MTD Pro Snowblower No Start! Lesson learned, never assume!

[@CraigArndt]

UPDATE~ I TOOK THE OIL OUT! For those that didn't watch the video, the oil was changed (I indicate how much was in there) prior to running the engine. Also, the plug was clearly incorrect and a 1/2" too short.

[@baddad5781]

New subscriber here. As soon as you took out the plug the first time I immediately figured that wasn't the proper plug. Great video and well done. You're a natural in front of the camera. You got it running and that's what counts so nice job.

[@rogerzindler8144]

Yep, when I first got into learning about small engine repair, I bought a blower with a ten hp tecumseh, which the guy said did not run. First thing I did was fuel system flush and carb clean before I even pulled the cord once. I could see it had a brand new plug in it. I couldn't get it to fire, and noticed fuel blowing out through air intake on the carb. I pulled the plug out to inspect, and immediately saw that it was in fact a brand new plug, and had a huge, arched gash/indentation in the threads. He put a long shaft plug in it instead of the correct short shaft plug, which bent the valve upon opening. At the time, I just assumed the right plug had been installed by previous owner. Lesson learned. Also learned how to replace and seat a new valve.

[@RustyGlovebox]

Nice work figuring out the no start issue and good to get it running before it snows.

[@benjamincresswell3713]

Hi Craig. Have you ever heard of sparkplug defouler extensions? They're available at every auto parts store, Amazon and Walmart. That's because they work. They work by recessing the sparkplug electrodes by about 1/2" to 3/4" from their normal location. So by using a shorty sparkplug somebody may have been trying to duplicate the effect of the defouler extension, keeping the business end of the sparkplug out of the oil cloud that no doubt was occurring due to the engine running with so much extra oil in the crankcase. That oil would have come from the breather tube which goes somewhere in the vicinity of the air inlet stream to suck in and burn the crankcase fumes. (to keep the greenies happy) But it must have just been overwhelming when the engine ran with all that extra oil in the crankcase. Usually it only takes about an extra 1/2" of oil level to start blowing oil out the breather tube at full throttle. (rated speed) So, by blowing so much oil into the carb it just choked it out and no defouler could possibly work. But they tried.(?) Most of the time when it happens people figure out that they have overfilled the engine and let some back out and that's the end of the problem. Oh Well. But let's look at the bright side: When it comes to oil more is better than not enough, so the parts probably all got a good oiling and the engine should be in pretty good shape. Just FYI ben/ michigan

[@sswmathews]

Great Lesson, Thank you ....I just received my new Carburetor and just waiting to install it...I like having extra parts on hand, so I'll clean the old one and put it aside until something happens again. Thank you!

[@tg9754]

Great video. I've repaird small engines and wouldn't have thought the wrong spark plug was installed on a newer unit like that, but who knows who worked on it before you. A great indication of that was too much oil. I'm a subscriber now.

[@FranceVeto]

Its good that you notice the original sparkplug size too

[@hansnorling]

Fun and impressive debugging. Very well done!

[@jennifermennenga1716]

I have a craftsman 4/21 snowblower I bought at a garage sale for $50. I'm having trouble getting it to start and stay running at an idle. I've changed the oil, cleaned the fuel tank and lines, cleaned air filer, cleaned the carburetor, twice, new spark plug. I don't have a Manuel for it, but I'm glad to watch your video and will check to see if the spark plug is the right one. Jennifer M

[@CraigArndt]

You may need a new carburetor, cheap on Amazon. sometimes no matter what you do, a small piece of crud won’t make it run right. Make sure you have a gaskets on the intake to the carb just in case someone was in there. It’s probably that low idle circuit that is plugged if it will only run at idle in choke. Good luck

[@jakemanchester5139]

I love my 1996 John Deere 32" in snowblower. Bought it new to remove the snow on my 400 foot paved drivewy. I use Stabil and change the oil regularly using 5W-30.The machine has never let me down. I replace wear parts as needed.

[@bensoulmusic6976]

Thank you. Very informative , I like how we learn with you. The hints got me thinking. Your experience is valuable. Vary enjoyable to see a victory after it got running right. Hoping I can get my snowblower going too

[@CraigArndt]

So nice of you, thanks for the comment!

[@JoseRodrigues-ln7jj]

craig, i have single stage MTD 179 cc Blower. I did same as you did. Plus had spark but did not change thinking its good. It was right spark plug though. Thought i did something wrong in carb assenly. rebuild 2 times. finallly i got your video watched after many and decided to change the plug and BINGO!!!! Started at third manual start. used it for more than 45 mins. Running good. Thanks for the informative video.

