Anyone in the Lansing/Jackson area want a small engine repair job?

[Craig M]

I've had my snow blower into a couple of different shops a few times and nobody can get it to run right so it's now sitting in a shed collecting dust and I've been paying for plow service, which mind you, I'm kind of liking the convenience. Anyway, I have an older Montgomery Ward 5 horse B/S motor with electric start, maybe from '75 or so. When this thing runs right it rips through 3 feet of snow and plow drifts like a hot knife through butter. All I can get out of it now is that when it gets a minor snow load in the hopper, it bogs down and stalls out. I had the carb rebuilt, motor tuned, etc. and still can't solve this stalling problem. I'd really like to get this fixed, anyone in the Lansing/Jackson area want a small engine repair job?

[Whitetail1]

He fixes anything that runs on gas. He's just 8 miles south of Jackson on 127 south. 517-529-4421 Ask for Mark.

[Craig M]

I'm down that way all the time and thank you for replying!

[bigcountrysg]

Sounds like the govenor is not kicking in and bringing up the engine speed when under load.

If that guy can't help you out. Might want to get a hold of ferg on here. As he does small engine repair as well.

[FERG 06]

On something that old I'd start suspecting low compression/worn out engine. A cylinder leak down test would be in order.

One question, did it all of a sudden it start running bad like one year it was fine and the next it ran bad? Or did it slowly start running bad over time.

I don't know where you took it to get it fixed but one thing I've learned, not everyone "in the business" knows what they're doing or how to diagnose.
Like big said, it could be as simple as the govenor linkage is rusted up.

Too bad I'm nowhere near either of those cities.:sad:

[FERG 06]

This also could just be the carb is not adjusted right. If it bogs down some times just opening up the high speed mixture screw does the trick.
If it was rebuilt and adjusted during warm weather, it would need to be readjusted for the cold weather (needs more fuel in the cold).

Also if it was last worked on a while ago the carb would need to be cleaned out if fuel was left in it.

On the compression issue, a comp test doesn't always tell the whole story as most engines have a compression release to make it easier to pull over. That's why I do both comp and leak down test.
Though if that engine is a '75 (you can tell by the first 2 #'s of the serial # on a briggs) it may not have a compression release. Usually if you look up the part # for the camshaft it will say "Camshaft MCR" indicating "mechanical compression release.

If it was mine I would try opening up the mixture a bit to see if that helps.
If it is a '75 it could be a diaphagm carb. Those were a real pain to set up properly. I once did a rototiller, cleaned the outside of the srceen of the fuel pickup tube an it ran great. As soon as you put a load on it, it stalled. Ended up the inside o the pickup tube was clogged and had to be replaced.