Snow blower repair suggestions
dismom I've used Mayberry Sales & Service - they can pick up the snow blower. 908-689-3310. I've also used Power Place in Rockaway.
Bonv 
Iris MJ's Lawnmower and Small Engine Repair
http://www.mjsmallengine.com
(908) 832-7242
Theolgamer John Lobur Elite Repairs out of Califon. Brings his trailer to your location and fixes on premisis
(908) 832-2059
http://www.eliterepairs.com/contact_us_and_useful_links.htm
CMON I second Mayberry's. Great service, pickup and delivery, reasonable prices, and mine has been working great since they rebuilt the carburetor.
MK 
Ms Fishy 
mistergoogle 
oldredI've used Mark Forsythe, who lives in Hackettstown, to work on my lawnmowers. He's very knowledgable about engines (including carburetors), so I'm sure he'd be able to help you out with your snowblower. He comes to the house and is very reasonable. His phone number is (908) 850-9694, if you would like to contact him.
Drain the fuel out . Spray carb cleaner in the carb. Add fresh fuel and send him outside!
Mr.M Kenvil power mower. Very fair, nice people. I've brought equipment there and they've fixed it in ten min and didn't even charge me. I bring all my small engine stuff there.
MeisterNJ Some simple snow thrower rules - use fuel stabilizer with every fill up , turn off the fuel flow until the engine stalls out after every use , stock up on shear pins , and keep the driveway free of rocks , sticks , or anything else that might break a shear pin . And spray all moving parts down heavily with silicone spray before each use as well as the chute .
Zombo Stabil (fuel stabilizer) is your best friend for infrequently used carbureted engines. You actually don't have to run the drain bowl dry if you always use a fuel stabilizer unless the storage is more than 2 months.
If you didn't use a fuel stabilizer and have a gunned up carburetor. Get some engine starting fluid and it will probably get it started. This is a last resort but if it works it saves a service call. Also change oil annually with synthetic as snowblowers don't use oil filters and change (or clean) plugs annually. I prefer to change them for piece of mind. Finally, when starting be sure to turn off the choke (fuel enrichment) after starting as running in this mode will foul the plugs and waste fuel.
iJay 
Heidi I've used Mark Forsythe, who lives in Hackettstown, to work on my lawnmowers. He's very knowledgable about engines (including carburetors), so I'm sure he'd be able to help you out with your snowblower. He comes to the house and is very reasonable. His phone number is (908) 850-9694, if you would like to contact him.
This is Mark. I've since found a professional job here in town, have let my inventory dwindle, and am not really in this business any longer. If your handy, I've always offered advice over the phone. If you've a question regarding your equipment I'd be happy to try and diagnose a difficulty you may be having.
Mark Forsythe I think I'll be cleaning up the carb on my snowblower soon.
Seemed to stall a bit quicker this morning when under a load, and trying to restart just flooded it. Had a nice fire ball burning out the exhaust though...
I think something in the choke or primer is wacky (last time it was running the primer bulb appeared to be under a vacuum). Even with the electric start it had to crank for a while to clear things out - with a nice backfire too.
Mark Mc. FYI.. I keep a carb rebuild kit on hand and a couple extra gaskets. I bought the ultrasonic cleaner in the link. I can clean and rebuild the carb with this thing in 30 Min and be rolling again. I break it down lay it in the pan use warm water. A tiny bit of palmolive dish detergent. Run it twice for 3 min each. Toss on new gaskets and away ya go.
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html
Sea Foam carburetor cleaner anyone ? Nine bucks a can at the Dollar General store . Chances are if you use Stabil Fuel Stabilizer and run the fuel out of your machine after every use you won"t need it . Haven't had to do anything to my 13 year old Toro sno- thrower other than an occasional replacement of a shear pin and a couple of belt adjustments .
