[DawsDix]

I recently bought a house with a locked shed. Owner never had the key to it. I managed to pop the door off and was greeted with a snowbird snowblower.

I've never owned a snowblower and know very little about them. A quick google search brought me to this forum.

I was wondering if someone could tell me a little bit about my snowblower. How do I diagnose the issues with it. And is it worth fixing up?

I think it's a super cool machine and would love to bring it to its former glory.

Thanks, Daws

 

[Oneacer]

The older machines were well built, and many survived to this day and are still in use. .... I actually have an earlier Yardman Snowbird 7101 series which my father bought new back in like 1970 ....

 

[Yanmar Ronin]

Yes... good score and welcome to SBF.

 

[DawsDix]

Yes... good score and welcome to SBF.

Thank you, are you aware of any resources for getting it to a working order?

 

[DawsDix]

The older machines were well built, and many survived to this day and are still in use. .... I actually have an earlier Yardman Snowbird 7101 series which my father bought new back in like 1970 ....

View attachment 197726

That is awesome! Looks very similar! Is it still used today? Is it overly loud? Regular fuel? Anything else I should expect?

 

[Tony-chicago]

Yes. Snowblower forum.
These are tough built machines.
Several experts here will get you well-versed.
Not sure if this old machine is lacking modern "safety" systems.

 

[Yanmar Ronin]

Thank you, are you aware of any resources for getting it to a working order?

Yes. Snowblower forum.
These are tough built machines.
Several experts here will get you well-versed.

Yep, you're here. 👍 Slow and steady and we'll have you gtg by winter, no worries.

You said you're not familiar with blowers, but what about mechanicals in general? And are you equipped with any kind of tools, and familiar with their use?

Just trying to establish a start line, wherever it is is OK.

 

[db130]

It looks like a "Gen 3" Snowbird according to Snowbird Snowblowers

However, I wasn't aware until your post tonight that they made Snowbirds with the engine mounted sideways like that. That's a cool snowblower.

 

[DawsDix]

Yep, you're here. 👍 Slow and steady and we'll have you gtg by winter, no worries.

You said you're not familiar with blowers, but what about mechanicals in general? And are you equipped with any kind of tools, and familiar with their use?

Just trying to establish a start line, wherever it is is OK.

I have never worked with mechanicals but I do home renovations with a plethora of tools.

But with motors idk anything about em. I dont know how to change my oil in my truck.

Thank you for your guidance, I'm excited to get this thing going.

 

[DawsDix]

It looks like a "Gen 3" Snowbird according to Snowbird Snowblowers

However, I wasn't aware until your post tonight that they made Snowbirds with the engine mounted sideways like that. That's a cool snowblower.

That's awesome! I read and thought I'd be around the gen 3 era. I couldnt find one that looked identical to mine though.

 

[Oneacer]

@Daws,

Yes, I still use that blower every season as well as many others in my fleet.

As far as getting it in shape, it is pretty straight forward ... snowblowers are pretty simple in design actually ... go through the function of it slowly while it is off, and you will get an understanding of how it functions .. most bearings, bushings, cogs, belts, chains, etc. can be had from basic stock.

It appears to be a single stage, 7HP, 21-inch bucket if those numbers are correct. If you get it operating good, you probably want to invest in some good XTrac snow tires, getting rid of the lawn tires with chains, as well as putting on some slick glide poly skids, as the metal drag along and leave rust marks, unless of course you are using it on gravel, which if you are, make sure you adjust them down enough to bring up the cutting edge of the bucket well above the gravel surface it will be riding on. If it is going to be used on pavement, then place a wooden yardstick or a wooden paint stirrer under the cutting edge while on a level surface, and then loosen and slide down the skids to the pavement and tighten.

 

[JLawrence08648]

A snowblower does require mechanical skills more so than other things. Some skills can be learned but some need to be inherent within yourself.

Do a Search under my name for my Snowblower Checklist.

Check the oil. Drain the gas. Remove the carburetor and take it apart. Buy a can of starting fluid. Put the carb back on and if it starts, immediately! turn it off and change the oil to any synthetic. Now start it, do a video of it running.

We need more pictures, close ups, to give more advice, carb, covers, auger, cutting edge, skid shoes, take the carb and belt covers off and take pictures, controls, stand the snowblower on the front abd remove the bottom cover and take several pictures of the axle bearings, gears, and the rubber friction disk.

You'll want to own a grease gun with synthetic grease. Buy motorcycle chain lube. Unless you have a hill, remove the tire chains.

Get it running first before you invest money.

 

[Ziggy65]

Welcome to the forum, what part of Canada are you from?
You must have been surprised to find this little tank when you opened the shed door.
It appears the recoil starter rope is not retracting, so that is the first item that requires attention to get the machine started. It should be a simple task as long as there are no broken parts in the recoil.
Check the oil level and make sure it is not low or over full (no fuel mixed in).
Drain the fuel tank and lines, add fresh fuel (non ethanol preferably, available at Canadian Tire gas bars or Shell stations).
Remove the spark plug, reinstall the plug wire and place the electrode end so it is contacting metal on the engine housing. Pull the starter cord and you should see a spark from the plug tip.
Reinstall the spark plug and wire. Set choke to start, push the primer 3 or 4 times and start pulling the starter cord until it fires. If successful turn choke off and let run for a few minutes to warm up. Then change the engine oil.
If no start up then you have to start looking at a bad carb or engine issues.

Either way report back to us if it is running or not so we can help with the next step.

Many good You Tube videos out there for working on small engines and snow blowers.

 

[badbmwbrad]

Snowbirds are very well made machines. The oldest versions seem to last forever. Your Snowbird seems to be very well preserved. The paint is mostly all there. You would want to remove any rust using naval jelly or some other phosphoric-acid-based application then prime it and top-coat with a matching color.

The underside area of the bucket is of particular concern so inspect the ice scraper's wear condition. The ice scraper blade is a sacrificial part that prevents the snow bucket's bottom edge from getting any wear. The ice scraper blade gets replaced when worn too much and before the snow bucket's bottom edge makes ground contact.

I would also lubricate the chain drive with motorcycle chain oil. It sprays on then becomes viscous (sticky) so that it won't fly off during operation.

 

[Oneacer]

Make sure when you change that oil, put in Full Synthetic 5W30.

 

[UNDERTAKER]

ALOHA!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Big Ed]

Welcome
A members site here, Snowbird Snowblowers

 

[rwh963]

Yes. Snowblower forum.
These are tough built machines.
Several experts here will get you well-versed.
Not sure if this old machine is lacking modern "safety" systems.

Safety systems? We don’t need no stinking safety systems!

 

[Northeast Dave]

My two cents.
-Anyone can repair a small machine if you are motivated to do so.
-You do not need to be a mechanic. Almost all issues are mechanical that you can get a parts diagram of proper assembly, or take pictures of said assembly and post here with questions.
-We are here to help you. We do this for no other reason than we enjoy it, we want to help you.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[jimbear56]

I have a 1962 model, 5 hp Briggs. I have not used it in years, but have had it running, last time was 2 yrs ago. I go south
for winters now. When non-alc fuel came available that I put in it with a lead additive added. Put away with fresh oil and stored in shed. Also have little newer model I picked up for part's not complete. I bought mine used in 1968 very powerful unit really throws snow quite a ways off