Snowblower Forum banner

Ariens ST824 - 924050. couple of questions

26K views 32 replies 7 participants last post by  Roar 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi there

My name is Dan, i'm from norway. and for about six months ago, i bought myself a good old Snowblower. its from the 80s somwhere, its an ST825 925050 type (serial: 014036) starts easy and look great to be that old.

however, since its old, its inevitable that it has some issues. some i've located and are about to adress.

i have som problems with the propulsion. the fricion disc looks OK. and it binds good when lever is depressed. so the problem was probably with the belts

took the belt cover off, and sure enough. the belt is a bit slack. belt does not look very new, so i'm replacing that. but i also found that the idlerpulley is somwhat sloppy aswell. trying to getahold of parts. but almost impossible to get good help here in norway for this issue

looks like i need a new spring for the idler pulley tension and a new idlerpulley and belt. found a company online who has most of what i need (they don't answer my requests, **** them)

all these are easy fixes, new belts, both idlers and a new idler tension spring, and i think i've sorted the propulsion problem.

however, the main reason for me to sign up here and ask question is this:

I've got some problems with throttle linkages. the spring that sits on the top of the butterfly valve keeps popping of, and the blower starts revving like crazy. i reset the spring. and then it pops of again. is this spring available for me to buy somwhere? or do i need to get a replament carb?

and, my throttle cable gets stuck whenever its cold. so i've taken that of to properly dry it (should be replaced, but can't find it anywhere)

and in the process of taking of the cable, i kinda broke the mounting that the cable sleeve sits in under the throttle arm on the control console.

all in all, i chose to buy a good used Ariens blower isntead of these cheap china blowers that infest the markets around here. i rather buy good old quality that i can possibly get new parts for, then a china model which you can't get any spare parts for

sorry if this became a long post. but i'm kinda lost here right now. its in the middle of the season, and i want it to work right (i've gotten allergic to the showel now)


Thanks a bunch for any replys. i can take som pictures if you want to see aswell


Dan

Edit: don't mind my typos here and there. english isn't my daily language
 
See less See more
#2 ·
here is some photos i just took

this is the throttle lever which i kinda broka :(


this is the spring that keeps popping of. making the blower run crazy


overview of the carb


bad pic of the whole blower :)


controlpanel. or whatever you want to call it :)
 
#4 ·
Dan,
From your pictures, I'd say your and mine are pretty much the same.
Did you ever resolve your issues and get your 924050 up and running again.
I am having problems with mine right now. From what I read on this forum, it should be well worth trying to repair or rebuild.
Ha en bra dag og lev lurt!
Roar
 
#5 ·
Welcome Dan, and with your issue of the print popping off, it would appear that the control surface that the spring attaches to, is bent or loose. The acceleration of the engine after it dislodges, as you describe, sounds like the governor linkage is the culprit. A simple "readjustment" of the end of the governor rod with a pair of needle nose pliers should resolve this problem.

In your second picture, there is a spring that wraps around the butterfly shaft, to assist it into the open(high) throttle position. I can not tell from your picture if it is out of position.

You may be able to straighten/retighten this, but this depends on your ability to turn a wrench and in this case use a hammer.

Insofar as replacing the carb, I'd say that a good cleaning, and address the minor issue and you might be able to get away with a low cost fix.

Good luck, we are all here for you. And don't worry about the language barrier. Modern technology has blessed us with a multitude of translating programs, that are always good for a laugh.
 
#6 ·
db9938,
I don't know if it is O. K. to hijack this thread, but it seems Dan is not on here any more, and the thread seems like a good fit. His blower is the same model as mine based on his pictures. Like Dan, I am Norwegian also, but I have lived in Michigan for half a century now.
RedOctobyr sent me a link to a Tecumseh manual, but none of the pictures there show the type of governor/carburetor linkage Dan and I have, so I am still unsure why mine does not work as intended.
As I am new here, I have taken the time to read quite a few of the threads, and with all the dissatisfaction and issues with the newer Ariens models, I am going to try to see if I can get my, probably tenty-some years, old blower up and running like it should. That includes the starter, that no longer wants to engage. If successful, I'll have a well proven model working, and I'll have saved a few of my social security dollars.
Roar
 
#8 ·
db9938,
I don't know if it is O. K. to hijack this thread, but it seems Dan is not on here any more, and the thread seems like a good fit. His blower is the same model as mine based on his pictures. Like Dan, I am Norwegian also, but I have lived in Michigan for half a century now.
RedOctobyr sent me a link to a Tecumseh manual, but none of the pictures there show the type of governor/carburetor linkage Dan and I have, so I am still unsure why mine does not work as intended.
As I am new here, I have taken the time to read quite a few of the threads, and with all the dissatisfaction and issues with the newer Ariens models, I am going to try to see if I can get my, probably tenty-some years, old blower up and running like it should. That includes the starter, that no longer wants to engage. If successful, I'll have a well proven model working, and I'll have saved a few of my social security dollars.
Roar
Hi Roar. Don't know if it would help or not, but there's a YouTube video on your machine - rebuilding carb. May be worth your while to see if it has any info you need.
Dennis

 
#7 ·
Roar, sorry I had not realized that his post was as old as it was.

