looking for advice

Gochargers

New User
I have a snowblower with a 5 hp Tecumseh. It is 13 yrs old. The motor starts great. It was -5 this morning, I went to 1/2 throttle, full choke and gave it 3 primer pumps. It started on the first pull. I allowed it 5 minutes of warm up, and proceded to clean the drive way. I made 2 passes and went to a no choke setting. After about 20 minutes of light work the motor just died. It refired with full choke and 2 primer pumps, but refused to run without full choke. Then slowly died altogether. Last week my implement dealer tried to fix it ---- new plug fresh gas and "seafoam" gas treatment. What can you guys diagnose? (Its not the gas cap -- cuz I left that loose)
 
Take the gas cap off, and shine a flashlight down into the tank to see if there is ice or dirt obstructing the gas flow.
Bob
 
25 minutes of run time without having to work on it is good for a Tecumseh engine. It was a great day when the Tecumseh on our blower chucked the rod. I put a Briggs on it and have not touched the engine in 10 years.

Due to the small amount of use a blowers sees, usually the carb is plugged with varnish. I recommend running Stabil in all fuel and running seasonal equipment out of fuel when done. That is what I do with my equipment.
 
Check the bottle, and if it doesn't say Isopropyl on the bottle it is just a wast of money for taking water out of gas.
Bob
 
Last summer as in months ago which means condensation or absorption of water from the air could well be your problem. Depending on the type of carb it has you may want to pull the float bowl off and check it for water and also if it has the adjustable main jet spray it out with carb cleaner spray
 
If carb has nut on bottom of bowl block fuel flow remove nut in nut small is small hole in side or down center clean out with tag wire reinstall nut
traper
 
It's flippin cold out ---- I drained the tank. There is about an 1/8 inch of gas left in the bottom. As I rock the machine back and forth I can see tiny droplets that I suspect to be moisture. I poured a can of HEET in the empty tank and sloshed it around. I left the gas line disconnected to let the mixture drip out. Once I can feel my fingers and toes again I'll put it together with fresh gas and try it again
 
Hi gochargers, if the reg gas you buy has 10% ethanol there is no need for heet, and the gas should not drip out of the tank it should run at a good full stream. it it isn't moisture or some blockage in the gas hose then the carb may need a good cleaning.
GB in MN
 
If using Heet you should not have to do any draining as it is suppose to stick to the icy water and go through the carburetor to be burned in the cylinder.The idea is so you don't have to remove the carburetor to clean it. Only if it doesn't work then as a last resort you remove the carburetor.
Bob
 
Nothing much worked today so I'll find a heated shop some where, I'll remove the tank and clean it and dry it. Hopefully the carb wont have to come off ----- but I'm not holding out much hope
 
I'm always very careful not to get gasohol in my mowers or motorcycle. Some one told me it was hard on the rubber parts in the small motor carbs. Right or not - that's my protocol
 
OK, so it was running and now won't run. New plug, service, etc. Was it smoking at the last time it stopped running? If so then take the plug out, it should give you evidence of condition. If it is too wet with gas it will not fire. If it is fouled from burnt oil it won't fire. If so clean it.
Bob
 
gochargers,

Not to sound rudd, but every Tecumseh I've ever owned had carb issues. I recently purchased a sears DR clone string trimmer. It came with a came with a Tecumseh that had starting issues just like you described. Had to run it with choke, if I could get it to run. Cleaned carb, no luck. I found a cast iron flywheel for an old 3.5 briggs and pitched the Tecumseh.

I have battled with my last Tecumseh carb.
Perhaps there is a reason Tecumseh went out of business.

I wish you well, good luck.
George
 
you got plug in carb or between simple as that,when you were running on choke that long that tells you you are already lean on fuel. usually its simply cheaper to stick another carb on than try to mess with getting it all correctly clean again. simple test whats in the bowl look like.
 
Today I had a similar problem with a 9 hp Suburau, only in its second season from Small Engine Warehouse. It was going along fine then just died, never did that before. I hadn't had the gas tank full and suspected moisture. Took it inside, ran the kerosene torpedo heater and got it good and warm. It would run for a little bit and die, just like it wasn't getting enough gas. On those engines the fuel line is buried, hard to get to. I wasn't anxious to tear into the carb. Then I got a dumb sounding idea. (it's only stupid if it doesn't work) My guess was there was a little dirt blocking the gas flow- and if I could pressurize the gas tank it might help. Not having a way to use the compressor I tried a trick I've done with an old chainsaw. With the gas cap off and the tank not quite full I took a deep breath and put my mouth over the fill neck and put as much pressure as I could on the tank for a few seconds. Amazing-- it must have cleared away whatever was blocking the flow, after that the engine ran fine, used it for about 45 minutes with no more problem.
 
I think I got it. Complete drain and rinse of the tank - dropped bowl off carb and cleaned - ran a copper wire thru main jet "ports" and reassembled. It ran 10 minutes til it ran out of the little bit of gas that was in the tank, so I refilled the tank. It ran 15 more minutes under a lite load and didn't miss a beat
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top