Tecumseh Snow King. . .Ready for winter. . .

[Robster]

Did the pre-season maintenance on the 'ol Snow King yesterday, which really ain't much--changed the oil, checked the auger belt, tire pressures, greased the augers, adjusted the skid height. After sitting since about mid-March, the 'ol gal fired on the first pull--amazing little engines for the money! I've had this snowblower for about 7 years and it just WORKS. . .

I usually change the oil at the end of the winter season, but this time I got lazy. . .honestly, central PA got hammered with snow last winter and I spent a lot of "quality time" with this snowblower and I just didn't feel like spending much time with it so soon, I reckon. Anyway, dumped the old MobilClean and put in the new MobilClean and I'm good to go--with any luck we won't get so much snow this year, but if we do I'm ready.

Any other Snow King fans out there? How long do these engines last?

 

[JTK]

The engines go on forever that's for sure. Main thing is to keep everything else as tip top as you can. Make sure you change worn down skid shoes so you don't eat up the shave plate or the sides of the blower housing, make sure to throw some lube on the axle shafts so the wheels don't rust on and pull the belly pan to make sure there's still meat on the friction wheel. Also make sure the friction wheel slides back/forth nice and LIGHTLY lube it's slide shaft. I use a very tiny bit of silicone grease. It's also important to clean as much snow off the machine as you can before you park it, especially if you've got a road salt laden plow mound at the end.

Joel

 

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I have a snow king and its a total DIEHARD.

Sat out for years between seasons, un covered. Still starts on the first try (Im a wimp - I use the electric start!). Carb needs rebuild badly, but still idles (albeit lopes at idle). Never stalls out in heavy snow, barely bogs. Doesnt burn oil.

 

[jdh]

snow kings are awesome i have a 5hp on my mtd 2 stage and it starts easily and purrs like a kitten, kinda like a honda!!

 

[boraticus]

I owned two Craftsman 10 h.p. machines for over twenty years of hard use. The engines were the best part of the machines. Despite their simplicity/lack of sophistication, they were stone axe reliable and didn't consume oil. I ran 10W30 dino oil in them and starting in -30 wasn't an issue.

The main cause of engine failure with these Tecumseh Snow King engines is low oil. Mine never used a drop over the entire season, unlike the B&S Snow engine I have now which uses observable amounts of synthetic oil every couple of hours. I'm switching to dino in the B&S this year just to see if oil consumption stops.

 

[Craig in Canada]

I'm not a fan, but mine's been working OK since 1986. I don't know if it ever cold starts on the first pull, but I always get it started. The carbs seem very cranky and prone to deposit related operating problems even when using high quality, stabilized fuel and regardless of whether you store it "wet" or "dry".

Although I'm not really sure it worked all that hard for the first 20 years of it's life. The machine it came on (Toro "824" 38080) had exceptionally large impeller clearances from day one. It could throw light fluffy stuff but anything heavy or slushy would usually just plug the chute and never really load up and "hook up". I added a Clarence impeller kit (highly recommended) as part of a mini-restoration when my dad gave it to me and it revolutionized the machine. Now it digs right into anything, never clogs, and out-throws everything on the street. I can now really load up the engine and complete stop it with the snow load if I wanted to (which I don't). This was simply not possible before because the rest of the machine simply couldn't feed enough snow to challenge the engine.

It sure beats shoveling, now matter how to slice it.

 

[hemitom]

Going on 31 years with my 10 horse tech. one carb kit and a few plugs in this time. Oh i forgot replaced muffler last year. still runs like new.

 

[Nick R]

Wish I had one. The Chonda on my snowblower STILL surges at higher RPMs under load.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
I don't know if it ever cold starts on the first pull, but I always get it started.


So it's in the 70sF today and I got the snowthrower out to start it and check it over pre-winter.

Just to make a liar out of me it started first pull (after spraying some more fogging oil, and turning it over several times before adding fuel)

I think the extra compression from the fogging oil actually helps, though.

So let me rephrase - when it's actually cold, damp and winter out I don't know that it ever starts on the first pull...

 

[flatlandtacoma]

I just went over my 17 year old Noma with the 8hp Tecumseh Snow King and lubricated places that hadn't been touched since new. Which is unfortunate since she is starting to get a little rusty.

I had changed the oil a couple of weeks ago and cleaned out the carb really well. That carb gave me fits all last winter. Today she started on the first pull! Almost looking forward to moving some snow with her this winter.

 

[cronk]

Big fan of the Tecumseh snow blower engines!
My old walk behind is probably 15 years old, always starts in 1-2 pulls. All I ever do to it is change the oil every fall, and install a new spark plug. 2 years ago I rebuilt the carb.
I have a blower on the front of my John Deere garden tractor, but the walk behind still gets used by my father in law all winter.
Its to bad Tecumseh went out of business, I think they made the best cold weather engine in the business.

