clean using carb cleaner. you need to get all of that nasty crap outta the bowl. if you look at that bolt you will see a hole down the center and two on the sides. spray this out with carb cleaner and run a piece of small wire through it. next, if you look on the carb where the bolt screws in you will see another passage. spray cleaner through there too. spray cleaner through any openings. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES.

will do. I was just googling and I saw mentioned cleaning the gas cap...is there a propper way to do this? ALso..something about a needle and float...I have no idea what or where this is? Again, the sucker always started right up and would run UNTIL it the snow...it would then just die as though I turn the key to the off position...no sputtering or anything. Do you think this cleaning might resolve that? Anyway to test..w/out snow?

the float is that copper looking think that hangs off the bottom of the carb, theres a pin that you need to remove(its the little chrome one) and the float will come off as well as the needle. pay close attention for reassembly. with the needle out spray cleaner through that passage too. the cleaner will come out where the fuel line hooks up.

It looks to me that it had set with some water in it. That isn't good. They don't always clean up successfully. Give it your old fashioned try as directed above. In addition, replace the fuel line and be sure the tank is clean. The cap many times pop apart if you choose to clean it. Once that is done, you would be better served to remove the float and let the fresh fuel wash thru the inlet where the valve goes in. If it were me, I would replace the float, needle and seat, bowl and seals. But you can try the basic clean up and see what it gets you. You can start it and tip the machine ahead to make the rubber auger work against the blacktop to get a feel for power w/o the snow. Hope it works out.

Re:the float is that copper looking think that hangs off the bottom of the carb, theres a pin that you need to remove(its the little chrome one) and the float will come off as well as the needle. pay close attention for reassembly. with the needle out spray cleaner through that passage too. the cleaner will come out where the fuel line hooks up.

Is that the donut looking thing in the picture the float? If so, you are saying there is a pin I should remove that will release it...? Do I just spray all these parts with the carb cleaner the reassemble? Can I see the needle in the picture? Are you saying to spray up into the carb once the donut thing is removed? THANKS!!

Re:
I would replace the float, needle and seat, bowl and seals. But you can try the basic clean up and see what it gets you.

Is this a kit you buy? Where? What should I expect to pay?Whats the seat and seals...are they visible in the picture?

Thanks guys! I'll be shocked if I actually get it working! Of course then I'll ned remember how to put the whole thing back together!

On my 1992 DT4000 Craftsman riding mower, the blades engage and turn for about 5-10 minutes then they stop and won't reengage until I shut off the mower for a few hours. I replaced the ignition and attachment switches, battery and electronic clutch. Same problem persists. Help me please.

As I recall there was never a problem with starting or running...so long as I did not try to move the snow. I am hopefull thi scarb cleaning will work and if not at least I learned something...

is there an air cleaner I should be repalcing somehwere in here while its apart?

There is no air cleaner on these. The parts are available at any tecumseh dealer. Currently, the needle and seat kits come with the bowl seals in the pack. The new float is plastic. The bowl/ float come separately. All are cheap enough parts, but you may have a bit of a challenge installing the new parts. The manual link will be very helpful plus we can walk you through it. The problem with water sitting in the carb is it damages the passages. You'll find the carb spray will remove the loose debris, but that is about it. To remove the float, remove the pin and the float will drop out with the needle. You certainly can try physically cleaning what you can, flushing the lines etc and see what happens.

Snow blowers/throwers do not have air cleaners! They tend to clog or freeze up in the cold weather, and any way, there isn't any dust in the air for the filter to filter!

...I'll be back when I get a chance to try all this!

well I put it back together after cleaing the carb bowl, that little screw with the hole and spraying carb cleaner in and out of any other holes I saw. I put seafom in some gas and gassed it up. I set the choke, primed it, pulled the cord and...........NOTHING! It started to run for a second after a few pulls but stalled. Oh yea...I put a new spark plug in too. I spayed carb cleaner around the choke with it open...It chugged a bit but still stalled...could it have been burning the carb cleaner. Other than re-disaasembling the carb and pulling out the float...any other ideas?

The fact that the machine started and ran for a second or two means that the ignition is very likely OK. I think you are still having problems with fuel delivery,

further suggestions....would it be simplest to remove the carb and put on a new one....do they come assembled and ready to go...ie pull the old off and slip the new on?

It is certainly simpler to put on a new carb. The weighing factors I would use is cost plus how badly is the carb corroded? The other engine #s would be helpful in determining the proper carb. Maybe even the Simp model # would reference the correct part. Did you have a steady stream of fuel out of the carb when you ran fresh fuel through the line? If you haven't referenced the manual yet, then now would be a good time to know what you are getting into.

No, I have my limitatons. I do know the fuel line has fuel in it..I popped it of and fuel ran out. I sprayed the carb cleaner thru that lttle nozzle thing the fuel line connects too as well. I just tried again and it sputtered. I poured some gas in the opening above the choke (I think it was suggested to add some fuel directly to the carb...maybe I made things worse!) and pulled a few times an it did start but ran maybe 20 seconds or so then stopped. I was thinging of add some seafoam in there a letting it set for a day or so and then trying again.

Here is a link to Tecumseh Technicians Handbook, its free online and hopefully will be of use to you.

http://www.cpdonline.com/692509.pdf

It started!!!!!!!! But....I likely should start a new post...

Good deal. Did you do carb surgery or did the Seafoam open it up? Be sure to run it periodically so it is ready when you need it. You may even want to drop the bowl again after it has run a spell to make sure the little flakes of corrosion get out of the carb.