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Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.

By Andrew Pollack on 01/17/2011 at 10:13 AM EST

Eighteen months ago I wrote a little article about how to adjust the brakes on a lawn tractor because I couldn't find the information myself when I searched. It's turned out to be one of the most appreciated articles on the site, and I still get "thank you" notes on it regularly. In that spirit, here's a similar article for owners of Tecumseh engines on snow throwers (aka snowblowers) and lawn mowers.

The same thing has happened again. I found very little helpful information on this problem when I searched, so I'm writing it up.

Let me be clear first -- I like MTD products. They tend to be on the lower end of the price scale, but I find their designs are wonderfully innovative and simplified. They don't take an expensive product and cheapen it with bad parts. They find simpler ways to get the job done, and often they're really great solutions. I wish I'd kept my old MTD mower instead of replacing it with a Deere, but that's another story.

I have a Tecumseh 8hp engine on an MTD snow thrower from about 1993 (link to rebuilding project). Over the years, I've had to tear down and clean out the carburetor a couple of times due to the weird crap we've got in gasoline now. One year the whole thing was full of blue crystalline material. Once or twice it was just accumulated corrosion and there's always a little dirt.

Starting this fall I've noticed a small amount of fuel leakage and it's been running rough. It didn't leak much, but that's because a long time ago I'd added a cheap in-line fuel cut-off valve that I use when the unit is not in operation. I normally shut off the fuel at the valve and let it run until the carb is empty when I put it away to help keep the carb clean. Since I don't like to drip gasoline (and more important, I don't like to drop toxic MTBE) all over the place, I wanted to fix this leak as quickly as possible. I knew I'd have to take the carburetor off to fix this leak, so while I was at it I decided to clean it out and do the overhaul kit. It's not terribly difficult and as long as the carb is off the engine anyway you may as well spend $11 and replace the little seals and needles that wear out.

Here's where I ran into trouble.

I did the work, put it back together, and it still leaked. If anything, it leaked more. Fuel would seem to gather at the bottom of the fuel bowl (keep in mind, the picture is upside down, the fuel bowl hangs below the carburetor) and it would drip about one drop every ten seconds as long as there was fuel in the carb. Since the fuel is very clear and the bowl is that silver color, it was extremely hard to see where it was actually coming from.

I assumed for a long time that my leak was at the fuel inlet needle adjustment bolt at the bottom of the fuel bowl, or else the drain assembly (which is just a spring holding a seal in place). I must have taken it apart 20 times, make sure the seals were good, put it back together and added fuel -- only to find the leak was still there. What should have been a job of an hour or two at most, took all of one day and into the next morning. I searched on the internet for other people having the same problem, and the most I found was a comment from someone saying "sometimes they leak after you rebuild them." That's not an answer.

I finally found the problem by accident. I was draining the carb (again) to remove it (again) and happened to be looking very closely at it while pressing the primer bulb to get as much fuel out as I could (with the fuel line shut off). Under the air pressure from the primer bulb, I saw a very thin stream of fuel shooting out the bottom of the fuel bowl -- right near the nut, but not actually from there. Inspired by frustration, I cleaned out the bowl again and took it into a dark closet where I shone a very small but very bright LED flashlight into the bowl -- and discovered a couple of tiny pin-hole leaks right at the curve near the middle of the fuel bowl. Apparently time, vibration, and corrosion from the toxic mess they call gasoline now had thinned the metal bowl so much that these tiny pin-holes -- too small be seen without help -- could form.

So, the moral of this long story is -- if your snow thower, lawn mower, or other Tecumseh powered machine is leaking fuel, especially after doing a simple carb rebuild, it may be a similar problem. When you clean out carb, you're actually making the problem worse by making the hole bigger. Keep in mind, these tiny holes are so small, that testing it by putting water in the bowl didn't help. Water has surface tension sufficient that without pressure it didn't drip.

Once I knew about the problem, I coated the outside of the bowl with some two-part epoxy, put a little crazy glue gel on the hole on the inside (both two part epoxy and cyanoacrylate are fairly resistant to gasoline) and re-assembled the unit. Leak stopped. Finally. I've ordered the replacement bowl and drain spring assembly for about ten bucks and will put them on when it warms up a bit. In the mean time, the seal I made should hold.



