This Fix For A Vintage Echo Blower Doesn't Go Quite To Plan

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Carb. amzn.to/3ltRugE
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Chemical bottle. amzn.to/3eWcGVs
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Thanks for watching. I finally got a chance, to work on a vintage Echo blower.
The problem is that it won't start, but after doing my usual fix, turns out, it's going to need a lot more than I can give it.
This video is meant as entertainment, always practice safety.

[@garyalensr]

I'd definitely keep it original. A blower like this deserves to keep it's original parts

[@HomeGaragechannel]

I hear that

[@electroddxful]

I would buy the rebuilt kit for the carburetor drop it in a ultrasonic cleaner and call it the day. 👍🙏👍🙏

[@HomeGaragechannel]

sounds like a great plan to me, Thank you RayFpv.

[@Joey-ip2tj]

My grandfather has a Stihl bg72 from 1990 will always start with one or two pulls

[@covishen]

If it was mine, I'd go with a carb kit. Machines like that deserve to be kept as original as possible.

[@esmeraldfox4299]

The og carbs tend to be the best for the engine most times

[@HomeGaragechannel]

I can agree with that

[@HomeGaragechannel]

well said

[@huero3447]

Thank you bro I saved myself several dollars . Your videos are educational . I had trouble with my blower and you should me how to clean the lines . Thank you Sir . Have a blessed day 😊

[@HomeGaragechannel]

no problem and thank you for your time

[@Turningwrenches85]

Never seen an echo like that one so a first for me and in decent shape

[@HomeGaragechannel]

yes this is a really cool little blower, thank you Turningwrenches85

[@Jaze2022]

After many days of f'ing around, I discovered my zama carb had MANY check valves inside. These check valves sticking open or shut is what stops them from running. It is why "rebuilding" them and "cleaning" them don't work. I was crazy enough to rehabilitate these valves and was successful at that on all but the check valve on the main jet. Not sure how to remove that one. I ended up getting an aftermarket carb. But the catch is they are not the same. My OEM one had an accelerator pump for instaneous throttle response. So now I live with some bogging when I throttle up. RIP

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you for sharing that

[@craignewman1066]

I'd definitely do what your doing,at least you know you saved all the $you can

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thanks

[@brucecoleman7412]

Since you already have the rejuvenator, you have nothing to lose by trying it first. It might save you time and money waiting for the new parts to arrive. If it doesn’t work, then order the parts. I usually try to work with what I have on hand first.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

you already know what I'm going to do!

[@999thenewman]

Vintage is good. 1995 was a quality year for small engines. Go back 28 years in your life and the nostalgia might be overwhelming.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

I have and you are correct! I miss those days

[@999thenewman]

​@@HomeGaragechannel What are you waiting for? Go play Super Nintendo with your best friend.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

LOL!! Had the Atari, NES, TurboGrafx, and Playstation but never the SNES for some reason.

[@999thenewman]

​@@HomeGaragechannel Well put on a Pearl Jam album and get wrenching.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

Now you're talking

[@aussienebula8331]

O hell yeah i would investigate the problem more. Its not even the small amount of money. It's the new remedy you may find that will help you on the next one. Great vid. Cherrs mate.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

you make a great point!

[@lewiemcneely9143]

Years ago when I was doing lawn care a customer had one of these blowers that I had to get running every year. Seems like it was gray but it's been a long time. It was old when I started working on it and I got it running but never used it. We either had the Echo handheld jobs or the Stihl backpacks. And I had to fool with it too so don't feel bad. That was just the way they were. BLESSINGS!

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you for sharing that Lewie McNeely!

[@lewiemcneely9143]

@@HomeGaragechannel U 2, Pal!

[@v-g-z3689]

To answer your question: I´d never even think about buing an aftermarket carb anymore. If cleaning the original carb manually and with the ultrasonic cleaner and installing an oem carb kit doesn´t help I´d get a good used oem carb and try again with the same method. Aftermarket carbs gave me a lot of trouble, I learned my lesson the hard way. With some of them the engine runs like a sack of nuts, no matter what you do to them. Some run the engine surprisingly fine but I don´t know what material they are made of, some deteriorate already after a fiew months from the fuel or the elements. Rubber parts and gaskets swell up or shrink and cause failure. No. I´m through with aftermarket carbs, in my opinion they cause nothing but trouble.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

nothing wrong with that

[@jameshedrick605]

I would get an OEM carburetor for any name brand lawn equipment. I love the older blowers they seem to have better quality than the newer ones do

[@HomeGaragechannel]