[@CraigArndt]

Excellen Jose, great to hear. Glad this video helped!

[@KensSmallEngineRepair]

Nice easy fix Craig. Looking forward to your Winter snow plowing vids with the Wheel Horse!

[@CraigArndt]

Thanks Ken. Was an easy one, but would have been easier if I knew that spark plug they put in wasn't correct. I'll be pushing snow this year for sure, Wheel Horse is ready and can't wait to do that again.

[@storytime4328]

Typically starting at the easiest and least expensive area would be the way to approach these small engine issues. I always replace fuel, plug, and air filter before anything. Cause if nothing else, once you do find the problem the machine has been maintained. In this case it probably would have solved your problem immediately. If still won't start I'll pull carb and clean and 9 outta 10 times it fixes it. (bad fuel is very common issue) If still not running then id move to valve cover and check specs. To each their own but great vid and love to see how others approach these small engine projects.

[@steveo601]

I just woke mine up here in NE IN. I always drop the bowl and spray up into the carb with carb cleaner. Mine usually sits 7-8 months. I’ve never had any issues with varnish buildup.

[@Theonlymap]

At 18:41 you wrote BPR5ES. Shouldn't it be BPR6ES? The reason I am asking...I have the craftsman snowblower (made by MTD) and I just watched this to troubleshoot why mine was not starting up. At the store sold me the 6es instead of 5es in replacement of the LG F6RTC that was in there...nevertheless the SB starts and runs now but worried I didn't use the right plug! :P Great video BTW. I'm a new follower. Funny, the oil was also very high in this one I have. That's my first step, I took out the oil but wondering if there's not any "wrong" info out there...I added about 1L (35oz) of 5w30 but on it there was a sticker saying 10w30. I've assumed that 5w would be better for colder weather her up north.

[@pcbytescanada]

Nice job I bet many people would have missed that spark plug length.

[@smokeycanuck8058]

I would've missed it.

[@alaskanglenn]

Thanks a bunch, been working on blowers for the past several years, had the same thing happen last night, compression, fuel, spark, but I had put a new plug in this fall before starting it, wrong plug. Duhhhhhhh, thanks for the help.

[@CraigArndt]

That was the first time I ever came across something like that. Took me a bit to figure it out! Glad it helped, thanks for watching!

[@thomasmagiera3283]

Spark plug nonsense is so common with my customers. I have had one too long, hitting the piston, a V seat plug in place of what should be a flat gasket, a plug with no gasket and the ones I really like are where I can remove the plug with my fingers.

[@Barryferg100]

Early in the video too much oil was found in the crank, was that issue ever corrected? Great find on the incorrect plug, also the junk in the carb. Sure was spitting oil when it was first running.

[@CraigArndt]

Haha, yes of course. Put in full synthetic and the proper amount- that thing was Full! I just got in a Craftsman 9/26 and Toro 8/24 for service so video is coming on those two... one an MTD, the other Toro- both with Tecumseh's.

[@shiza237]

Are JC 8 champion plugs common in small engines ?

[@chuckmilton]

If you had done nothing except replacing the plug, would you have been able to get it to run?

[@CraigArndt]

It was a no start when I picked it up from the customer. Not sure if just swapping out the plug would have worked, that was the least thing I'd expect that he put in the wrong plug.

[@marccusumano1138]

Hi I rebuilt the carb twice cleaned everything and it still surges very badly. Changed the spark plug to correct size no change. Please help! Troy Bilt 3090 XP snow is on the way

[@CraigArndt]

If you have all the gaskets in place and you cleaned it twice by tearing it down and cleaning out all the little orifices, sometimes you just have to order a new one from ebay or Amazon. I cleaned my 30 year old Ariens carb several times, couldn't stop the surging- but a new $20 carburetor and gasket set worked great.

[@cyberedwing]

The is a big screw in the carb. I guess its called the low jet, clean it out or make it bigger with a thin drill tip.

[@rk22cc]

Step 1 drain out the excessive oil

[@CraigArndt]

Step 1 watch the video. Step 2- see that was already answered and in the pinned comment section. 🙄

[@PMCJohn]

Man I’m having a hell of a time with my 7hp Yardman with a Tecumseh HSK70. Bought it for $100 and just today when it was at freezing temperatures I was able to get it started and running at idle, and it just merrily vibed at idle but the second I tried to even slowly bring it up, it just puttered shot white smoke and died

[@CraigArndt]

Sounds to me like you need more fuel. Some of the carburetors are adjustable on Tecumseh's. They still make adjustable carburetors for these aftermarket, they work pretty good and let you tune them.