There are  - loading -  comments....

re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Ben Wescott on 01/25/2011 at 08:55 AM EST
Could this problem arise because of ethanol which is refined from grain.
Possibly sugar which has a high fructose content and isn't this an acid? i am
not a chemist, but the problem did not exist before they started adding all
these "crappy" things to the fuel.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 01/25/2011 at 10:32 AM EST
I think it may be related to the ethanol or the MTBE in the fuel, but I doubt
it has anything to do with the sugar or citric acid in the original source of
those products. I'm fairly sure those are all metabolized in the process of
creating the fuel.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Roberta Godsil on 02/07/2018 at 06:08 PM EST
I think exactly the same alcohols mean sugar, it even tastes sweet. I have
tasted the granules in the bowl before, definitely detected a sweetness.
Definitely a clog creator. Never gave a thought to acidity in sugar.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By ron on 10/27/2019 at 10:55 PM EDT
Ethanol can be made from sugar, but there is NO sugar in ethanol.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Lisa Duke on 01/26/2011 at 06:44 PM EST
Snow Thrower?
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By KP on 12/30/2016 at 07:41 AM EST
A snow blower has a two stage discharge - auger and then the "blower" part
which is like a big fan inside to push the snow out the chute. Snow thrower
just has the auger which spins fast and throws the snow out. Usually the snow
throwers are found as attachments for older tractors.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By snow blowers on 09/09/2011 at 04:21 AM EDT
Thank you very much for sharing.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Bob P on 02/02/2012 at 04:51 PM EST
Thanks for the info. I have the same problem with my Sears snowblower. I
contacted Sears parts to order a new bowl, gasket, and screws. I was told the
total would be 86 dollars. Needless to say I told them that was outrageous and
to forget it. Do you have any other suggestions for getting this part.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 02/02/2012 at 04:59 PM EST
You'll need to get the model of carb, but once you have it you should be able
to get JUST the bowl and gasket for the bowl for very little. I think when
you called Sears, they quoted you for a new Carb, and the gasket that mounts
that Carb, and the two bolts that hold it.

Frankly, and small engine shop near you should be able to get what you need.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Bob P on 02/03/2012 at 03:40 PM EST
Thanks for info. I'll do that.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By snow motor king on 12/07/2013 at 07:39 PM EST
I just rebuilt my Tecumsah 8hp blower engine and carb .... lets go another 20
years....Runs like a champ... and is real beast in the fucking snow mayne......
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Tony Q King on 05/30/2012 at 02:50 PM EDT
Ha! Thanx for the confirmation.
I have a 30 year old Mainline roto-tiller, with an Italian ACME engine, which I
haven't used in 2 years.
And naturally.. the last time I used it, I didn't drain the float bowl. Or run
the carb dry.
Just spent 3 hours cleaning the carb with acetone, ether and even a vacuum
cleaner. When placed up against the gas inlet, the latter is great for sucking
the last l'il bit of varnish out of those pinholes.
Finally, I saw the gas running out of the bottom of the float bowl,- success! -
so I put the screw back in the bottom of it.
Umm.. gasoline continued to drip. WTF?
???
Then I noticed same problem that you had - an almost microscopic pinhole or two
near the bottom of the bowl. So I've cleaned it, and dripped "crazy glue"
cyanoacrilate ($1.50 at the dollar-store) over the suspected holes. No epoxy
handy - I'll pick up some next time I'm in town. Until then I hope the crazy
glue is a sufficient plug.
BTW, dealer (in Kentucky) told me thata new float bowl is no longer
available, and said a new carb kit would be $250. HE suggested the $5 epoxy!
LOL!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Driz on 12/27/2015 at 03:15 PM EST
Glad I found this. I got mine out for the season and the gas was gone.
Filled it and then the thing started leaking. Weird, pulled bowl cleaned it
all up checked it and it still leaked. I was blaming it on the small push
drain valve but nope. 2 MICROSCOPIC PIN HOLES IN THE CENTER OF THOSE
INSIGNIFICANT LOOKING PITS. You have to shine a flash light on them from
behind and then they are staring at you. Thanks a bundle.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By J D on 11/12/2012 at 12:18 AM EST
I've had a 5HP, 22 inch Yard Machine for many years. I always run mine dry
every spring. Every winter when I fill it, it starts on the first pull. This
week when I filled the tank gas ran in a stream from the primer bulb & from the
left side of the engine. I know absolutely nothing about small gas engines. Is
this worth having a shop work on or is it time to invest in a current model? It
hasn't thrown as far as it used to the past few years.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Carey Schug on 01/13/2014 at 01:57 PM EST
JD, did you ever get your question about Yard Machine blower answered? Your
problem seems like mine (same or similar machine) and stream from primer bulb.
And it seems it may be different than the others here.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 01/13/2014 at 04:36 PM EST
I'm not a pro service guy or anything, but what you describe sounds like a
fairly simple case of a leak in either the fuel line or the bulb itself -- and
I'm guessing the fuel line. That should not be expensive to fix. You can do
it yourself if you take the cowling off -- however some of these run the fuel
lines through a tight space behind the head, and that can be frustrating to try
to do with a new line. It's not rocket surgery, just tedious.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Sean on 12/05/2012 at 09:54 PM EST
un-frikken believable!!! I took my carb apart 3x because of the same leak.
Looked to be the paper gasket at the bottom of the bowl "only available in the
kit" for $16 (incls jet, retainer, gasket, bowl ring and 2 jet o-rings). I'm
on-line looking for an exploded view when I found this. Again, UN-FRIKKEN
BELIEVABLE!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Rick on 12/11/2012 at 12:54 PM EST
May I add some information BECAUSE of all the hours I've spent on a few of my
snowblowers and what I've since found out, often the hard way?

