My turn to ask for help

Toro 15 year old PowerClear snowblower. Model 38581 Serial 29004003. Briggs engine 084232-0121-E2.
Problem; will not start reliably, hot or cold. Seems to flood easily. When I get it started runs fine. No electric start so I need it to be reliable for an elderly couple. They can’t pull 20 times.
What I’ve done so far;
Checked cylinder, looks good with good compression.
Replaced spark plug, getting good spark.
Removed carb (twice) cleaned and float level good. Pressure tested float needle, holds 9 lbs for 15 minutes.
Checked flywheel key, good condition.

Tomorrow I’m going to see if I can lower the float level, but it is a plastic float, so I could ruin it. Picked up a new one Justin case. Anyone have any recommendations as to where I go next? Thank you in advance, Rivets

First thought was to see about a leakdown test, but then looked up the model number and found it is a 2 stroker. So I am thinking either crankcase or crankshaft seals leaking.

Rivets said:

Toro 15 year old PowerClear snowblower. Model 38581 Serial 29004003. Briggs engine 084232-0121-E2.
Problem; will not start reliably, hot or cold. Seems to flood easily. When I get it started runs fine. No electric start so I need it to be reliable for an elderly couple. They can’t pull 20 times.
What I’ve done so far;
Checked cylinder, looks good with good compression.
Replaced spark plug, getting good spark.
Removed carb (twice) cleaned and float level good. Pressure tested float needle, holds 9 lbs for 15 minutes.
Checked flywheel key, good condition.

Tomorrow I’m going to see if I can lower the float level, but it is a plastic float, so I could ruin it. Picked up a new one Justin case. Anyone have any recommendations as to where I go next? Thank you in advance, Rivets

Click to expand...

Hi Rivets,

According to the engine numbers this is a two stroke and an "odd bird". I think they were a collaboration build with Komatsu back then.

I recommend you remove the muffler and see if it is heavy from coking up. I see that quite a bit on many two stroke engines, especially if people mix their own fuel. A good burning out with a torch heating it up will clear them out. Get it red hot.

As the rule goes: "If air cannot get out, air cannot get in".

Yes, it will pass a compression test because the tester is taking up the excess volume that cannot be expelled.

Hope this helps you.

Update; should have said that I checked the crankcase seals when I checked the flywheel key, both are good. Muffler is fully open. This morning I tried starting the unit with choke but no priming. Started on first pull. Repeated starting the unit this way over the next two hours, both hot and cold, it started on 1 or 2 pulls every time. Now I’ve found a new problem. Unit seems to loose power when I engage bail, governor does not seem to kick in much. Now I know that this might change when the unit has to throw snow, but experience has told me not to assume this on a 16 year old unit. Going to do more checking, if anyone has a suggestion please post.

Rivets said:

Update; should have said that I checked the crankcase seals when I checked the flywheel key, both are good. Muffler is fully open. This morning I tried starting the unit with choke but no priming. Started on first pull. Repeated starting the unit this way over the next two hours, both hot and cold, it started on 1 or 2 pulls every time. Now I’ve found a new problem. Unit seems to loose power when I engage bail, governor does not seem to kick in much. Now I know that this might change when the unit has to throw snow, but experience has told me not to assume this on a 16 year old unit. Going to do more checking, if anyone has a suggestion please post.

Click to expand...

Hi Rivets,

The only thing that comes to mind is verify it has the correct heat range spark plug. 2-stroke engines are very critical about the plug part number.

Just because it threads in and the engine runs, does not mean it is the correct heat range. I've learned this lesson a few times, but mainly or gasoline farm tractors and a few Kawasaki V-twin engines.

You say it seems the rpms are slow but:
Try manually operating the governor rod and see if it picks up rpms good with no stalling or sputtering since you do not have any snow to create a load on the engine.
Does it idle slow and smooth. Reason I ask is if crankcase not sealed good or intermittent erratic seal leak, usually a 2 cycle will not low idle.

If floods easy I would compare the compression cold to hot.
and make sure it has the correct heat range plug gapped properly.

Old people or anyone having to hand crank a hard to start machine in cold weather is not a good thing.
2 cyles can be painful at times.

I have never seen a snow blower of any kind here. But looking over the IPL I see it has an idle speed adjustment since it would after a 2006 model. Try upping the idle speed a little.

Also you said it had good compression but I curious as to what the cranking compression is. I know borderline 100 psi can cause starting issues on 2 cycles here.

Update, for the last three days I’ve started the unit with only choke, no prime, and it has started on the first or second pull. Has a bit of surge until it gets warm, but then that goes away. Manually moving the governor seems to work, but I’ve got no way to test under load. When I engage the bail I hear a very small increase in power and I’m not convinced that it will work properly when the white stuff comes around. Just returned it to the neighbor and explained to him what I found. Told him that I recommend that he consider replacing if it doesn’t throw right. Both he and his wife understand that throwing more money at this unit is not worth it, as next year he will have to replace the paddles next year at a cost of $40.00 each. I think he is going to start looking for a new one, but I told him it must have electric start, to which his wife laughed and said,”I told you that when we bought this one used”. Only charged for parts, but got a beef stew dinner and apple pie for my help. All is good and thank you everyone who provided input. Just like around here, this forum is ” neighbors helping neighbors “

NOW THAT is my kind of payment!

Now now Rivets you didn't need to add to your waistline.

Keep that up and you won't be able to get though the door.