My Toro 524 is loosing power and keeps overheating, may have seized up

jbkidsx5 · 02-11-2012, 07:28 PM

Was using my 1979 Toro 524 today and noticed it was loosing power while going through very little snow. I continued to clear the driveway and as I was finishing up noticed the motor was VERY hot (overheating) and finally it quit running and then I could no longer pull the start cord.
It has plenty of oil in it. Any suggestions?

CharlesW · 02-12-2012, 09:22 AM

I don't think you are being ignored.
No one wants to tell you that you probably have big motor problems.
If you didn't run the motor out of oil, something may have failed in the oiling system that caused what is likely a seized motor.
If you can turn the motor over with the starter rope after the motor has cooled, my only suggestion would be to pull the cylinder head and inspect the cylinder walls for damage.
I have no idea how to check the lower end without tearing the motor down.

It's possible you might be able to restart the motor after it has cooled, but chances are your problem will occur again.
They very seldom fix themselves.
One very small consolation, there's lots of left over machines in our area so prices are somewhat lower.
Still going to cost you some money, though.
Maybe you can hire your snow removal for the remainder of the season and have some time to shop around for either a different machine or a replacement motor.
Good luck.

**Shryp** · 02-12-2012, 09:46 AM

You could pick up a $100 6.5HP Predator 212 cc Harbor Freight special assuming your Tecumseh is a single shaft engine. That might be the easiest fix. Currently $149.99 and often on sale for $99.99 - $129.99. If you look around you can usually find coupons too. Going to have to decide how long you are willing to wait vs how bad you need the blower. Luckily no one seems to be getting any snow this year.
http://www.harborfreight.com/engines...nia-68120.html

As for your actual engine. I have heard of valve problems on the smaller 3.5 - 5HP Tecumsehs so maybe you just need yours redone. Most valve issues end up being clearance issues and when they heat up the valves don't fully close and the engine looses power and eventually stalls from lack of compression. This doesn't seize it though, it simple turns over too easy. I am afraid you are going to have to start tearing things apart and hope to find the problem.

You said it has plenty of oil, but you didn't say when it was last changed. Also, if your carb has been leaking all that oil you have could actually be gas instead. Very dirty oil and lots of gas in the oil can be about as bad as no oil at all.

You did mention overheating. Another thing to check is remove the back recoil cover and make sure there are no animal nests in there. Animals like to build nests in the fins on small engines and that blocks the cooling and causes heat buildup problems. If that is your problem you might get lucky and it might run again at least for a little while after it cools down. Just make sure to clean all the fins before running it again.

I would start with the simple things like removing the belt cover and removing both belts. That will tell you if the problem is the engine or the blower.

jbkidsx5 · 02-12-2012, 05:22 PM

Thanks for the advice guys. I just recently had the motor apart to change the main cylinder gasket, so I just changed the oil a month ago. The carb is not leaking that I know of. Could the carb need adjusted and cleaned.
Btw, it has been 24 hours and I still can't get it to turn over, any suggestions? I read that I can poor Marvel Mystery oil in the spark plug hole and it will free it up, worth a try? Thanks again.

CarlB · 02-12-2012, 05:28 PM

I don't think any oil in the cylinder is going to help if it wont turn. Shryp's idea of swamping out the engine with a harbor freight engine (if you have a single shaft) is the best way to go. If not I think a complete tear down is in order to find out what the problem is.

carl

**Shryp** · 02-12-2012, 05:31 PM

It is possible. First pull the belt cover off and see if you can turn the crankshaft backwards. It it turns halfway and then locks you broke the rod.

I think most of the oil down the spark plug fixes are for engines that sat for years and seized from rust. I suppose at this point anything is worth a try since it is now useless. If you get to the crankshaft you can put a pipe wrench on it and try gently rocking it back and forth.

Your only other choice would be to start stripping the engine down and find out which specific part locked up.

jbkidsx5 · 02-12-2012, 07:15 PM

Thanks again for all the advice but I was hoping for better news. I can't believe this, besides the gasket replacement I spent the last couple of weeks (trial and error) fixing/replacing the driveshaft and bearings - thought this thing was going to be like new. Thanks again.

jbkidsx5 · 02-12-2012, 07:35 PM

I have never did a tear down of a motor, anything I need to know? Any books you would suggest? Any other ideas?

**Shryp** · 02-12-2012, 07:38 PM

Which gasket are you talking about? The one on top by the spark plug or the front cover where the crankshaft sticks out? If you replaced the front sump cover I wonder if you got the timing wrong when you reassembled it. There are marks on the crankshaft and camshaft that have to line up for it to run correctly. Not sure how much damage poor timing can do though. Suppose something else could have been damaged while it was apart.

It is possible it was nothing you did and the engine was on its way out already. It it was run low on oil in the past it could have already damaged the rod and crank journal and it just finally gave up now.

CharlesW · 02-12-2012, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbkidsx5

Thanks again for all the advice but I was hoping for better news. I can't believe this, besides the gasket replacement I spent the last couple of weeks (trial and error) fixing/replacing the driveshaft and bearings - thought this thing was going to be like new. Thanks again.

After you get that Harbor Freight motor insalled, it will be like new.