When taking apart your carb and you know it worked at some time and wasn't put
together in backwards ways, take a picture of it at a few angles. It will help
later.

The fuel bowl: there's a dip on the bottom of it, that dip goes towards the
sparkplug. The deeper part will point outward and the spring-loaded fuel dump
aims/goes towards the front of the snowblower.

The Needle and clip: look at it closely to make sure there's no crud under it
where it inserts into the seat. Look closely at that seat, they do eventually
wear out and/or rot if you're constantly getting bad gas, water in it and ice
crystals etc. The seat is made out of polyurethane/teflon material or something
like it and it usually can last a long time even with it constantly being
soaked with gas. If you ever replace a seat, use a dentist-type pick to pull it
out and remember that the curved part of it (very slight difference from
opposite side) GOES DOWN and back into the seat. The needles wire clip ONLY
Goes in one direction when you re-install it. The wire end points towards the
choke's lever ie: where your throttle, choke lever selector, plastic key etc.
is. If you do happen to take apart your carb and remove the float and needle
etc., do it inside of a box that still has some sides to it and whatever might
fly out, stays in the box. Trust me, I've done this on a limestone driveway and
I've lost parts AND after replacing them (inconvenience of course), I've found
them months later. If ever going to a parts place, buy a spare needle and clip.
That metal tang under the float (old floats are often brass, new ones can be
plastic), DO NOT bend that tang, do NOT change the angle!

If your o-ring/bowl's gasket is worn, it'll cause problems. Even if it looks
like it fits, it's often deceiving; have a spare around for later in life. If
your bowl is corrode, it shouldn't be repaired unless it's a temp. fix until
you get a new one.

For a fixed jet type, the tiny holes in the bolt/jet at the bottom of the bowl,
DO get clogged with stuff. Recently mine were little bits of rubber from the
fuel line and if you miss one, it'll cause problems. Use a single strand of
wire or a sewing needle to clean out the holes, do NOT enlarge them so use
something smaller than their holes.

Fuel line/fuel hose, usually 1/4" inside diameter, corded rubber and the
outside diameter is usually 7/16" It's about $1.40 per foot and it doesn't hurt
to buy 2-3 feet and always have it on hand for spare.

Golf Tees. Handy if you have a bad shutoff and need to remove it and must plug
the line temporarily.

If you're going to take apart your carb and the adjustable screws for jet, idle
speed, idle mixture etc. were known to have been pretty well set to where they
should be AND you have a slight problem with knowing where 1 1/2 turns in/out
could be for initial setting (an example) then you can measure the distance
from the head to a fixed point on the carb body etc. Rather than use technical
terms etc., I've often just marked things to my own liking, measured where a
screw and spring might be turned in/out and later returned to those points for
initial settings-MY initial settings. The old adage about "initial 1 1/2 turns
out is sometimes hard to do if you drove the screw in further than others would
and so on. I had two 8hp Tecumseh models and both had their screws set
differently although both ran good/the same.

If it don't run or start, it's usually only a few things that can go
wrong-normal things IF engine will still work: Fuel, old or new, water, foreign
objects in it. My example of rubber bits plugging holes.
No spark? Pull the plug, connect it and set it near a metal part (or have
someone hold it with a pair of rubber-gripped pliers and hold near metal; the
plug's hole is a good ground). Look for spark when cranking over the engine or
pulling on the start cord.

Fuel: I have been getting it from Shell for awhile now. Years ago had a problem
with water in their gas so I stopped buying from there. Recently had a big
problem with not one BUT 3 snowblowers-stinking Shell gas! All during summer
months I put my fuel into the gerry cans while at the gas station, then into 1
or 2-liter plastic drink bottles so itwas easier to pour into mowers, scooters,
chainsaws etc. Usually you can see if there are any foreign objects in such
bottles. For water in gas, you'll definitely see that garbage. I filled up 4
gerry cans, 2 large, 2 small. When I got home I filled up some snowblowers and
since I was using different machines at different times, when the problems
popped up, I thought it was because we had rain (we've had lots of snow
already) and the engines were acting up. Eventually dumped all the fuel into
pop bottles and yup, water in everything and it did separate when in the
bottles. That fuel was burned up in outdoor firepits because you can't fix the
problem of water into gas.