[@PMCJohn]

@@CraigArndt thanks for the tip, I’ll give that a shot, it has an adjustable carb on it. I’ve cleaned it manually a few times and have it soaking in gas to try and breakdown anything in any of the ports and stuffs

[@rayjrdibenedetto867]

Hi. I am half way through your video-very informational so far. Cant wait to watch the rest! Wondering what your bracelet is though if you don’t mind me asking? Thank you and have a good day

[@CraigArndt]

If it’s purple, it was for my son when he was fighting Hodgkins. He’s been cancer free for the past 4 years now.

[@rayjrdibenedetto867]

@@CraigArndt Good morning. I believe it was purple. Glad he is cancer free! Thought it might be for dementia was all? Didn’t mean to be noisy! Hope he is doing well along with the rest of the family! Merry Christmas!

[@smokeycanuck8058]

I know manufacturers often put oil amount needed in manual, why don't they put a label near the oil fill? Could help a lot of DIYers. Thanks for the video, good job man.

[@CraigArndt]

Good point. Why not stamp on the plastic dip stick top, 5W30 24oz or whatever it takes. I never remember so I check it, drain it in a meauring cup and refill or add a bit. It's ok to be over a little in a splash lube engine, not hurting anything, but would be nice to know how much labeled on the machine.

[@sswmathews]

I googled mine (Ariens 920402) it said 16oz

[@Andy-nm9dw]

Nice catch on the spark plug.👍

[@danielmckie8353]

How is the chute attached to the machine?

[@Peterswarahed]

Question for you I hit a bag of clothes burried in the snow. Now theres like no power it does run but low rpm and dies on snow eating...throttle switch only reducing power to stop. Any ideas? Choke doesnt seem to have any effect..

[@CraigArndt]

LOL, I hit my daughters Applebees apron from work, launched it into a tree. Now I’m finding pens and straws in the lawn. Are you saying it does this when you use the auger, or just running it has no power? I’d take the belt cover off, make sure belt didn’t come off. Let me know a little more.

[@Peterswarahed]

@@CraigArndt took belt cover off it has 2 big cracks hole 1/2 inch in belt but still holding...I see 2 belts 1 is auger and the other is fan blade I presume... it's the fan blade one...I don't think it would have an effect on engine power though.

[@Peterswarahed]

The bag and cloth got all twisted inside the auger...

[@davidunger9334]

Clothing material will not be enuff to shear any pins...So your auger blades are most likely bent out of the correct angle to carry the snow to the center to be propelled out. Instead of carrying the snow, it just compacts it into the auger housing thus overwhelming the engine & quits. If within your capabilities.... Find a like snowblower & measure the gap distance of the blades from each end of housing wall...tweak to mimic the angle needed with a pipe wrench, wood block, & lots of man strength. This is what was needed after mine ate a large snowcovered bath towel. Took roughly an hour to do. Hope this helps.

[@Peterswarahed]

@David Unger Awsome thanks for that info I will have a look see and see if anything is bent out of shape.

[@jerrystark6766]

Good diagnostic work👍👍 P.S> What are the odds that the wrong spark plug was installed by the same person who overfilled the oil? Hmmmm. 🤔

[@CraigArndt]

I talked to the owner when I delivered it, the spark plug a local store gave him the plug number. He said it ran, but I don't see how. And the oil level, no idea. No matter who tells you how much oil it takes, it's got a dipstick to verify.

[@nathanvanderploeg6995]

Im thinking that is not all oil . When you cleaned the carb of that junk. It may have been a tiny bit of crud in the needle and seat area thus leaking nasty gas into the crank case over filling the crank case . Change that oil .

[@CraigArndt]

The crankcase had no gas in it, it was all engine oil. It’s easy to tell by look, feel and smell. Needle and seat were good, usually bad seat or dirty needle will cause fuel to leak from bowl too.

[@petev5545]

Great video. Very interesting even to the top notch mechanics. Keep up the good work. I am a new follower for sure.

[@nodak81]

A huge flaw of that design is that there's no integrated fuel shutoff. At least there isn't on mine. I have a 30" 2-stage Storm XP and a 28" 3-stage Vortex. Both with the 357cc engine. I love the engine, Chinese or not, they've been absolute workhorses. I live in New England and have a 200 foot-long driveway along with parking for 15 cars that I clear with these two machines. The 30" is 15 years old and still in great shape. The fuel shutoff is my only gripe. Not including one is bad enough, but they made it extremely difficult to install one. I had to remove panels from the engine just to squeeze one in there. I also had the same problem with the right side tire not holding air worth a damn on the 30". Goes flat in 2 days since it was new. I've never done anything about it though. The other one has never needed air. It's five years old and still has 14 psi in each tire.

