Snagged a free snowblower: Ran when parked. Not eco.

[Stubby79]

Corn-fuel killing carbs is why I have dual fuel (propane) carbs on my few pieces of power equipment.

Just duct tape one on the end of yours and use the old one to control the throttle. It'll work!

[oil pan 4]

I just use non chlorinated brake cleaner as starting fluid.

[Piotrsko]

Most carbs on small engines are made of MAZAK a zinc based alloy that is sensitive to water corrosion. Might also have the bleed fuel hole clogged up or the main jet hole ditto depending if the plug is wet or dry.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Might also have the bleed fuel hole clogged up or the main jet hole ditto depending if the plug is wet or dry.

Good guesses both! The spark plug was dry - no fuel getting through. Sure enough, the main jet was plugged SOLID. Carb cleaner wouldn't even dissolve it - had to dig out the crud & varnish with a pin.

It now starts & runs on fuel from the tank. Woohoo, IT'S A RUNNER!



But I ordered a carb kit for it anyway, mostly because the float bowl gasket was dry & cracked. But the other bits will come in handy.



And I replaced the fuel line, which was also dry & cracked and had started to leak after I had dis/re-connected it a few times while monkeying around with the carb.

Next up: slow leaks in both tires (no inner tubes in these wheels).



Has anyone ever used this fix-a-flat aerosol stuff? Waste of money or worth a try?

[ksa8907]

I'd say waste of money on the fix a flat. Can you get tubes for that size? Its probably a leak around the rim or valve stem. I've had great success by wire brushing those areas and spraying with clear spray paint to seal, dismount the tire obviously.

[Piotrsko]

Fix a flat is cool for small puncture leaks, but you probably have a ton of flat induced cracks or the nozzle has cracked open Tubes aren't that expensive, and you might be able to get new tires from harbor fright for peanuts. Tractor supply has implement tubes.

[MetroMPG]

The tires are as dried out & cracked as the fuel line (pic above). I suspect they won't make a nice seal against even a clean rim like they used to. There's no supple left.

But I haven't actually inspected them yet for the leak location. I was just looking for people to tell me: "YES, take the cheap & easy way out. It'll work perfectly!"

[MetroMPG]

Look at the weather checking on that! Actually, it looks more like cracks from sitting flat for too long.


(An aside: I learned recently that boat builders - and probably other woodworkers - call cracks in lumber "checks". Probablly the realm where the word came from. Hey - I wonder if the meaning of "a checkered past" is connected.)



They're 13 x 5.0 size. I'll go look for inner tube options.

[Stubby79]

If not, I'd think the liquid sealants would work better. Know there are some youtubers who swear by them. Crappy tire sells a yellow one that's latex with no chunks in it, the kind they recommend for cyclists.

[Xist]

Some people swear by magical fixes in a can and some people swear at them. The former camp always says "Obviously you did something wrong!" when the gunk gums up everything.

The highest-rated head gasket sealant is rated 4.3 stars on Amazon.

I think that I would want something rated a little better than that to use on an engine.

Old snowblower tires?

Go ahead!

I tried it on Mom's wheelbarrow tire and it didn't do anything, but we already had the can, so we weren't out anything. I bought a new tubeless tire from Home Depot.

It was half off!

I don't think that Harbor Freight had the right size. I went there first.

Fix-a-Flat may work. Maybe not.

I bet that Great Stuff would do the trick, but I need to ask can you make it a solid rubber tire?

Also, it sounds like two-stroke engine, carburetors, and all of that are more trouble than it is worth. Just swap in a Metro engine!