I've now placed fuel/water separaters on my snowblowers' fuel lines and if you
don't go that far, at least get a cheaper paper filter and use in inline. At my
local stores they are less than $3 and you can see the paper filament inside
and any crap that was in the gas.

Long post but a lot of you will save yourself some frustration if you keep most
of it in mind. Lots of videos on YouTube to help BUT if you don't have online
capabilities nearby when fixing the machine, here goes:

The carb settings IF the screw under your carb bowl IS adjustable. ABOUT 1 1/2
turns OUT after you just screwed it in (gently, don't whale on it to drive it
into the bowl). That's a.k.a fuel mixture screw.

IF your idle mixture screw IS adjustable (it's the one right above the bracket
that holds your outer cover on), initially 1 1/4 turns OUT.

Your engine idle speed screw at top of carb's body will be at about the middle
of the screws total length. If you haven't touched it at any time, leave it
alone.

IF you have a fuel problem of some kind and want a quick test, remove the spark
plug and shoot some fresh fuel into the port/hole, replace plug, attach plug
wire and crank over engine. Obviously make sure throttle is on/up, choke etc.
If it starts and stalls, then you have a fuel problem in the carb or the fuel
line since it started with a shot of gas in there. Yes you can even run a motor
WITHOUT a carb and manifold(s) attached IF you know how to meter fuel going to
a running motor. I've done this with automobiles and motor cycles too.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Paul on 02/10/2013 at 07:28 PM EST
Great post filled with details to keep in mind when addressing any small engine
fuel issues!

Thanks for posting.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Wolf in CT on 11/09/2018 at 05:36 PM EST
Wanted to add a tip . I once ran a snowblower using a water pistol filled
with gas to prove fuel flow was the problem not spark. Squirted some in and
pulled cord it fired up and ran as long as I squirted more. Handy little kid
toy eh ? Issue ended up being a plugged filter .
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By PMP on 02/04/2013 at 08:13 PM EST
thanks for sharing all of this. My MTD blower had the exact same leak - i
alway store it inside and when it started leaking (very small leak) it got the
boot outside!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Patrick on 12/18/2021 at 06:23 PM EST
Hope this helps
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Mountainman on 02/08/2013 at 09:52 PM EST
Andrew... You Da Man.... I have just experienced the leaking gas syndrome that
you speak of.... It's a Tecumseh 10 HP on a 1987 Craftsman blower.....

Thanx man... I love you..!!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Joe on 02/13/2013 at 01:23 PM EST
Like you said , a new bowl is cheap
No sense trying to fix the old one.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Ron on 02/22/2013 at 08:16 AM EST
If you have fuel leaking from the carb this is what you do.First remove the
carb and remove the fuel bowl.If it has any dirt or crud it will have to be
cleaned.Remove the tank and the gas from the tank.Put a buch of ice cubes in
the tank and shake it and shake it to remove any crud and then flush it out
with water blow it out and use a couple paper towels to soak up any water by
using a coat hanger to move it around.Check the gas line and if it looks old or
is kinked replace it.Also check and clean the gas shutoff.Now for the carb.I
use carb cleaner and spray it in every hole I can find.I would need to make a
video to show all of them but on a tecumseh there is also a breather hole on
the outside of the carb most people miss.Shake the float and if your hear gas
inside it replace it.(I have repaired the brass float with solder but unless
you have done it before dont bother).The needle valve and seat should be ok but
with the float down blow into the gas inlet and if it dosnt seal you may have
to replace the seat.The best way to get it out is by using air pressure to blow
it out but be sure to hold a rag over the opening or else you will have to go
look for it in Austrailia.The special tool will sometimes damage the float.Once
that is good adjust the float level (a 11/64 ths drill bit under the float at
the front of the float is perfect for this)I always set the float a little on
the high side.The wire clip on the needle valve should have the long end facing
the choke.When you put it back together make sure the gasket on the bottom of
the fuel valve is good.If you do have a hole in the fuel bowl forget using
anything to fix it like epoxy.Solder will work but thats about it.Good luck.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Phil Pilarski on 08/26/2013 at 10:27 PM EDT
Dear Mr. Pollack, Thanks 4 the info I will keep it in my "memory bank " just
in case I ever have that problem. You do seem well informed so I
need your help with a problem their so called "service technician" could not
help me with. I have a M.T.D. model 611 , 2 stage snowthrower. My wife bought
it for me in 1998 and it has performed GREAT ! I wish all of my toys worked
that well. Anyways, this past winter when I was throwing snow the idle ( or
throttle ) kept going down. It doesnt stall but its a pain having to keep
turning the throttle up every 5 seconds. I took the cover off the carburetor
and I see 1 spring but I dont know if there should be 2 springs. For the last
month of winter I had a piece of fishing line tied to the throttle handle so I
could keep the speed up. Any help you could give me would be great. We live in
Northern Michigan just a 1/3 mile off the mighty Lake Michigan and when we get
a clipper.....we get some snow and without a good running snowthrower I will
have BIG problems! Have you or any of your acquaintances ever ran into a
"sliding throttle" ? Or do you have a schematic of that carburetor ? Any help
Sir, will be Greatly appreciated. Thanking You in advance,I am. Phil
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 08/26/2013 at 11:41 PM EDT
Hi Phil - I wish I could help you on that. I don't know of anything that would
cause what you describe, but I'm not a tech for these things by trade. I'm
just a guy who has to fix his sometimes and I post what I learn. The cable
from the throttle lever to the carb should be just essentially like a bicycle
break cable. It shouldn't need a spring to hold it open. If it was mine,
I'd probably take it apart and figure out how it works. If that isn't helping
you, don't take it to a big dealership. Find your most local coupon style
neighborhood news paper and look for something like "Charles small engine
repairs". That's the guy who will be able to fix it for a few bucks.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By MTD snow blower parts on 11/26/2013 at 07:06 AM EST
Hey thanks for the post. That is very much helpful to me.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By jeff grady on 11/02/2013 at 06:52 PM EDT
Thanks so much for putting this up, I will try this ....
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Ed Schmidt on 11/23/2013 at 06:12 PM EST
Thank you! This is perfect! My fuel drips from the drain assembly, but when I
take the bowl off, clean, and blow, it seals...or seems to. I have replaced
the seal with 2 other seals. It still leaks! I will be pulling out a
flashlight tonight.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Steve on 12/16/2013 at 09:59 AM EST
Thank you. I think you might have saved me many hours of frustration.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Mike in Michigan on 01/07/2014 at 09:32 PM EST
Holy moly, thank you!
Your description matches my problem so precisely that I'm positive your fix is
going to fix me.

