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Post by brianjenkins on Jan 28, 2019 9:56:59 GMT -5
I have a Craftsman snowblower with an MTD 357cc engine I picked up used. It looks brand new, and has the typical surging when stale gas was left in it. Long story short, I've taken the carb apart and cleaned it. It was better, but still lean and wanted to run at half choke. Blowing the jets out wasn't good enough, so I bought a HF ultrasonic and that worked better. Back together and it is better. It's not hunting near as much at full throttle (no choke) but it still surging a bit. THere's no adjustment on these other than idle. Any suggestions? Pics attached. I did buy a replacement (exact same one) but figured I might play with this a bit since there isn't any snow.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2019 10:08:00 GMT -5
A big thanks goes out to the wonderful state of California for epa bull$hit that gives us small engine carbs with fixed jets that you cannot adjust for weather 🤬 I bet your engine is really a Techumseh, a friend had one with the same issues!, no permanent fix!...
Lee😉
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Post by brianjenkins on Jan 28, 2019 10:13:49 GMT -5
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Post by brianjenkins on Jan 28, 2019 10:18:22 GMT -5
A big thanks goes out to the wonderful state of California for epa bull$hit that gives us small engine carbs with fixed jets that you cannot adjust for weather 🤬 I bet your engine is really a Techumseh, a friend had one with the same issues!, no permanent fix!... Lee😉 I think it's a Techumseh clone, but it's made by MTD now. Dad's got an old JD with a Techumseh and it was a whole lot stronger (and smaller engine) than mine. I wasn't sure if anything can be drilled out to give it a little more fuel. I figured this one is pretty much junked if I screw it up
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Post by Scoutpilot on Jan 28, 2019 10:18:56 GMT -5
Did you replace the needle and seat? The rubber seat will not withstand ethanol.
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Post by brianjenkins on Jan 28, 2019 10:26:20 GMT -5
Did you replace the needle and seat? The rubber seat will not withstand ethanol. No, I just cleaned them. It was pouring gas out if it got off camber while off, but after I cleaned it, it stopped. They looked ok though.
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gmcjr
KJRT
Posts: 907
First Name: Gary
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Post by gmcjr on Jan 28, 2019 10:40:11 GMT -5
A big thanks goes out to the wonderful state of California for epa bull$hit that gives us small engine carbs with fixed jets that you cannot adjust for weather 🤬 I bet your engine is really a Techumseh, a friend had one with the same issues!, no permanent fix!... Lee😉 This.... same issue on a MTD walk behind weed trimmer. Runs beyond lean, cannot cold start it without priming the carb.
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oilleaker1
Full Professor
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Has Jeep Disease
Posts: 1,982
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Post by oilleaker1 on Jan 28, 2019 14:38:16 GMT -5
My MTD snowblower surged. The carb had been gummed up from sitting with ethanol regular grade too long. What I found was a very tiny orifice in the side of the brass main jet that was plugged. I mean TINY. I used a propane pilot orifice reamer or broach to clean it out. Runs perfect now. Maybe this is where your surging is coming from. Check that tiny hole. Oilly
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Post by brianjenkins on Jan 28, 2019 14:42:17 GMT -5
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60 Hotch
New Member
Posts: 1
First Name: Paul
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Post by 60 Hotch on Aug 4, 2020 9:54:02 GMT -5
Hi I just saw your post. I experience the same issue with many of these knock off engines where I work part time at a small engine shop. We have tried drilling the main jets that helps but is not the fix. Did you pull the plastic idle jet that is located below the head if the idle speed screw? Those get clogged. A fix alot of the times is the governor spring. Some get rusted and loose their tension and some look fine but the tension gets lost I guess because of the poor quality. We tried locating the spring in another hole on the governor arm but that doesn’t help.
The ethanol fuel is terrible. If this is the only fuel available to you the old school method of storing your machine for the off season is no longer relevant. You can no longer drain and run the machine till it runs dry. The best way to store your machine is use fuel stabilizer rated for use with ethanol fuel, fill the tank full of fuel with stabilizer added and fill it to the top. This will prevent the alcohol in the fuel from pulling the moisture from the air and fouling the fuel system. If you do it the old way the fuel that is left behind will evaporate and leave a “jelly like” substance behind that will eventually dry out and leave a crystalline like substance behind that cannot be cleaned. The carb will then have to be replaced. The fuel tanks will rust internally and need to be replaced. We no longer find “varnish” left behind when fuel has been left in the system unless the machine is old and was stored before the advent of ethanol fuel. Customers tell us all the time that the instructions say to drain and run the machine dry. This is mis information when using ethanol fuel. I will take some photos and post in the future. I hope this helps. Paul
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oilleaker1
Full Professor
Full Professor
Has Jeep Disease
Posts: 1,982
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Post by oilleaker1 on Aug 12, 2020 6:43:39 GMT -5
Hi I just saw your post. I experience the same issue with many of these knock off engines where I work part time at a small engine shop. We have tried drilling the main jets that helps but is not the fix. Did you pull the plastic idle jet that is located below the head if the idle speed screw? Those get clogged. A fix alot of the times is the governor spring. Some get rusted and loose their tension and some look fine but the tension gets lost I guess because of the poor quality. We tried locating the spring in another hole on the governor arm but that doesn’t help. The ethanol fuel is terrible. If this is the only fuel available to you the old school method of storing your machine for the off season is no longer relevant. You can no longer drain and run the machine till it runs dry. The best way to store your machine is use fuel stabilizer rated for use with ethanol fuel, fill the tank full of fuel with stabilizer added and fill it to the top. This will prevent the alcohol in the fuel from pulling the moisture from the air and fouling the fuel system. If you do it the old way the fuel that is left behind will evaporate and leave a “jelly like” substance behind that will eventually dry out and leave a crystalline like substance behind that cannot be cleaned. The carb will then have to be replaced. The fuel tanks will rust internally and need to be replaced. We no longer find “varnish” left behind when fuel has been left in the system unless the machine is old and was stored before the advent of ethanol fuel. Customers tell us all the time that the instructions say to drain and run the machine dry. This is mis information when using ethanol fuel. I will take some photos and post in the future. I hope this helps. Paul If all you can get at the gas stations is ethanol or E85, then why not buy a can of aviation fuel for storage of your small engined equipment? Possibly race fuel? I had a friend use stable store and his stuff was gummed up the next spring even with that. Luckily I can still get non alcohol premium and it works well for me.
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