Strikemaster Lazer Rebuild, Wish Me Luck

[mattthehairy]

My last day of last season was rough. I was on an out of state trip on the side of the road in 0 degree weather with 12+ mile an hour winds trying to fix the broken recoil on an older lazer auger. I finally gave up and went out on the ice where I was blown around the lake like a kite surfer while trying to set camp. I was alone and decided to pack it in.

I started this season by installing a whole new recoil on that auger, but was sad when it still wouldn't start. I loaded it with carb cleaner and was able to get it running rough for a few seconds before it would die. Disassembled it and brought the carb to a local shop for a run through their ultrasonic cleaner.

Just put it back together tonight and gave a few pulls with the new carb. It started up and ran for a few seconds (it's about 10F out) before dying. I'm thinking it's just because things are new and it's quite cold. I'm planning to put just a bit of VP ethanol free gas in the cylinder tomorrow to give it a boost and see if I can't get it tuned up from there.

How should I tune this thing? For my snow blower I expect to have to run it with the choke at 50% if the temperature is much below 20F, should I really expect to start the auger and completely close the choke?

[HWeber]

Once warm it should run without choke. If you need any help guys are going to need to know what engine it is. I'm guessing old tecumseh. 2 or 3 hp?

[mattthehairy]

Yea, it's an old Tecumseh tc300-3194G with a diaphragm carb. The engine shop said it looks like at some point someone put a different carb on it though since what's on there is not the usual model. I've got to track down that part number again

I know the idea is that I should be able to shut the choke down when warm but most snowblowers I've used need some choke even after running for forty minutes. Maybe they are just crappy?

[HWeber]

With the googling/research I've done trying to fix my own you're either lucky and your carb is adjustable or its not and choke ends up helping your auger run right because you cant adjust it to run richer. Sounds like some EPA crap is the reason for crappy non adjustable carbs

[FG Steve]

My old TC300 (also on a Lazer) doesn't need or even like to be choked when warm.  Once it's warmed up, choke will kill it.  Should run choke-free in a very short time after starting.

IMO the snow blower that wants choked all the time is in need of some maintenance.

[3300]

you should find peak rpm and then turn out the screw to make the fuel richer for cold temps. turn it so it bogs down just a smidge. never leave it on peak rpm and never go lean.
you want that extra protection form the oil in the gas this time of year.

[mattthehairy]

The carb that's on it is a discontinued Zama C1Q-M24 which at some point was used as a replacement for the discontinued Tecumseh carb that was originally on the machine. A bummer about this carb is that it doesn't use standard screws for high and low speed screws. Instead it's some kind of oval, a tool my local shop was kind enough to lend me, but I'll probably have to buy if I want to really maintain this thing.

I got it idling pretty rough this morning but it bogged pretty hard when giving it throttle. Sprayed it with some blaster and brought it back to the engine shop where they helped me by getting it running in high speed and burning off lots of oil and sludge the blaster had disolved. The exhaust was smokey and the machine was literally dripping burnt oil. I'm running VP in it now so that shouldn't be an issue going forward. They also realized that the gas tank cap vent was corroded so it wasn't properly venting.

After that it was running reasonably well so I put the auger head back on and went down the street to try it under load. It's not perfect, but I've got it to a point where I can start it on the second pull, choke it to 70% and drill nice holes without problems. I feel like the more I run it this season with VP and some seafoam the better it'll run? It doesn't really like idling after drilling but I'm not sure if I really care. Seems to work reliably even if it's not exactly normal.

Do you think it's worth trying to dial it in anymore than that considering it's already a frankenstein of non-standard parts? This is a friend of mine's auger, I'm hoping to get an ION before next season.

[hardwater diehard]

I would try a shot or two of SeaFoam...

Fill auger tank 1/4 w/proper oil/gas mix to that add Seafoam 2oz or more ...mix ....run auger till warmed up...then kill motor via the choke .....let sit half hour repeat ...let sit over night ...should fix some of the woes...only other thing I could think of is the condition of the muffler ...is it loud ...plugged ?

[hardwater diehard]

https://www.smallenginesuppliers.com/html/engine-specs/tecumseh/Tecumseh_TC-TM_Engines_Service_Information.pdf

[Farmerjay]

Here's how I have to run mine.  Full choke on a cold start, until it "Pops".  Then 1/2 choke to start and idle as I carry it around.  When I go to drill a hole, I flip the choke off with my finger and drill away. 

Basically, I can't set the mixtures to slow idle with mine on zero choke, and still get it to come up to rpm while drilling.  If I increase the mixture to get it to idle with no choke, I don't get my rpm to drill.  If I run the mixture to get drill rpm at zero choke, I can't get it to idle at an rpm low enough to stop the auger from turning.  So to combat this, I drill at no choke, then go back to 1/2 choke as I let it idle while walking to the next hole location. 

I have to add, my auger is old with a lot of hours on it.  I have rebuilt the carb many times, and I have no doubt that the throttle shafts are worn, and allowing air leaks, so I adapt my technique vs buying a new carb or auger.  If you can track down a correct replacement carb, I believe they're only around $25 or so.  I could be wrong. 

FYI The adjustable carbs are very serviceable, and very easy to rebuild until they totally wear out.  The kits are only about $5 plus shipping.