Sometimes that's the best choice,

[@matthewpiper1421]

That echo pb 400e is one of the best toughest, hard to kill blowers in echo history. In fact the one i have is a pb9 which has gas tank on top of unit and a float carb, it is from 1970 and it later evolved into the blower you have, great share, thank you.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you for the information Matthew Piper

[@richardjones9282]

You are correct, the PB-400 & PB-400E were some of the best blowers ever manufactured. That unit is from the early to mid 2000's. The original units had larger fuel tanks until about 1989 when they went to the smaller fuel tanks due to reports of melted fuel tanks from defective or removed muffler heat shields. You can also tell this blower was the last generation by the non-adjustable carb and plastic recoil housing that replaced the aluminum pull starter housing.

[@RayneeshHaribhajan]

❤️❤️❤️ loved the video

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thanks

[@Patrick4959]

well for me if that was my backpack leaf blower i,d simply take it step by step to figure out what is the goer or situation with it and to your video giving me a good idea it has a excellent amount of compression and a healthy spark so don,t give up on it that easily as it could be a fuel line or a fuel filter issue as they tend to clog up from time to time and they are often easy fixes too etc.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you Patrick Stapleton, and yes we're going to move onto the fuel line next.

[@Patrick4959]

@@HomeGaragechannel yes for sure that might be the problem from there you never know really etc.

[@josephmeadows8521]

I did a little bit of adjustment on the carb on my weed eater and now the engine is running great and it's not smoking anymore and it's not using much gas😁

[@HomeGaragechannel]

nice work!

[@josephmeadows8521]

Thank you so much

[@Amedeus1756]

Since I still work and do not have much spare time, I'd probably buy a new carb. When I retire instead of watching TV I would probably spend all day on the mower trying to fix it.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

I like the way you think Amedeus.

[@robertmailhos8159]

That looks like a early 1980,s to late 70 ,s model of back pack blower

[@HomeGaragechannel]

not sure myself

[@jesussantibanez6711]

God video tanks for sharing

[@HomeGaragechannel]

Welcome 👍

[@andraskocsis4754]

Check the cranckshaft seals too

[@HomeGaragechannel]

good idea.

[@cantgetright742]

I guess that depends on how much time you have on your hands. Getting it working again for pretty much free with nothing but skill is probably worth some burnt up time too

[@HomeGaragechannel]

you are correct this one was one of those where it just took some know how and a few cheap parts.

[@StevenEverett7]

I'm curious about what you use to rejuvenate the diaphragm.

[@StevenEverett7]

@@mc2whls Thanks

[@HomeGaragechannel]

brake fluid

[@rickthelian2215]

First try then go to second option $20 on own equipment but if doing a friends then $20.😊

[@HomeGaragechannel]

excellent choice, thank you Rick Thelian!

[@RussellHoughton]

I would put a carb kit in it.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you Russell Houghton

[@growmowlawncare8245]

What do you soak the diaphragms in to bring them back?

[@HomeGaragechannel]

I use automotive brake fluid. IT's basically just silicone.

[@growmowlawncare8245]

@@HomeGaragechannel thank you

[@HomeGaragechannel]

no problem

[@TargaWheels]

Shindaiwa and Green Machine uses the same design. But Echo is probably the only ones that might have hard parts for it.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

I can agree with that

[@farmbossmikey1350]

I ran the super xl running good check it out

[@HomeGaragechannel]

I will thanks

[@chriseisele9969]

I've seen kodibass he uses Vaseline on the rubber parts to help someone them

[@HomeGaragechannel]

that works too.

[@butler386]

If I am going to work on something I prefer to fix it using the current parts. If that does not work then purchase the needed parts and move on. I don't do this for money so time is not an issue for me.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

that makes sense

[@evi1dav3]

I have 2 or 3 of those that might be a little older, air filter box is a little different. I would have thrown a carb kit in it and that usually works. Hows the fuel pickup/filter? Line have a pinhole?

[@HomeGaragechannel]

ah, thanks for bringing that up, When I check it's flow off camera, it was great, but in the second half, I do replace the line.

[@evi1dav3]

@@HomeGaragechannel yeah, sometimes replacing the fuel lines can be a royal pain in the rear but it does at the least eliminate any doubt that it is the fault and also it could save a headache in the future from the line giving up the ghost at the worst possible moment. Great vids, keep em coming! Much love from rural Skagit County, WA

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you I appreciate that

[@anthonyhawkins3576]

Putting gas in the cylinder vs quirting gas into the carb. I'm confused. Wouldn't squirting gas into the carb actually indicate if the carb is working more than squirting into the cylinder?

