Thats interesting. I've not heard of the r-tek surging. These are similar to duraforce but the r-tek is piston ported which is a better situation IMO. And I thought they had larger jets that the dura. My question is; Does it surge under load? Some two cycles just surge naturally under no load. But get them in the real snow and the powerstroke kicks in, and surge is gone until you have a no load situation. If it surges under load then you do have a jet problem. Thats about all I know about them. Others have much more technical knowledge about this particular engine. Neal

I am under the impression that if its a single stage toro you have a two stroke engine? If it is then you have mixed fuel that according to your post is possibly 2 yrs old with stabil added ( by the way most all 2 stroke oil today has stabilizer already in it)and you choked it and primed it 8 times. I'd have to say that you flooded it due to the fact that its 10 degrees probably a low flash point fuel due to the age and additives and she smoked a whole lot when she finally decided to send that bullet on its way. As for the spark it was probably a beautiful blue flame that is to be expected on a loaded chamber. I would run it if you think the gas is not too old and still has lubricating properties and see how she goes maybe check plug for fouling. Good Luck Jim

Thank You both baymee and ewalk. I truly do appreciate your time and input. The woodruff key that I have on my snowblower is not a half moon shape. It is the rectangular piece I mentioned earlier in this posting but did not know the name of the piece at that time. Not sure how to get that off? Pry it off? Cut it off? I do not want to damage the key or the shaft so the pulley does not fit back onto the shaft. The pulley is notched to fit over the key and then secure with 2 set screws. In the Toro Parts Diagram the image looks like a half moon but like I mentioned mine has a small rectangular shaped key. The woodruff key on my snowblower does not look like it has been fabricated. Is there anyway I could provide a picture on GardenWeb or this posting? Thank You.

This is a very old thread, things have changed at Ariens. The units sold at Home Depot are rebadged Husqvarna/Poulan/Craftsman and certainly not up to their usual standards. The average consumer simply will not pay for the traditional quality although long time Ariens fans such as myself will step up to the plate and go for the dealer only models. Having said that, it appears all models are getting an Ariens branded engines which likely means Chinese. With my experience with MTD's Powermore crapola, I will stick with an older model and repower with Briggs if necessary if and when I need a snowthrower, certainly not at the moment in southwestern British Columbia lol.