I wish Miele made snowblowers...

[volvoguy87]

Sadly, Miele does not market a snowblower in the US, so I'm stuck with an MTD, which has failed me today.

It finally snowed enough here to get out the snowblower (I clear my driveway, a neighbor's, and my elderly grandparents' as well as all sidewalks. I dug the snowblower out of the shed and it would not start. I had to drag it from the shed to the front of the house (NOT fun in the snow on grass all the way across the yard). After futzing with the thing, I found, among other things) the electric starter to be faulty. I removed the starter, lubricated the shaft, (the starter's shaft) and reinstalled it.

Good news! The starter now functions properly.
Bad news! The starter cranks fine and I can get the engine to fire, but it only runs for 1 or 2 seconds, then dies. It will only do this after priming (pumping the bulb). Messing with the throttle and choke don't improve the running time. I am guessing that the engine is running on the fuel pumped up by priming and that it dies when that is gone.

Yes, the oil is good. The fuel tank was dry so I put in some fresh gas. There is fuel in the carburetor bowl, but I don't know if it's old fuel or new fuel. The fuel line valve is open. I checked the spark plug and although it is a nice shade of black, it has enough life to fire the engine a few times.

The engine is an 8 horse power Tecumseh HMSK80, and the entire machine dates (I think) from the late 1990s or early 2000s. The machine has seen light use.

Oh great problem solvers of appliances! Please grant me your wisdom so I may get this contraption running. I have already run out of swear words, so either tell me how to fix it or start making some new words for me to use!

Thank you for your assistance,
Dave

Note: My A208 is on hold until warmer weather after I have fixed the snowblower
Also, My father is in charge of snowblower maintenance (translation: none, and the reason why he drives a new car and mine is 20 years old). He is away so I have to fix it (the snowblower).

 

[petek]

For the small cost I'd start with a new plug just in case. I've an MTD made blower with a Tecumseh sno-king engine and it works great. I just used it again this past month after it sitting for two years unused and it fired right up, a bit rough at first but got the job done. Don't forget to add some gasoline stabilizer to your jerry can with every fill up year round if you haven't before.

 

[panthera]

Lots of possibilities

OK, let's see. I agree with Pete, a new sparkplug is no great loss at worst, the solution at best.
If priming helps then the engine sputters out, is it possible there is water in the fuel? A machine which is not used very often is going to collect a fair amount of water in the tank over time. I don't know whether you can use something like HEAT in this engine - so am not recommending it, but I would definitely try fresh fuel.
There could be sediment or rust or something else preventing the free flow of gas into the engine from the tank. When you hit the pump, there is enough pressure to push the gas past the obstruction. Gravity flow is especially sensitive to clean lines. (I really am trying to cover all the basis here...) Fuel pump? A deluxe snowblower which needs to have the battery charged up and working for some obscure reason?
I am not familiar with that model, so two possibilities here. One, the oil in the crankcase has thickened. Two, the gas/oil ratio in the tank is false.
Finally, and please don't laugh at me, I had trouble running one last year until I figured out that American machines have all sorts of non-intuitive safety features. That particular one requires you to stand on your head, dance a jig and verify your ID before it will run. In other words, if all else fails...try reading the instructions. (I didn't realize that you had to hold down two separate levers to actuate the blasted thing).

 

[volvoguy87]

The engine:

The engine is a 4-stroke. There is no battery. In order to use the starter, you must plug it into an electric socket. No heavy battery to lug around, and no dead battery when you need it most. I did put in fresh fuel, but the tank was dry prior to that. As for the rest of the fuel system, I don't know. I do know there is fuel in the carburetor bowl, but I don't know if it is fresh or old. The fuel tank is plastic, and unless there is metal in the carburetor that contacted the fuel, I don't think there can be rust. I'll try a new spark plug and see if that helps.

For whatever it's worth, when it did roar to life for a few seconds, it ran well with no hesitating or misfiring.

On the subject of this post, what do you think a Miele snowblower would be like? My vote is that it would clear a narrower path than an American machine (standard width for a European one). However, it would clear ALL snow from the path, down to dry concrete/asphalt without chipping or damaging it. A Miele would also likely remove snow in such a way that it could not drift back into the cleared path. Unfortunately, although it would never break down, it would likely be very expensive and require imported German Persil for fuel, although the fuel consumption would be low. Your thoughts?

Thanks for your advice,
Dave

 

[vinvac]

Dave,

My guess would also be that from sitting the float in the carb. is gummed up and stuck in the wrong position. Sometimes a slight tap with a hammer with loosen it up. I never store machines empty, but rather keep them full of gas and add a product called "GumOut" to the fuel. Changing the fuel line may aslo work. Over time they tend to crumble and colapse.

If it is running off the prime that you give it, it more than likely is not the spark plug, but a clean plug never hurts.

I have also used "Heet" in the gas... not sure your supposed to, but I have and it worked.

Morgan

 

[petek]

I think Heet is plain old gas line anti-freeze which is jus alcohol. Pour some of that in the tank with the gas and it there is a bit of water it'll burn it out.

 

[goatfarmer]

Fuel problem. I've had some success by removing the adjustment screws in the carb(noting how far they were turned in) and spraying some carb cleaner in the holes.

kennyGF

 

[sudsmaster]

I have three yard machines with 4 stroke gas motors (not including the 4 stroke weed whacker). Lawn mower, Honda motor, flawless. Rototiller, MTD, B&S motor, OK. Chipper/shredder, Tecumseh motor - very finicky.

Here are some thoughts...

Is the choke manual or automatic? If manual, try less than full choke after the engine starts.

Did you check the air filter? A clogged air filter will make the engine act like it's flooded.

Does the carb have a clogged idle circuit? Like Goatfarmer said, try removing the pilot screw and spraying some carb cleaner in there.

Try removing the float bowl and rinsing it out with carb cleaner. It might have jelled gas in there. If so, next time try adding some gas stabilizer (like Stabil) to the machine just before you store it - mix the stuff around in the gas tank, and run the motor long enough for the stuff to flow into the carb. Then drain the gas tank if you like, but that shouldn't be necessary.

 

[volvoguy87]

Out of fustration I have decided on a new way to deal with i

The way this engine is designed, and how it is situated in the snowblower, makes it a royal pain to work on. This is not helped by the cold temperatures and the lack of a workshop. Since my father's lack of maintenance caused the problem, I have decided to let him deal with fixing it. I fix most everything else around here, so I'll just have myself a little break, work on my thesis, and let him either fix it or shovel snow the non-automatic way.
Thank you all for your advice. I'll point my father in the direction of the carburetor and then take a hands off approach.

Life is better when lived automatically,
Dave

 

[polkanut]

I would get rid of it and buy an Ariens, made right here in WI, Brillion to be exact.