[@dwwd156]

Actually no. You're just squirting gas straight thru the carburetor and into the intake port in this case. Carburetor would just basically be a hole to squirt past. No metering or anything is actually being done.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

we're trying to get the engine to run, not gain any information about the carb. But also, on this one, getting the engine to run, will try and work the carb, to draw fuel from the tank. This particular carb does two things, draws fuel from the carb and deliver it to the engine.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

well put.

[@Mikeesocal69]

Its usually the diaphragm that goes bad over the years on these 2 cycle carbs.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

yes most often you are correct. But the pumping diaphragm on this one, is the same rubberized material as the metering diaphragm, instead of the better mylar, that won't harden. So I'm going to try and soften the diaphragm and see if that works.

[@Nachojimtom]

I have a older version of yours. I went with an aftermarket carb as the one it had was very finicky even after adjusting and cleaning. Did you use 50:1 fuel? The manual is quiet confusing at it mentions 32:1 and 50:1

[@HomeGaragechannel]

when I looked at the manual, I only saw that it said 50:1, so I'm not sure where you saw that? I read that off Echo's website for the PB-400e on page 5.

[@williamsnow1531]

I would of done what you done then if it didn’t start, like I the video, I would order a kit.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

it just makes sense to me too, thank you William Snow.

[@jerryabell]

I did every thing u did ended up buying a carb.btw spray carb cleaner in the carb,starts easy that way..

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you Jerry Abell

[@User-gy9ho]

What oil do you use for your mix? And what would be the best I want my machines to run as long as possible

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thanks, I use Blackmax 2 stroke synthetic. Use whatever is in your budget and mix it correctly. Many feel that you need to buy the most expensive oil out there for it to last but to be honest, you just need to use good fuel, and mix it correctly.

[@heyyqichannel306]

🥰

[@LMATHIEU2000]

New carb.

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you!

[@jamess.putman1779]

Yes save the diaphragm if possible

[@HomeGaragechannel]

agreed

[@larrykelly2838]

New carb

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you Larry Kelly

[@SwingerVic]

how was the spark plug...what was the initial complaint? ....not a biggie since it started....prob new carb....ALL new parts ....customer dont want 1 old part fixed with a new part working with a bunch of old parts ready to break

[@HomeGaragechannel]

spark plug was fantastic, and there wasn't even an initial complaint.

[@yourbrokenoven]

Where are the screws located on a 4-stroke carb like on a honda gx25?

[@HomeGaragechannel]

there might be the one, at the top of the carb, in the middle of the barrel, where the brass piece is, but it should be capped off. And as far as I know they don't want you to adjust them, that's why the one, is not obvious

[@frankz1125]

Did you check the fuel filter? May not be letting enough fuel past. Cheers

[@HomeGaragechannel]

Yes it's free and clear, I just didn't show it on camera. you'll see more in the second part.

[@frankz1125]

@@HomeGaragechannelI find that its not very often a fuel filter is plugged anyway. Cheers

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you again!

[@frankz1125]

@@HomeGaragechannel np

[@frankz1125]

I am working on an Echo cs3900 . They are ok but not as good as Husqvarna

[@HomeGaragechannel]

thank you for the information Frank Z.

[@dennisloisellejr6950]

I would’ve bought a $20 carburetor

[@HomeGaragechannel]

nothing wrong with that

[@shangrilaladeda]

the fuel pump

[@HomeGaragechannel]

yep

[@jjjuarez312]

20 on a new carburetor

[@HomeGaragechannel]

makes sense

[@woodlanegardenequipmentrep9149]

....low speed screw is always closest to the engine.....also, diaphragm is crusty

[@HomeGaragechannel]

you are correct

[@Jim-ie6uf]

Aftermarket carb is $15.00 ish

[@HomeGaragechannel]

sounds about right.

[@Jim-ie6uf]

I looked them up

[@HomeGaragechannel]

the one I saw was $18 with free shipping, was your price with or without shipping?

[@two-strokeworkshop1154]

So I had a chainsaw and I would think it was going to be an easy fix but I would not get any fire. So the. I put some fuel in the spark plug hole and it still wouldn’t fire……. I forgot to turn it on

[@HomeGaragechannel]

oh it's happened to me, plenty of times

[@Furrowx]

20 bucks? I would just go for the carb if the customer was paying for it. If it was mine I would try to rejuv the diaphram

[@HomeGaragechannel]

you do have a good point