Hey there Brupal, your problem is your carburator, cleaning Tecumseh carbs can be somewhat tricky because of the way they are designed. I just repaired a snowblower the same type as yours with the same problem. To completely repair your carb I recommend taking the carb apart, soaking the main body of the carb in carb cleaner over night and then blow out all the holes, tubes, and jets with compressed air. Next dont reuse old parts, buy a rebuild kit which is normaly around $15 and can be ordered from any tecumseh dealer or www.sears.com/parts. Your rebuild kit will consist of all the mixture screws, gasgets, seals, and a float valve. One tricky thing is to replace the float valve seal, to do this I get a thin long screw, screw it into the old seal and pull it out. To install the new seal, insert it (groove side facing down), push it down with the head of a screw until is is flush in its place. One this you should note, it to shake the float to make sure fuel is not leaking into it. When you reinstall the valve, float and float pin, hold the carb upside down so that the float closes, the float should be level with the carb. If it is above or below level adjust the float tab to correct it. When installing the carb's bowl make sure the deeper side is facing the oposite of the fuel inlet port. Remember to adjust the mixture screws correctly starting with the low screw located on the body of the carb and then the high screw on the bowl nut. I hope this helps ^_^

I totally understand what T-man is saying. There are those times when you break into a carburetor and you just know to stop before you start chasing gremlins and spending undo money and time. If the main nozzle stem is white from corrosion or there are rings of varnish, it's time to throw on a new one. Idle circuitry can be cleaned to a certain point. Buying a carburetor rebuild kit is the only way to go in my opinion. You HAVE to pull those Welch plugs if you want to do a proper job. A piece or .020" tag wire does a pretty good job on the idle passages and transition ports. DO NOT soak your carburetor in "a pan of carb cleaner for a week" as stated. Not even for an hour! The carburetor is sealed from the factory with a special chemical coat. Soaking it eats this coating away. The aluminum will become porous and you might start chasing a phantom leak. A leaky bowl gasket will not cause your carburetor to not receive fuel, but it will cause a no-prime situation. Your bowl nut may have only two holes. Some have two holes in the side and one central jet and some just have one hole in the side with a central jet.

It rests above the float pointing up, attached to the float as I described on the pad near the pin that attaches the float. I believe the manual in the above link would have pics. What is wrong with the power shift? Have you had it long? It has been a while for me. The theory is that each time the power shift is activated, the wheel direction alternates between forwards and rearward. A slight lifting from the operator is required at the same time. There are adjustments. I'm guessing that at the parts look up site, they would have a service manual, and at the very least an owners manual which would cover set up adjustments.

In the shop where ambient temps are certainly higher then how a snowblower is actually operated I prime them 3 times. They may require more under actual operating temps but honestly I doubt it. These things have no air filter as is normal with snowblowers. The main nozzle which the prime squirts out of is in the center of the venturi, the narrow part of the throat, At least half the prime shot rolls down the inlet side of the venturi. By the third if not 2nd prime fuel is dribbling out the inlet. Thus by the third prime, half of the prime shot is dribbling on the ground. So after the 2nd prime, it takes two prime shots to keep the fuel of one prime in the throat. So I kinda gotta believe the manufacture doesn't feel more then 3 shots is needed as anymore will dump half on the ground. It also makes over priming more difficult then an arrangement that would keep all the fuel in the throat.