Not Outboard Related, But You Guys Will Know the Answer!

[kevinrude]

So with the first real snowfall (~3″) of the year overnight here in SE Michigan, I thought I would get cute and use my leaf blower to clear the sidewalk instead of shovelling.

It’s an early 90s McCulloch that I picked up at an auction in the summer. I did the usual stuff to it at that time: cleaned, new fuel lines, new spark plug, new vented gas cap, new air filter and it worked great all summer. Try to use it this morning, and it won’t run on high speed. Mess with the carburetor a bit and that had it running better for a few minutes but then stopped running again.

Then I go to wondering if maybe it needed a different spark plug to work during colder temperatures? The one in it now is the equivalent of a Chamption DJ8J. Is this a situation where I need a ‘hotter’ plug?

Thanks.

Regards,
Kevinrude

[Buccaneer]

Carb diaphragms don’t last long in most of these engines.

Prepare to be boarded!

[stanley]

As Buccaneer said,diaphragms don’t last.You can probably buy a new Carb with fuel line,filter,and primer bulb for a little more than the diaphragm alone.Going that route you check a lot of troubleshooting boxes at once.Just did that with my leaf blower and all is well.

[billw]

The Tygon hoses in those things like to get brittle and develop cracks. Sometimes there will be a no-start but sometimes they try to run, but poorly. If you take the carb off to check the diaphragm, the hose condition will become more obvious. Don’t forget to check for cracks INSIDE the tank, too.

A leaf blower for snow, huh? Here on Cape Cod, when it snows, the consistency is more like liquid concrete….

Long live American manufacturing!

[eviltwin]

Fuel filter is inside gas tank on a short piece of rubber hose. Change that and change all fuel hoses while you are at it.

[kevinrude]

{Fuel filter is inside gas tank on a short piece of rubber hose. Change that and change all fuel hoses while you are at it.}

Yep, did that when I bought it. Cheap kit (like $5) at Ace Hardware.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by kevinrude.

[kevinrude]

{The Tygon hoses in those things like to get brittle and develop cracks. Sometimes there will be a no-start but sometimes they try to run, but poorly. If you take the carb off to check the diaphragm, the hose condition will become more obvious. Don’t forget to check for cracks INSIDE the tank, too.

A leaf blower for snow, huh? Here on Cape Cod, when it snows, the consistency is more like liquid concrete….}

Yep, changed the hoses when I bought it. They were indeed brittle. As for the consistency of the snow, it all depends on the temperature. It has been brutally cold here for the last few days (20 degrees F and below — supposed to be single digits for the balance of the week) which makes the snow light. The closer you get to freezing, the closer the snow resembles concrete.

[need2fish]

Are you using Ethanol-ated fuel . If so, the water it absorbs can freeze inside the little porous filter at the end of the fuel pickup, That and when the pickup tube gets brittle from the cold, it may prevent that filter from submerging in the fuel,

[hans]

Hey Kevin, Even my 2 snow blowers needed a little eather ( carb cleaner) to get going

Your summer motor not set for cold weather, neet a lot of choke and eather

fI hope you already have it running since the warm up starts sunday

[Author]

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