[@CraigArndt]

These Chinese engines are all based off Honda type motors and they have them down pretty well as solid runners. They always start instantaneously in the cold and don't use a lot of fuel. But not having a fuel shutoff I don't understand. Had the same engine on a Troy-Bilt Snow Blower I did a video on, no fuel shut off on that either.

[@marzgtp]

My snow blower is doing the same thing. Same machine just in red! What carb do I need?

[@CraigArndt]

You need to put your model number in to google and get the right carb for it. Can’t tell you which carb but Tecumseh snow king’s pretty much used the same type.

[@williamalbright8878]

Awesome job sir

[@fatalcapsaicin5157]

How much seafoam should you put in a tank

[@CraigArndt]

Depends on what you are trying to solve for. Fuel treatment I use 5-6 oz. per tank. In the engine for sludge removal 2-3 oz per quart.

[@fatalcapsaicin5157]

@@CraigArndt cool thanks for the response. I inherited an old snowblower last winter. Tbh I have no idea how old exactly it is but probably at least twenty years. I dug into the carb at the beginning of this season and it was surprisingly really clean. I just figured it was a good idea to run some seafoam threw it.

[@jamesharless5357]

Great job, and great video!👍🏻

[@CraigArndt]

Thank you James!

[@campionoverbagh561]

It seems to be a requirement to rebuild the carb several times before finding out what is actually wrong I always do 😂

[@CraigArndt]

If you ever rebuilt a carb, you know how difficult it is to get them clean.

[@robertknight4672]

I'm also guilty of not making sure my machine has the correct spark plug. I found a snowblower recently, I decided to check after watching this. It had the wrong plug in it but at least in this case the thread depth was correct and the machine ran.

[@erikrieger6395]

how do u get a snapped key out of a snowblower??

[@CraigArndt]

The flywheel key snapped?

[@erikrieger6395]

@@CraigArndt i broke the key inside the hole. i turned it by accident. i can't pull it out. i have someone looking at it soon.

[@CraigArndt]

A new key and switch is probably $10 on Amazon.

[@demetriosa7646]

Nothing beats the Tecumsehs!

[@CraigArndt]

For sure, Tecumseh's are great motors. My 1986 Ariens 824 has been in a number of videos and that Tecumseh Snow King just runs so well. Loads of power. Handled a massive blizzard last year, 4 feet of snow. I added a headlight, stator and harness, so nice to blow snow at night. Thanks for watching.

[@nickdipascal6682]

You saved those folks a lot of money!!! How's Colin doing ?

[@CraigArndt]

He's doing great Nick, thanks for asking. Healthy, working full-time and doing well. He's an EMT and volunteer fire-fighter so he keeps busy at that too. Thanks Nick!

[@nickdipascal6682]

@@CraigArndt Awesome!!

[@RolandThibault]

You should take the oil out

[@CraigArndt]

You're the 1001th person that's said that! And if you watched the video, you'd see I took the oil out. LOL.

[@peterlor2066]

Good job!

[@CraigArndt]

Thanks!

[@lovingcindy01]

Is mtd still in business? How old is your snowblower? I saw one on Facebook market but not sure how old is it. Looking to buy a snowblower

[@CraigArndt]

Yes MTD is in business, they make most of the snowblowers out there for retailers. I’d suggest looking at an Ariens if you get a lot of snow. I don’t own an MTD, this was a customers machine.

[@wn7281]

Thank you for your video, I will repair my machine next. thanks

[@CraigArndt]

Good luck! Hope the video helps.

[@glenheil6529]

Great fix I tell people they dont have to fiil the gas tank up easy to put more in if needed

[@freightdawg6762]

Hows your pit boss been holding up?

[@freightdawg6762]

Im thinking of getting a series 5 hows yours been after 3 yrs?

[@CraigArndt]

Pit Boss vertical is great. Had an issue with the display last spring, the two probe temps on the lcd was hard to read, 8 looked like 0… they sent a new one under warranty. Love the smoker, doing ribs this weekend. Maybe I’ll toss up a video.

[@901ronnie]

I would never have guessed the true cause of the problem. Good diagnosis!

[@CraigArndt]

LOL it was right there in front of me too.. but I expected that it was original. I'm glad it happened, I'm changing my overview methods to make sure critical parts are correct first, then diagnose.