That said, I'd say that forum decorum would probably deem it as an abandoned thread, and as such is fair game.

And I am not Norwegian.

My guess is, and this is without seeing the machine nor hearing about the symptoms, is that your machine may need a carb cleaning and/or rebuild. But this is purely a stab in the dark here.
 
#10 ·
Thank you db9938 and enigma-2!
By the way, I like the music of "Enigma".
My problem, I think, lies in the linkages and governor, - may be it is with one or more of the springs.
I am not saying that the carburetor could not use a cleaning, but the engine runs
O. K., but it will not hold constant speed when load is applied.
I have looked at governor/carburetor linkage pictures from manuals, but none of the ones I have seen look quite like mine and Dan's. One problem is that with this version, the plate to which the throttle cable and some of the mechanism is mounted, covers the carburetor, the linkages and the mechanism on the underside of it. I was thinking about taking the plate off and try to make a drawing or a picture of the underside, but that's for another day.
Roar
 
#12 ·
I have a Tecumseh mechanics handbook for Overhead Valve, 4-cycle engines. Don't know if this will help, but this is how it reads in the governor section: Operation - As the speed of the engine increases, the governor weights on the governor gear move outward by centrifugal force. The shape of the governor weights force the governor spool to lift. The governor rod maintains contact with the governor spool due to the governor spring tension. The governor rod rotates causing the attached outer governor level to push the solid link, and close the throttle opening. When the speed decreases, the lower centrifugal force allows the governor weights to be pulled in by the governor spring. The governor rod rotates and the solid link moves the throttle to a more open position (diag. 1).
 
#13 ·
BTW, here's a YouTube video on a Tecumseh Carburetor Linkage Configuration (it's by Donyboy73, one of the best on YouTube):


Here's another by donyboy73


How to adjust a governor on a Tecumseh engine:
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the videos!
I have looked at the first two before, but as they are different than mine, I could not in my head "translate" it to my engine. I am starting to wonder if I am missing a spring. The last video on the 5 hp engine, although very different, clearly shows a spring from the throttle lever to the governor arm. I don't see that I have anything corresponding to that. Also in the first video there seems to be the end of a spring of sorts coming up on the lever that connects to the governor arm by a link. This may function in a similar way and put a load on the governor arm via that lever.
Monday was nice with 50 degrees, and I got overly optimistic and turned off the heater in my shop room in the barn. yesterday I was out of town, and this morning we woke up to 10 degrees, so it is too dog gone cold out there to go mess with it tonight.
 
#16 · (Edited)
In the manual, the picture shows it to be external. The parts inside the engine are a gear, weights and a governor spool. There is a rod connecting the top of the spool which exits the motor case and connects to the governor shaft. The spring is attached to the governor shaft.

See if this website helps, it shows 's how to set up all types of Tecumseh governors. (Just found it).
Tecumseh Governor setups

Here's another good discussion on Tecum govern with close-up pictures;
http://www.perr.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5404
 
#17 ·
Rethinking this, I retract my previous assumption.
After paying close attention to the videos and links to manuals, The spring on the throttle shaft should pull the butterfly closed, and mine does. When the throttle handle is pushed to full throttle, the link to the governor arm pushes the arm forward and the link from the governor arm to the carburetor pulls the butterfly open. Then when the engine reaches governed speed, the governor forces the governor arm back and closes the carburetor butterfly closed so the engine does not overspeed.
I took the muffler off again to get abetter look at what is going on.
 
#18 ·
Rethinking this, I retract my previous assumption.
After paying close attention to the videos and links to manuals, The spring on the throttle shaft should pull the butterfly closed, and mine does. When the throttle handle is pushed to full throttle, the link to the governor arm pushes the arm forward and the link from the governor arm to the carburetor pulls the butterfly open. Then when the engine reaches governed speed, the governor forces the governor arm back and closes the carburetor butterfly closed so the engine does not overspeed.
I took the muffler off again to get abetter look at what is going on.
Well that sounds like the governor is functioning.

What's the engine doing, is it "hunting" when it gets under load, or does it just bog down and lack sufficient power?
 
