My neighbor has a Ariens snow blower/tractor with a Tecumseh 4 hp engine that appear to run fine until the augar encounters snow about 2 to 4 inches deep. The unit is about 45 years old and was running fine about 2 years ago, but last year and this year, the engine will stall when it runs into snow.
The carb needle valves look fine, and the hole in the nut (with one of the needle valves) at the bottom of the carb bowl is clear. The carb float appears to work fine since we drained the old gas from the tank by taking the bowl off the carb. The gas has been in the tank for at least two years. :-(
The stalling would seem to be gas starvation or possibly a problem with the engine governor when the augar runs into snow. When not under a snow load, the blower/tractor idles and speeds up and maintains speed nicely, and runs the blower/tractor and augar nicely at the four speeds......but the choke has to be about half open. So I'm thinking the prime culprit is the carb and that it might need a thorough cleaning/overhaul. I was wondering if there are any other possibilites that should be looked at. Any comments /suggestions would be appreciated.
The carb needle valves look fine, and the hole in the nut (with one of the needle valves) at the bottom of the carb bowl is clear. The carb float appears to work fine since we drained the old gas from the tank by taking the bowl off the carb. The gas has been in the tank for at least two years. :-(
The stalling would seem to be gas starvation or possibly a problem with the engine governor when the augar runs into snow. When not under a snow load, the blower/tractor idles and speeds up and maintains speed nicely, and runs the blower/tractor and augar nicely at the four speeds......but the choke has to be about half open. So I'm thinking the prime culprit is the carb and that it might need a thorough cleaning/overhaul. I was wondering if there are any other possibilites that should be looked at. Any comments /suggestions would be appreciated.