Thank goodness for good samaritans who take the time to publish these solutions
when they discover them!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By ken on 02/13/2014 at 03:08 PM EST
Can you sa how to set the valve piin and airr holle screw correctly?
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 02/13/2014 at 10:33 PM EST
For most small engines you can turn them all the way in, then back them out 2
1/2 turns. From there it should start. Once it warms up, if you need to you
can adjust. Careful though, tighten them too much and you can damage the
needle end.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 02/13/2014 at 10:35 PM EST
Keep in mind, these engines are not your high tech fuel injected high mileage
car -- there's not even the fancy autolite or holly carb you may have worked on
in your 1970's era car. These things are just not that sensitive. If it's not
running right, it's usually a less finicky thing -- a clocked fuel line, a
poorly gapped or worn out spark plug, or wrong choke setting.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By allen on 02/15/2014 at 12:56 PM EST
have a toro snow thrower carb leaking gas, installed new carb still leaking. i
checked both floats seam to work ok . any idea?
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 02/15/2014 at 01:49 PM EST
Nope. Something is wrong with what you're telling me. You said the carb was
leaking, that you replaced the carb and it's still leaking. That means either
you didn't install the new carb correctly or the carb wasn't the problem.
Assuming you didn't mess up the carb install, that only really leaves the fuel
line, primer bulb, filter (if it has one), cut of valve, or tank.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By allen on 02/16/2014 at 11:18 AM EST
if the float is working shouldnt it shut off the fuel? i did not mention that
it is not running when it leaks. when the tank is shut off no leak.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By allen on 02/16/2014 at 11:26 AM EST
forgot to add that it is leaking from the choke like it was flooding
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 02/17/2014 at 07:41 PM EST
Allen - you said you replaced the whole carb. If that's true, and it's leaking
in the exact same way, then either the new carb is just as broken as the old
one, or that's not the problem.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By allen on 02/24/2014 at 09:00 PM EST
what else would cause flooding except float problems?
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Jerry Lo Raso on 02/17/2014 at 12:57 PM EST
Thank you for your insight, I've had this problem for about a month now and
couldn't figure out where the leak was coming from. I'll have to try the
procedure you've suggested and see if that's the problem with my snow-blower.

