I have an old Craftsman 5hp snowblower. It has a Tecumseh engine. I guess about 6 years ago I had it serviced and the carb was rebuilt after the whole thing sitting for many years. Since then It has gotten a good amount of use in NJ and I do periodically start it up and run it for a while all year long. I also try to use fuel stabilizer when its going to sit. Now gas is leaking out of the intake of the carburetor. It still starts up and seems to run fine, but when it sits I see gas leaking out and down the side of the snowblower. I checked online and there are plenty of rebuild kits and videos. I think I can handle it, but I can get a new carb and gasket for less than 20$. Thats probably a few bucks more than the rebuilt kits and it will be a lot less work. The only thing is it is a newer carb and doesn't have the bowl drain and is not adjustable like the old one. Is that a big deal? What would you guys recommend?

 

I would first give the side of the fuel bowl a few sharp raps with the handle end of a screwdriver. If the float is stuck, that may free it and cure your problem.

 

Thanks, I will try that tomorrow.

 

I could be that the float has become a sinker, remove it and give it a shake to see if it sloshes or set it in a bowl of water to see if it sinks or floats. Have a good one. Geo

 

ok, I started it up and ran it a bit and then I tapped lightly on the side of the carb where the bowl meets the base and now it surges. It still runs and when I engage the impeller and drive it calms down a bit, but at idle it is surging now. I did notice that when I leaned the snow blower back to push it back into the garage it smoothed out. So, i'm guessing something is up with the float or I just made it a lot worse what ever it is. I cleaned up the area around the snow blower and I will see if more gas leaks out.

 

The surging sounds like the governor for the idle, it either comes from a air vein under the fan shroud or from a centrifugal setup in the engine. There should be a spring that runs over to the carb butterfly valve, watch it as the engine surges and that should give you an idea as to where the problem is coming from, the carb may only need some adjusting.

 

Thanks, yes I did see the governor bouncing back and forth. Yesterday I put some fresh 89 octane gas in it and let it run for a bit. It was a little less. Then I turned the idle mix adjustment screw to the right about half a turn and it stopped surging and ran very smoothly. I am going to start it up again tomorrow and let it run for a while.