 

[MNgopher]

They may be loud and noisy, but they were the benchmark snowblower engine for a reason. Say what you will about the rest of the Tech lineup, but the Snow Kings did their jobs well...

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: MNgopher
They may be loud and noisy..


Not so much with the Snow King OHV lineup they built towards the end. Smooth, powerful and pretty quiet. Oh.. and VERY easy on fuel. I've had a 7hp on my MTD snowblower I bought 10yrs ago. Love it.

Joel

 

[Craig in Canada]

Mine will wake the dead

 

[gd9704]

Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Mine will wake the dead



My '82 7hp Tecumseh does as well. When I first got it (second hand) I sprung for a new muffler, and it wasn't any quieter!

However, it is a workhorse.....starts on the first pull every time!

 

[Smokescreen]

I picked up a 1975-ish Bolens 625 with the Tecumseh engine. Changed the oil, greased auger, changed the worm gear oil, drained old gas from previous owner. This thing is a Total Tank...thick welded metal body and auger housing...at least twice as thick as a brand new one with a stamped sheet metal body pfffft...After priming and setting the idle I gave it a rip...nearly tore my arm off with its high compression...it didn't start..set the idle a little higher....started 1/2 pull...what a beast! The prop moves so much air, its like putting big blow dryer on your face....since I ran the old gas out its starts every time 1/2 pull....not bad for a near 35yrs old setup.

Bring on the snow...I am a ready...

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: gd9704
Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Mine will wake the dead


My '82 7hp Tecumseh does as well. When I first got it (second hand) I sprung for a new muffler, and it wasn't any quieter!


Most of the noise doesn't come out of the muffler. The entire engine makes a horrible racket and it shakes the heck out of the rest of the chassis too. It starts my chute control rod buzzing, hand grips shaking etc... (depending on engine speed and load of course).

At least when actually being used there's snow everywhere and often still falling which mutes the sound a lot. Giving it the pre-season check this past weekend though it brings everyone to their windows wondering what the heck is going on. If I ever need another snow machine it'll be OHV.

 

[JTK]

That's a fact Craig! My parents have a newer MTD "Gold" snowblower they bought from Sam's Club around 2001. It's got a 10hp Tecumseh flat head on it. It runs good and throws some snow. That sucker rattles and vibrates so bad, last winter the coil that powers the headlamp broke free from behind the flywheel, jammed the engine to an instant stop and punched a hole in the upper block! Mom didn't know what happened and kept grinding away with the E-start, destroying the starter gear. My brother an I were able to fix the block with some JB Weld and it still runs (no E-start or headlamp anymore). Dad passed away last December and there's no way mom will be able to use it now. It's not the easiest pull start. That's another area where my Tecumesh OHV shines. A light pull and it fires right up. I don't think it's ever taken more than 1 or 2 pulls. I never use the E-start on it.

Joel

 

[boraticus]

I also agree with Craig.

One of my old Craftsman machines with a 10 h.p. Tecumseh vibrated so much that it would rattle the snow thrower apart within minutes of operation. Over the years, the fasteners had worn down and wouldn't hold torque. It was actually comical. I used to keep a piece of wire with three "frequently used" combination wrenches attached to the handle of the snow thrower. It wasn't a matter of if I'd need them it was a question of how soon. I learned to keep them on the wire after dropping a couple from my pocket in the snow and end up firing them across the street into a neighbour's driveway. Fortunately not hitting anyone or anything.

The last straw was when I was trying to clear the driveway of a couple inches of heavy wet snow. The machine was basically extruding snow logs that would achieve a length of eighteen inches or so then topple off the machine. Suddenly, the entire chute popped off and fell to the driveway. Being more than a little P. O.'d, I began to run the machine up the hill to the garage for repairs. while doing so, one end of the auger popped out of the bushing and the whole assembly was doing some funky gyrating and drumming as it did a hop-a-long up the driveway. I actually broke out laughing when that happened.

Fortunately, it was the end of the season and a new machine was in the immediate future.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
I also agree with Craig.

I used to keep a piece of wire with three "frequently used" combination wrenches attached to the handle of the snow thrower. It wasn't a matter of if I'd need them it was a question of how soon.


I've never had any fasteners come loose on my Toro. Would Loctite not have helped (early in the life of the machine)?

Quote:

The last straw was when I was trying to clear the driveway of a couple inches of heavy wet snow. The machine was basically extruding snow logs that would achieve a length of eighteen inches or so then topple off the machine.


That's a textbook case for a Clarence impeller kit right there!