Sincerely,

Jerry Lo Raso / Montreal, Quebec, Canada
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Tobie Arfstrom on 03/12/2014 at 10:28 PM EDT
Thanks for the memo. after reading this I went back to check, my gasket was
the wrong size. When I took the bowl off, it was not sitting where the old
did, and after inspecting for pin holes, the gasket wouldn't fit. So put the
old gasket on. That will buy me some time, to get that, and a muffler. Thanks
for your write up!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Xu on 11/13/2014 at 09:07 PM EST
My major gas leaking of the snow blower carburetor is caused by a leaking float
in the carburetor. It took me a long while to realize it. The simple trick to
checking the float is to shake it and listen for fluid noise inside the copper
float. It is like to have your toilet water tank float leaking and sinking to
the bottom of the water tank, then water just keep flood out of the top of the
tank all over you bathroom floor.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By R. D. Flick on 11/16/2014 at 11:40 AM EST
The leaking carbuerator again a problem two years in a row here. My local
repair/dealer repaired it last year. I did all and more to drain/witerized the
unit only to have it today literally spew gas all over--even gushing from the
rubber 'primer' button hole. When it runs it runs well but I've had nothing
but problems with my TORO unit each year. Doing your own repair subject to
damaging it more in addition to not having the required tools for all the screw
heads etc. on the unit. Is it me? I doubt it.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 11/16/2014 at 01:19 PM EST
Well R.D. Flick -- I agree with your point that DIY isn't for everyone, and not
having the right tools is a real problem. A good set of metric and english
hex wrenches isn't expensive, but if you don't do other kinds of work, it may
not make sense. There is also the practice factor. Feeling your way through a
repair job is a skill like any other, and has to be developed over time.

On the other hand, I think you give way too much credit to the guys at the
local repair shop, assuming they always use the right tools and are trained to
make the right repair. Frequently, neither is true.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Roman on 11/19/2014 at 04:30 AM EST
I have replaced the needle valve and seat twice on this carburetor and it's
still leaking. Thanks for the information. There is another product especially
made for gas leaks, It's called "Seal All" .
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Ray on 11/22/2014 at 02:46 PM EST
That is so funny.
Did everything, 4 hr tecumseh, snow blower that was given to a friend
Plug
Oil
Carb
hoses, tighten, adjust, clean.
Starts, nice idle, spewing the snow. Gets a little rough and begins to die
unless I shut off auger and drive, tilt back so on an angle, perks back up.
Shut it down and then starts leaking profusely at carb, again!
Then find this....funny
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Mark Hartzer on 11/30/2014 at 09:51 AM EST
Andrew, thank you so much for this post. My Tecumseh engine on the snowblower
has developed the EXACT same problem.... a little pinhole leak in the bowl. I
had thought I had bad gas. I drained the tank; cleaned everything up; replaced
everything, and then I noticed the leak was worse. Sure enough, it was not a
leak at the gasket like I 1st suspected, but rather a teeny, tiny pinhole in
the bowl itself. I'm going to try the epoxy fix until warmer weather.

