If all else fails try this simple procedure. This is for the Tecumseh Snowking snowblower engine with a fixed air mixture screw. Visit my channel for more repair videos; www.youtube.com
Video Rating: 5 / 5
Originally posted 2011-12-24 17:03:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
@cschanzle thanks
BTW, great camera work – very nicely done! All my surging is gone too and most of the slight misfiring. Ready for the season!
Suggestion: Instead of saying ‘do this if all else failed’ I would say if you have this type of symptom, this should be the FIRST thing to do! Very simple process.
My 11hp idle worsened the last few years to where it won’t idle below 50% (it would idle if you full-choked it-meaning lean) and surges & sputters (lightly) above that to nearly no surge at 100%. Float bowl/main jet were clean and clear; cleaning made no diff. I first flushed the idle jet with cleaner then reinstalled; ran much better. But what added that little bit more to nearly-new idle quality was to put the cleaner tube right down the idle jet screw hole and blast a bit. Runs GREAT! Thx!
@ConkersBFDN64 some are made like that, totally non-adjustable and all u see is a hole where there used to be a screw
I recently got a lawn mower with a Tecumseh engine that ran terrible at idle, and would only start with quickstart. Upon taking it apart, there was no dirt or gum in it, it was very clean. I also noticed that there was no air mixture screw at all. Most have an adjustable, or a preset needle, but this one had no needles at all. I haven’t put it back on yet because I’ve got to pick up a Carb kit for it tomorrow, but I hope it will run fine afterwords since I saw no air screw at all. Why is that?
Thanks, have a go cart with this problem
@ConkersBFDN64 the older carbs were adjustable, the newer ones aren’t so there is not much room to play
Why does it seem like the later Tecumseh engines never idle really smooth? I had one on a Ariens snowblower from ’77, and it would idle perfectly.
Just watched this again–I suspect this is the problem my Tecumseh snowblower engine has, where it runs fine at full throttle but surges anywhere below that and stalls below 1/2 throttle.
I think I’ll try this soon, before the snow starts to hit in a bit more than a month. Just a bit more annoying on my Husqvarna model b/c there’s another plastic aesthetic cover over the top of the engine that I need to unbolt before removing the carburetor cover panel.
Thanks for your tips!
Thank you for posting this tip !
I have the same motor on my snowblower and it’s surged for the last 2 winters. Good ideas in this video. I’ll try this in September when I get stuff ready for winter. Thanks
@DICKERSON3870 LOL,hehe
The ‘Bob Vila’ of “This Old Tecumseh Engine”! Do I detect a hint of the film “Fargo” (1996)?
@gst69man that or the idle mixture screw but fixed, non adjustable
is that the idle pilot screw?
I heard Ultra Sonic Jewelry Cleaners work good for cleaning carburetors, and the liquid solution isn’t toxic. I haven’t tried it yet, but I m very curious to see if it is any good. Harbor Freight has a small cheap one, but I think you can find a better quality one on ebay for a good price.
If you completely disassemble the carburetor and clean it properly and replace any parts that need replacing, than you solve problems like this the first time.
i have used the low speed fixed jet from the 8 hp in a tecumseh power sport 6hp runs much better less surging and better starting. a bit richer
good tip dony,
Another nice vid! For cleaning small holes like that you can also try ” tip cleaners” used for Oxy/Ace cutting torches Thanks
sweet video donyboy
cool vid.
Mine has the same symptoms of surging at low throttle and not idling. I’ll try this and see.
how come almost all the snowblowers you work on have tecumseh engines? btw great video as always
looks good in hd
Hello fellow surgers.
I have a 1996 Craftsman 30″ rear engine rider with a Tecumseh 13HP OHV engine. I had let this mower sit for 4-5 years, and went to fire it up. NO GO. So I just did a quick clean out of the bad gas deposits, and the mower fired up and ran, however it surged a couple hundred RPM throughout the entire throttle range and idle. So I cleaned it out again. Just with a can of carb/throttle body cleaner, thought I did a good job, it looked clean to my eye, but that was NOT good enough for it. It still surged! I said the heck with it and used it for a year or so, surging up and down, up and down, all the time, no matter where the throttle was set at.
Time to get serious! I decided to tackle the surge problem again. With no short cuts. Now I was going to tackle it like the multiple hundreds of Toyota carbs I have rebuilt over the last 30+ years as a master tech, and not like a back yard quickie I was giving it.
Troubleshooting:
Surging: throughout throttle range.
Carb restriction.
R+R (remove & replace) and D+A (disassemble & assemble) carburetor assembly.
Pull out welch plugs and separate each & EVERY piece from each other.
I used:
- 1) Factory Tecumseh-Power kit # 632760B
- 1) 1 gal. Carb dip can with strainer from parts store.
- 1) spray can throttle body cleaner.
- compressed air (air in a can for cleaning computers can be used to check passages for flow along with the pressurized cleaners, if you do not have a compressor.
- misc) small wires
- basic hand tools ( screw drivers, wrenches etc. I used the end of a short socket extension to reinstall the welch plugs and sealing the external side welch plug with touch up paint.)
It is best to soak the carburetor pieces in a dip tank for 24 – 48 hours to dissolve and soften ALL of the deposits. Agitated (plunge up & down in tank fluid) every few hours to flush fluid throughout pieces in dip tank. Just think it took months to gum it up.
Then I use compressed air and torch tip cleaners and or small gauge wires to clear out all passages in each affected piece. Re-cleaned with spray cleaner and thorough blow out everything again.
CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!
It is critical to make sure the main fuel jet is cleared of all obstructions.
NOTE: There is a very, very tiny orifice port in the fuel bowl retaining nut ( a hollowed out bolt with precise fuel ports that secures the bowl to the carb body ) between the 2 threaded areas, is a port called the “idle fuel transfer passage”, this is a SURGING problem throughout the entire throttle range, from idle to WOT if this is plugged or minutely restricted. It also has 1 or 2 main fuel ports, depending on model, at the head end that must be CLEAN along with the center passageway.
It is important not to accept a “half done” clean out and expect things to run perfect. That is what I did and I stayed getting SURGED!
After I did a proper clean and rebuild of the carb, the mower runs like it did when it was new.
I ran the engine until warmed up to normal ops temp. and adjusted the idle mixture (only mix adjustment on my carb).
I now have a nice smooth idle and smooth acceleration and WOT (wide open throttle) response. It is now PERRRfect!