why does my snowblower die when i put it under load?

Question

i have an old TroyBuilt snowblower that seems very tempermental. it wont operate with the choke all the way off but does run fairly smooth on the second and third setting from full choke (there are 4 settings). the needle under the float bowl has to be adjusted frequently because the idle gets rough after being used for a short while.
when it's running ok, it will almost die when put into a thick pile of snow. i have to release the auger or back it out of the snow to get the RPMs back to normal. this happens every time i hit something thicker than powder.

at first i thought it might be something that needs to be lubricated or the spark plug is to fouled to run properly. any other ideas?
(the manual doesn't provide any help, i already checked)

Answer 1

Once the engine is running for a minute, you should be able to turn the choke completely off. I would take it to a small engine repair shop and have them give it a tune up. You could have a problem with the carb, or fouled plug, or even have rust on the magnet that's on the flywheel and not getting enough spark. Good luck. With Spring here, you have some time to get it checked out, hopefully.

Answer 2

since taking it off choke won't let the motor run, that means its running lean and this is adjusted by turning the high speed needle under the carb bowl, like you been doing, out richens in leans, so you want to turn it out 1/2 turn more (engine hot and running at full speed) and then try to take it off choke, if it now runs without choke, try snowblowing with it, if it begins to die, keep turning out the needle 1/4 turn at a time and testing it on the snow til it works without dieing. Now, any vacuum leaks will really lean the mixture and they will have to be corrected before the above will work. Places to look is looseness of the carburetor to manifold and manifold to engine gaskets, another possibility is a bad head gasket. you just might want to tighten up the carb and head bolts. finally when you get a chance, unscrew the high speed needle and take the bowl off, the float will hang down, check the needle for wear, it might be better to just replace it anyway. when you put the bowl back on, the initial adj on the needle is 1 1/2 turns out, you may have to fart around with the adj again, 1st get the engine to run without choke and then test it under load like you did before. be very careful not to tighten needle too much before you make the initial adj. also, because its and old snowblower, there may be other problems, good luck.

Answer 3

Check the governor. You will notice that it fluctuates as the load increases. Check and see it the spring is loose or off. Also as the other person noted check the carburetor. Check and see if the float has a hole it. If it does there will be fuel in it preventing the needle valve from allow fuel the the jet that sprays into the ventury tube

Answer 4

you need to rebuild your carburetor use fresh gas . and when storing for summer fill tank add (stabel)
a new plug also.