Thanks again for your detailed post!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Sal on 11/30/2014 at 11:22 AM EST
A scarf got wrapped up in the rotors of my snow blower. To get the tangled
scarf out I had to press down on the handles and lay the handles on the ground
to get into the chute. I smelled gas and found gas coming out of the center of
the primer bulb. Is the bulb supposed to leak at a small stream when in that
position?
Thank you
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 11/30/2014 at 02:45 PM EST
When you tip the machine back, you're likely getting a leak of fuel from the
fuel tank breather cap. I used to use some plastic wrap from the kitchen to
prevent this, but more recently I just invested in a very cheap siphon hose
with a squeeze bulb so I can drank the tank quickly if need be before working
on the machine at an odd angle.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Scott on 12/08/2014 at 04:23 PM EST
My craftsman snow blower just started doing the same thing. Wouldnt start a
few weeks ago. Found out there was no gas in it, so i put about 1/2 tank in.
Started right up. Not long after, i noticed a small drip coming from the carb
area. This weekend, I finally had nice weather to check it out, and found the
problem. The PLASTIC fuel inlet fitting (90 degree elbow) coming from the tank
and connecting to the side of the carb had a small crack on the top. Very hard
to see unless you watch the gas dripping from it. I removed it, and mixed up
some epoxy and coated the entire crack, inside and out. Works like a charm
until I can order a replacement!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Bill w on 12/12/2014 at 08:12 AM EST
Great feedback and info. What do you use to stop fuel from leaking when your
working on the carb and there is no fuel shut off. I was thinking a pair of
forceps. Thoughts?
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Bill w on 12/12/2014 at 11:57 AM EST
Carb was clean as can be. Machine starts fine but surges and backfires every
now and then. Any thoughts
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Scott H on 12/15/2014 at 07:05 AM EST
Have Tecumseh 8 HP engine on snow blower - was leaking gas by the carb bowl to
the point the entire gas tank would drain. Took it to a small engine shop and
they said it was dirty carb. They cleaned the carb and it still leaked, I
figured it was the carb so ordered a new one on line and yesterday went to
replace it. Once replaced - it still leaked. Come to find out - the fuel
line had a nick in it right where it attached to the carb and this was the
source of the problem. So start with the basic stuff first.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By joyce conner on 01/09/2015 at 01:44 PM EST
is the reason my snow thrower doesn't work because its leaking I cant get it
started .please give me some pointers
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By jc on 01/25/2015 at 05:43 PM EST
My problem is the fuel pod o-ring under the carb corroded and I can't find a
replacement. The Yardworks website and manual are useless. Does anyone have any
ideas? Thanx
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By neal on 03/06/2015 at 09:00 PM EST
similar problem, small leak before kit and clean, large leak after. My leak is
from the top of the cap where the seal is, Looks good but leaks like a sive
when I put gas in the tank, the blower stars, (hard to start), runs for a bit
then, struggles and dies if I do not adjust the needle valve at the bottom of
the carb cover. Float is good, all new parts in kit were installed.
I am not impressed and think I will replace the carb.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Brian H on 11/01/2015 at 12:29 PM EST
This solved my issue and I am excited to fix it. This is the second snowblower
I have had this issue with. Still had the other one and the bowl was still in
good shape to swap out. Now to figure out the problem on the old one and sell
it. Thanks!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Doug Carlson on 11/30/2015 at 12:21 PM EST
Thank you. I am in the midst of this exact problem and am getting frustrated as
I cant figure it out. I cant wait to get home tonight to pull the bowl off and
check for this. I dont think I would've thought of this on my own without your
article. Thank you very much. Good, clear info like this is a godsend to those
of us who are not pro mechanics.
I wish this were my problemBy Lardman on 01/14/2016 at 05:48 PM EST
I got a 1987 Ariens snowblower with a Tecumseh Hs50 for free. Started but gas
poured out the intake. Got a new bowl, float, seat, needle and seals. Rebuilt
the carb and passed a wire through every nook and cranny, followed by a dousing
of carb cleaner. Put it all back together and gas still pours out the intake. I
read that you need to bend the metal tab on the float to force the needle into
the seat chamber more. Did that 100 times until I found the spot where the
float is inoperable because the tab is bent too much. Backed it off and it
still pours out gas. It is almost like the float isn't rising when gas fills
the bowl...so the fuel flow isn't shutoff. I can't figure it out. I also read
that the end of the float clip should point toward the engine...now I saw on
hear that it should point toward the choke. Too many variables...it shouldn't
be this difficult for such a simple mechanism.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Pat Slaven on 01/23/2016 at 09:54 AM EST
Thanks for the post, my snow blower was leaking gas from the fuel pan. I
figured I'd try tighten the nut first before pulling it apart and looking for a
pin hole leak. You showed me where to look and it worked.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Lori F. on 01/25/2016 at 08:58 AM EST
Hi Andrew,
I am operating a MDT snow thrower (277cc ZS 478SU Engine) that has operated for
two winters without a hitch until one night before this weekend's NE Blizzard
(don't cha know!) when fuel was added to the tank. Without even trying to start
the engine, fuel dumped out of the engine back near the carburetor. You
extensively covered one aspect of leakage (pin hole in bowl), and many others
were saved by the detail of your replies, but my major gushing problem appears
to originate at the junction of the rear of the carb, where it connects to the
'heater box.' Curiously, there is a metal on metal connection with no gasket,
and no covering over the area of the choke mechanism, adjacent to where the
breather hose enters the heater box. It leaks even more when you press down on
handles to lift the auger, since the choke compartment is open. I don't recall
any leakage in prior operation, why this now? What do you suggest??
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 01/25/2016 at 09:55 AM EST
Keep in mind that I'm not an MDT mechanic or anything. Backtracking a bit from
your description though can tell us a lot. There should not be enough fuel in
the carb to "pour out" from where the carb connects to the intake. That should
only be passing a fuel air mixture as the engine runs -- drawn in by engine
vacuum. Given that, the problem is probably that the float is stuck down, or
the needle isn't seating against the fuel inlet port inside the carb. In
either of those cases, fuel is flowing directly through the intake hose into
the bowl of the carb, overflowing, and going where it should not.

Hitting it lightly with a mallet may unstick it, if that's the only issue --
but more likely the float needs replacement and/or the needle needs cleaning
and replacement. A carb rebuild kit is in your future.