[@diverdave4056]

..mmm VERY CONFUSING ! why was the old plug dirty IF the machine would not fire up because it was too short ???? did someone decide to just put an old used spark plug in it from a different machine in hopes to get it to work ???

[@CraigArndt]

It wasn’t that confusing. It would get saturated with fuel and ignite but wouldn’t run. Owner put the plug in, wrong size.

[@diverdave4056]

@@CraigArndt then why did the short plug look like it was used for a few years ?

[@CraigArndt]

For the reason I gave you. Put the OEM plug in, it started first pull.

[@workingtools2999]

MTD makes cub cadet, yardworks, troy-bilt.

[@CraigArndt]

Thin sheet metal, light weight, zero grease zerks and all bushings instead of bearings. They make a lot of brands, none of them are really are any good.

[@workingtools2999]

@@CraigArndt True. Although my comment is for the poeple saying troy bilt is better, cub cadet is better and so on. Yet they don't know it literally gets assembled and built from one company. Its like saying Lexus is better than Toyota when they all come from one company.

[@corysexton3970]

You're the man!x🫎❄️👍

[@shiza237]

So what grade oil does it take? Thanks in advance.

[@CraigArndt]

I use a full synthetic 5w-30 for all my winter equipment.

[@shiza237]

@@CraigArndt awesome. Wifey just got an old sno thrower so when I do get it running. It’ll need fresh oil as well.

[@jamesandrews1130]

Are you in East Palestine. I think I see your smoke.

[@sameerabuahmad9007]

That is a great video

[@CraigArndt]

Thank you Sameer!

[@murkypuddle33]

good video thanks

[@davidjoslyn767]

Noma snowblower chain drive

[@davidjoslyn767]

How to replace chain 8 hp

[@frankie7508]

Why would you turn the engine over first without getting the oil level at the right point. You know it has twice as much oil in there as it should have. I don't like your work habits at all And I wouldn't let you work on any of my machinery. Nice job cleaning the carburetor and adjusting the valve backlash.

[@CraigArndt]

This was one of the best comments I've had on this channel, frankie.

[@neo13suzor60]

I believe he had a few numbers on that It was like twice as much oil

[@NormanMcGregor]

Nice!!!

[@Mike-ig2zq]

Haha, been there, done that. Lol. Great vid Craig !

[@CraigArndt]

Thanks 👍 Mike! Only have a few hours messing with it, but hey, lesson learned. Thanks bud.

[@not2fast4u2c]

That was a lot of oil

[@CraigArndt]

Jim, that was the most oil I've ever seen in any small engine I've worked on. I measured it, was shocked and in the end, runs like new. Those Hondas and clone like motors are something.

[@jeygopal2624]

👍

[@ronhammar1154]

Why not start by draining out half the oil before you do anything else ? The sparkplug I think is a standard plug and that is an overhead camshaft so that is the wrong plug for it and that is maybe why it is so fouled ! I have seen enough of your video !

[@CraigArndt]

Ever see those Captain Obvious commercials?

[@rk22cc]

@@CraigArndt.?????

[@tooluser]

way to stink up the neighborhood. would have cost you nothing to drain some oil out of the drain tube to the proper level and not risk further damage.

[@PMCJohn]

The smoke you saw was all oil that had gotten into the cylinder and the exhaust and burned off, he clearly drained the oil very early on when he showed the measurements of how much oil was in there

[@dnlmachine4287]

Doesnt watch the video, or use hearing or vision skills at all. Just complains. Eat shet. Tool.

[@CraigArndt]

Tool user, now that's funny.

[@cliqster1]

The electric snowblowers really take the guesswork out of it.

[@CraigArndt]

I hope the day never comes that I will be forced to use an electric snowblower. May work for some with low snow totals, but completely unrealistic where I live. Heavy wet lake effect snow is no match for most consumer grade gas powered models.

[@stevesmith6058]

Electric snowblowers are junk

[@ceasergert2780]

Go hug a tree

[@jimeckenrode1271]

My suggestion right from the start would have been take it to a mechanic,

[@CraigArndt]

Funny.

[@blitzerrrrrrr]

The mystery is, who put the wrong spark plug in it in the first place?

[@CraigArndt]

When I dropped it off to the customer, he said he put it in… but said it ran. I don’t know how since the electrode was buried in the threads of the hole, wasn’t anywhere near the top of the cylinder head.🤷

[@gordonwrichert8240]

drain the oil and it will stop smoking

[@gordonwrichert8240]

there is to much oil in the motor drain the oi l it has 2 times as much as it needs