What breaks my Horns, is my Troy Bilt 24-10 snow thrower ( 1994 ) is well built and heavy duty;.......yet the So Called Engineer's that designed the machine, ( failed to add) a $1.98 part on the hose line to the carburetor called a "Fuel Shut Off Valve!"
It would be so easy to just shut the valve off, and let the engine run until it empties the carburator bowl of fuel each time to shut down the machine for short term storage until the next use; but No. They never gave it a thought. Well, I did add that valve, and have never had what is called "Carb Gum Up!"
Embryodad I don't have a shut off valve on mine either (Craftsman) but I just took the carb off and it's pretty darn clean.
Did read some other reviews with people having difficulty with the model I have. Going to take some of their advice by adjusting the valve clearance, adding a heat shield around the fuel lines/carb to prevent vapor lock, and sealing up some places that melted snow can make it into the carb intake.
Mark. Even if it looks clean It's the small orifices you can't see that are often the problem in carbs. If you have the carb off and apart soak the body in cleaner and blow it out. This is almost always the issue for non starts after prolonged unuse.
Justintime Mark, the carburetor can look clean while looking through the air path, but did you take the bottom (the bowl) off? Usually that's where the jets are and where the varnish/gun collects.
What happens when there's no fuel shutoff is fuel sits in the bowl with the level controlled by the float valve. Over time the fuel begins to evaporate, and the valve lets in a bit more. When the fuel evaporates, it leaves behind the additives, which become more and more concentrated. This eventually forms a varnish like sludge which restricts the fuel metering jets and small passages.
Most of the time, removing the bowl will allow you to clean this sludge out with some carburetor cleaner in a can which is a harsh solvent, wear gloves and safety glasses.
Spray out the brass jets and any small passages you can see. Make sure the float valve can move, and that the needle valve it's connected to isn't stuck.
Most of the time, this will fix the problem.
The Bishop Yep. I did all of that. I've cleaned plenty of carbs over the years since dirt bikes tend to really get gunked up from evaporated premix.
I think the issue with my particular model is a slight lean condition at full throttle/high load, which is why quite a few people have claimed that keeping the intake side as cool as possible and water free is the key. They've also noticed that Briggs has redesigned the carburetor several times, so they were aware that some sort of tweaks were needed. Not sure what "version" I have since I bought it used.
I'm going for the $0 fix and even if it changes nothing, the snow blower works pretty well unless you really load up the engine with a huge packed snowbank or things get icy and the drive plate loses traction.
My next snowblower, if I ever need one, will be a hydrostatic drive.
So everything is back together...
Valve lash is good, carb is clean, new gas, new spark plug... won't start with the pull starter (also pops flame out the exhaust when I try) and takes 3-4 seconds of cranking on the electric start - but once its going it sounds fine. Didn't try putting a load on the engine though.
Something definitely changed in the motor last time it was running. Wondering if there's something deeper going on (bad head gasket?)
No wonder searching for this model engine (Briggs 15A114) brings up a lot of forum posts about how these things sometimes just stop running correctly. I think this was a big box special engine that Briggs wants to forget about (it's not really listed on any of their small engine charts).
If the engine does not start by pulling the recoil to start after like 4 attempts, but if you spray a squirt or two of gas into the carb with a spray bottle, and then pull the cord, and the engine starts.....then you have a fuel delivery issue.
I clean the drilled fuel ports with a short piece of 10 LB test fishing line filiment.
Find the (usually two ) ports ( a small idle mixture port, and a larger full throttle port ) and Twirl and poke through the fishing line to clean out the passages.
The ports, are the only way the fuel can be sprayed into the carbs air horn.
It will reluctantly start with the electric starter - so it's getting fuel from somewhere (the fire coming from the muffler and intake is another clue). Now I'm thinking the timing is off - which could be a sheared flywheel key (I'll check that next). It's probably trying to light the mix while the valves are still open - or at least way too advanced/retarded to start and run properly.