While you're at it, I'd suggest adding a fuel shut off valve in the fuel line
just below the fuel tank. I think it's nuts that such a thing isn't included
with the machine.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By J5 on 03/07/2016 at 11:02 PM EST
Thank you. I hope it's a bowl hole and not the carb because I don't know
anything about seals or pins, etc. My question is, "how do I remove the
carburetor cover from a Tecumseh HS40 snow thrower? I have removed the two
small screws and the key but the red choke switch is still holding the cover
down. I cannot see a set screw in the knob and can't pull it straight out
either (like a stove knob). I don't want to break anything before I try to fix
the first issue. What do you suggest? More force or am I missing the real
reason that I cannot remove the cover?
had carb rebuilt and cleaned put it back on and it leaked out everywhere. what happened By Damon on 05/08/2016 at 03:41 AM EDT
I don't know if I was supposed to putcealant on the engine connects something
was done wrong with rebuild TROYBILT pony
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By larry on 11/02/2016 at 12:04 PM EDT
andrew,very fine article,i believe this could be my problem,just checking
snow blower out b/4 winter and primed the carb,leaked from bottom of
bowl.
THANKS FOR THE GREAT ARTICLE
larry
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By asci on 02/08/2017 at 02:35 PM EST
Thanks - exactly what I had - a pinhole in the bowl metal - only way you would
find it was when you used the primer button or took the bowl and held it upto a
light. Now lets hope the epoxy holds up.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By ronald earl on 02/11/2017 at 08:41 AM EST
how about filling the float with something that's floats
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Christopher Perez on 01/17/2018 at 12:41 PM EST
Well I'm chiming in 7 years *to the day* from the pub date of this article and
I think it helped me too. My Toro 828 LXE came back from annual servicing
(which included a fresh carb kit) and promptly started leaking after 20 min of
use. This is on a 8HP Tecumseh Snow King engine. It is coming from this exact
location. My tech is bringing out a replacement bowl and drain spring assembly
and that will hopefully fix it. Thanks!
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Mike K on 03/22/2018 at 01:14 PM EDT
A little leak turned much worse after our 5th good snowfall this year. Finally
realized the bowl gasket wasn't fit on properly (by me after new carb
installation) and must have gotten worse with all the vibration. Works like a
charm.... 12 years now.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By louis mays on 03/23/2018 at 11:28 PM EDT
my father has an mtd an I discovered a fuel leak from it and this is caused by
a bad bleeder valve some of these engines have a bleeder valve on the float
bowl to allow a person to push the valve open if there is no fuel present they
also have them on quads this model runs however is rusted out and will need a
new float bowl or carb. anyone reading this id say if your machine runs u r
better off not to push the valve in just in case yours might start leaking
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By kelly e dill on 10/12/2018 at 07:57 PM EDT
Really enjoyed your article and very helpful on my 524 snow thrower with a
Tecumseh engine leaks fuel out of a small hole on the side of the carburetor is
this Factory perhaps a weep hole or has it fuel eroded through the wall of my
carburetor?
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Dan on 11/05/2018 at 03:20 PM EST
No idea why there is a hole there but my Troybilt 8526 8.5 hp Tecumseh has the
same thing. Gas shoots out it when the primer bulb is pressed. I also saw
another one on a you tube video doing the same thing. Maybe there is a passage
blocked somewhere else in the carb that causes the gas to come out this high up
on the side of the carb.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Tom on 11/29/2018 at 04:03 PM EST
Excellent find. I work at a repair shop and constantly rebuild carbs from poor
fuel. Best solution? Run gas from gas station during normal running, once ready
for storage run dry, find a store with "Non-ethanol" Canned fuel, add about
half the can into the gas tank, run for a few minutes and then shut unit off.
good to have carb full of non-ethanol fuel to keep from drying up certain parts
inside carb. But with the non-ethanol fuel you won't have any of the current
issues. And when I say add half the can, its because its about $8 per QUART, so
use wisely but will save you way more down the road then rebuilding carbs
constantly.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 11/29/2018 at 09:58 PM EST
Thanks for that.

I run the canned pre-mix for my chain saw which doesn't use much. For
everything else I keep a can of appropriately mixed regular fuel or in the case
of four stroke stuff like the snowblower and lawn tractor, just a can of
regular fuel -- however, in all cases, every time I fill up I first add in some
sta-bil red fuel stabilizer. I do it every time, that way I always know when I
shut down that it was stabilized fuel going through. Doing that, I've never
had a problem storing equipment for the season.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Farrokh Sabeti on 02/18/2019 at 06:27 AM EST
My snow thrower carb has no fuel bowl and doesnu2019t leak but itu2019s plugged
,
no fuel reaches its throat, iu2019m thinking like in hospital s
to put a tube from the fuel tank there.
re: Here's why your Snow Thrower may be leaking gas all over your garage.By Andrew Pollack on 02/18/2019 at 09:12 AM EST
If its a carb, it has a float bowl. maybe you have one of the brand new ones
that are coming with injection rather than a carb? That seems like a dumb
idea to me but I haven't played with one so I don't really know.

If so, look for a fuel filter that may be clogged, a fuel cut-off valve that
may be closed, or worst case a blockage in the fuel line.

In any case, something isn't right with what you're saying is wrong. You may
want to take it to a qualified repair center.


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