#19 ·
When I push the throttle lever all the way forward, the engine wants to overrev, so I pull it back to somewher close to normal speed. When I try to blow some snow at this throttle setting, it bogs down.
I'll try to reset the governor arm and disconnect the cable from throttle lever to linkage mechanism and play with it to see if I can make heads or tails out of the action. There is a lot of friction in the throttle cable, so it will be an experiment. Hope some penetrating lubricant will it up. Already unscrewed the adjusting nut under the dash. I'll put ear muffs on and leave the muffler off to better observe what is going on and hope I don't burn my fingers.
 
#20 ·
I had something simular to that happen to my last garden tractor. It was a Briggs engine. Turned it on and the engine raced wide open, way over speed. Had the local dealer pick it up and they found the little plastic governor gear inside the engine had broken. (They were able to see it by using a stethoscope type viewer. Cute little gismo, allows the tech to look inside an engine without opening it.) Anyway he quoted $150 to pull engine and replace gear, I OK'ed and then they found that the electric clutch had frozen to the shaft and was impossible to remove in one piece. That shot the price up to $400 and I decided to buy a new Simplicity instead. (It was an older AYP and not worth putting a pile of bucks into).
Anyway, it sounds simular to what you're experiencing. The external governor parts were working OK, it's was the governor parts inside the engine that were broken.
 
#21 ·
Uh-ooh! Not what I'd like to hear! However, I'll try to figure out if the governor is turning, and if the weights are exerting any force on the governor arm. Once that is established, I'll have a better idea.
We got another 4 to 6 inches last night, but unless the winds pick up and start blowing it around and causing drifting, it shouldn't be a problem.. My theory is that if I'm making tracks, i must be moving, and if I'm moving, I'm doing O. K!
 
#22 ·
No, I haven't gotten the governor sorted out yet, but as mentioned earlier. my starter did not engage any more.
Took the gas tank off to get a better look at the starter. Found one of the two screws underneath missing and the mounting tab for the other broken. Loosened the two on top and removed the starter. Then I plugged it in and pushed the button. Starter run fine, gear a little worn, but the gear didn't return all the way to its resting position, so something is sticking. I got a can of spray lube and sprayed on the "corkscrew" shaft, that makes the gear slide into mesh with the flywheel ring gear. Pushed the button again, and the gear returned as it should. Mounted the starter on the engine. I moved the screw from the broken tab to the other lower tab, and hoping that three screws will hold it securely in the future. Yes, it now engages and turns the engine as designed. Feel good about a small success!
 
#25 ·
I think I have heard of guys using something like those muffler hanging straps to hold the starters on. It is basically a strap of steel with holes every inch or so and they just bolt it to the top and bottom holes and use it as a large clamp over the starter. Could be something else to try.

Hope the 3 bolts are good enough for you though.
 
#26 ·
I hope so too. Keep the screws tight so nothing can vibrate and cause metal fatigue.
I had my ST824 running again today. I had the governor arm adjusted to a reasonable speed, but when I put a load on the engine, by blowing some snow, the governor is obviously not applying more throttle. I have had the muffler on and off so many times now, I think I am wearing out the threads in the aluminum. Looks like Donnyboy73 has a video for repairing that. I will probably need it.
 
#27 ·
Now that the big shield around the carburetor is off, I noticed that if I push the primer "button" enough times, gasoline is dripping out of the air intake where the choke valve is. Is this normal, or is it an indication that the float is punctured and sunk, or the float valve not seating and sealing properly?
 
#29 ·
Thanks!
I was wondering, because, I think it was stated in the owners' manual for one of my chain saws that excess fuel would just return to the tank. Must be a totally different type of system.
Now that it is starting to look like spring is finally here, I think I will take the carbie apart and check everything. I'll be keeping an eye on the weather forecast though. Can't quite trust that winter has lost it's grip. We've had a lot of winter this winter!
 
#30 ·
Nice day yesterday, so i removed the plate that covers the carburetor, - the one that has the lever that the throttle cable attaches to. That disconnects the link to the governor arm. Then I started the engine and let it warm up. I could then manually move the throttle shaft while holding on to the governor arm. When I open the throttle and the engine speeds up, I can feel the governor trying to move the throttle shaft in the closing direction. That is good news, as in my mind it means that the governor mechanism is functioning. I think my next move is to get a kit for the carburetor and go through it.
 
#31 ·
Are all kits for HM80 engines the same? I want to make sure I order the correct parts, but I don't have the carburetor identified.
The engine is HM80 155128F Series 93230. There are some characters stamped on top of the carburetor, but it may be just a date code, and the stamping is poor, but it looks like 736 0K8, or the "3" may be an "8". Does anybody know what that means?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top