and Stainless wire at home ranging: .006", .008", .010", .012", .014", .020".023", .025" and .035". Handy! But, I do remember having to go to the hardware store and buy a wire brush.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

My Toro snowblower with a Tecumseh 8hp is 10 years old, always starts and has needed adjustment maybe twice. I've been doing exactly what Don wrote ever since I bought it. Thanks for posting this good advice. Nok

Reply to
NokNokMan

Not a welder in the bunch here?! For this sort of thing I get out the tip cleaners, for smaller than that there's always the #61-80 drill set and small pin vise.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

That would make a nifty little "assortment box" to have around. Find a 10 or 12-compartment plastic parts box, bundle the wires with color-coded wire ties so they don't get mixed up, and make a label with the color code chart. When you end up with an empty Blue-Red Ty-rap in the box you can easily ID what size you need to order another bundle of...

Would beat a welding torch tip cleaner because the wires are disposable - mess up one wire in your tip cleaner and you have to replace the whole thing.

Oh, you *didn't*... :-D

The old phrase "Carrying Coal to Newcastle" springs to mind...

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Shoemaker's kids go barefoot!

Reply to
Tom Gardner

My 2c: Got a big Ariens myself, had carb problems from day 1. Ditto a Hoffman Dirt Auger, with a Tecumseh.

These things suck. What a flagrant rip-off. Nice to know, tho, that there are options.

Reply to
Proctologically Violated©®

Sold all the "good stuff" so had to buy some Chinese crap, eh?

Reply to
clare at snyder.on.ca

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