Had I not just used it without issue this past weekend and for the first half of this most recent storm (starting cold on the first pull - maybe 3 or 4 pulls when hot) I'd definitely lean towards a gummed up carb, but to suddenly change character like that leads me to believe it's something more mechanical.
The fishing line is a good idea if there is a clogged jet, so as a last resort I may pull the carb again and soak it.
Wish I had the money to jack it up, remove the old Craftsman, and replace it with a nice Honda ;)
You might want to check out the Harbor Freight Predator engines if soaking the carb doesn't work out , I've heard good things about them . The 6.5 horsepower model can be had for less than 100 bucks from time to time with the occasional 25% off coupon , but no electric start . I feel like a kid in some kind of store when I visit the Greenbrook Harbor Freight on Route 22 . Last visit I bought a 500 watt halogen bulb bulb to replace a blown one for less than a buck and got a free 24 bulb led flashlight all for 1.06 . Those engines are basically Chinese Honda GX clones . You may have to drill new mounting holes if the shaft is too long , but you sound very capable .
http://www.harborfreight.com/engines-generators/gas-engines.html?AttribSel=Price+Range%3D%27%24100+-+%24300%27&CatPath=All%2BProducts%252F%252F%252F%252FEngines%2B%2526%2BGenerators%252F%252F%252F%252FGas%2BEngines&RequestData=CA_AttributeSelected
http://www.amazon.com/Predator-212cc-Horizontal-Shaft-Engine/dp/B005U31ORU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
So, I bought a flywheel key at Mayberry just in case (only cost $2)...
Got home, took it apart, and the flywheel is fine. Checked the carb again... perfectly clean.
Let's look deeper and take some more pieces off. Hmm.. why does the heat shield have a burned spot? What's underneath?
Yep, that's a burned out head gasket!
Guess I called it correctly in one of my earlier posts. ;)
Thanks. I should have just disassembled everything the first time rather than stop at the valve cover ... only takes about 15 minutes to pull the head and I would have been a day closer to getting it back in shape.
Hoping this weekend's snow isn't too deep if the local shops don't have the gaskets in stock and I have to order parts online.
obewankonobe Contrary to popular belief, fuel stabilizer does not work with winter fuels. the blend of ethanol in our local gas will not mix with stabil. it sits on top. Your best bet is to use fuel normally. If u aren't going to need that particular vehicle, blower, mower, bike, etc for 2 + months, shut fuel petcock if poss, or pup fuel reset on cars and bikes. Run engine till it stalls. plug exhaust with a towel and if poss. Drain fuel.
msportbiker "How about when pull cord won't even pull??"
That would probably require some digging to see if the problem is in the pull cord itself or something locked up in the motor. Is there an electric start as well, or can you tell if the motor will turn over some other way (i.e. using a wrench on the crankshaft pulley - that may require removing some protective covers to get access)?
When was the last time it was running?
If it was pulled while running, it could just be compressed. Take out the spark plug and then pull the cord.
Otherwise Mark Mc has the right idea in trying to turn the auger with a stick. If it doesn't turn then it's probably got something stuck in it. If both of those fail, the it's probably just the cord itself and off the spool. That takes a bit of messing to get untangled.
GC I have had bad luck with Stabil. I now use Star brite Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment Gas Additive. It comes in a blue bottle and will keep your fuel fresh for up to two years. Since I started using Star Tron, I haven't had any problems with small engines, 2 stroke or 4 stroke, and it mixes with winter blend fuels.
Mr. 4paws
4paws "trying to turn the auger with a stick"
The auger will free spool unless the clutch is engaged. So, either try moving the crankshaft directly or make sure the auger drive is activated before trying to manually turn it over. You won't be able to turn the first stage as that is worm gear driven (can't backfeed the drive shaft) so if you use this method try spinning the second stage (impeller right under the chute).
*** Safety tips *** Remove the spark plug and don't do it with your hands/arms. Even with no plug the motor could turn over/spring back due to something binding.
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