HOW TO Make Your Tecumseh SNOWKING Engine Idle & Stop Surging 

7½ years later and you're still performing miracles! I was at my wits end and thought I had tried everything, cleaned the carb, drained the gas, refilled with premium & watched countless useless videos until I found this one ... My Toro 826LE's never run this good!!!! ... THANK YOU!!!!

I just wanted to add my thanks to you for making this video. Had the surging and following your directions was able to cure the issue. I really appreciate you taking the time to make the video for all of us out here. Major props to you.

My snowblower has been surging bad. I did this and it runs perfect! Thank you very much for taking the time to make all of these videos!!

Holy Cow!! Been having surging issues for the last two years on my Tecumseh 9hp snowblower. Makes for a bad time snow blowing. Thank you so much!!! You saved me time, money, and heartache!!! :)

Saved me at least $100. Thanks. Great videos. Organized. Close up, steady cam. Right-to-the-point. No hem and haw. Best how-to vids I’ve seen on youtube. Well done.

Wow! It does work! I've been worried for 4 years about this surging on my Tecumseh OH 358 snow blower engine. I tried this today and 15 minutes later I'm fixed. Runs like new! This man knows his stuff!

Hey man, I just wanted to thank you for your video. I’ve had this problem on my cub cadet snowblower for over 5 years. The light would even flash along with the surge of the engine. I’ve cleaned out the carb jets multiple times and have done hours of research. I even had a snowblower repair shop come pick it up and they quoted me $600 on some bs repairs. Nothing was wrong except this. Thank you again!!!!!

you are a credit to your profession, you willingly share your knowledge on small engine repairs when most will not

Last winter (worst in years) my 14 year old Mastercraft (Tecumseh 8.5) started surging at all speeds. Trying to troubleshoot now to prep for winter. Fixed the primer line (split ends) and checked everything else that I could. No luck. Found this video tip and nailed it. The screw ports didn't even look dirty - couple seconds with a nylon bristle (that's all I had to work with). Bolted it all back together and fired up - smooth idle and top speed and all the way thru. Thank you for taking the time to put this out there. Saved me a lot of grief and probably a few $.

Wow! Thank you so much! This worked on my Tecumseh. No more surging/stopping. Took 20 minutes and I am not usually a "fix it" guy. Ready for the next snowstorm in WI

You are the best donyboy !! I got my 20 year old Tecumseh running like a champ again thanks to you, your informative, well produced videos - not to mention your replies/support. Thanks yet again !!

Donyboy, Used our 8 hp Tecumseh snowblower last weekend - was surging and would not idle at slower speeds. I asked my neighbor - he suggested the Internet. I did a search and found your video tip. Spent about half an hour checking / cleaning the the non adj fixed jet and that smaller screw with the rubber cap. Used your wire technique and the snowblower fired on the first lull and runs great - THANKS SO MUCH!!!

Took 15 minutes and worked perfectly. Thanks for the clear instructions.

Used this method this week & am back in business! THANK YOU! I watched a couple of your other ones and learned much about my machine!

You are my hero! I wasted a lot of time with other "fixes" for my surging Tecumseh snowblower. Yours actually worked!! Thank you.

who knew a 12 year old video would save the day. Many thanks!

Absolute Lifesaver. I followed your instructions and now my snowblower works better than it ever has!!! Thank you!!

Thanks Dony. Your video was spot on. Fixed my Tecumseh powered snowblower in about 15 mins. It took more time to remove the shield than clean the jet.

You not only a doctor you are the Master in what you do. Thanks

YOU Sir are a saviour. I watched your video and one other related and you were SPOT ON. It was the little screw on the side, right at the end inside the tip is a little teeny hole, when I squirted through it the pattern was horrible coming out. I took your idea with the wire brush wire and some carb cleaner and then I squirted through it again and it was easily double or more the output with the spray and the pattern was much tighter and centered. Thanks for the time you took to do this! Machine was just professionally serviced last year and it ran crummy this year. Saved me having to bring it back for service again!

Thanks a million for this! My snow blower developed this surging problem today out of absolutely nowhere, and we've got snow in the forecast for the next couple days. Your video is the #1 Google result for "Tecumseh snow king engine surging" ...20 minutes later, my machine is running just like new. I would have tried everything else *but* this first. Eastern Maine extends its gratitude to our Northerly neighbor. :-)

Thank you! Snowblower was running rough yesterday and I found your video and this worked perfectly. Purring engine once again.

who's here because theres 12" coming in to NY metro area? :) Love your videos!

Thanks are in order - again. Yesterday I got my machine running and it started surging right away. I've never mastered 2-cycle carbs so I was thinking of ordering a repair kit when I remembered your videos. Once again, you've saved me some blue-money. I owe you a pint or two sir!

12.31.13. I have a 8hp Tecumseh on an MTD that was surging the last 2yrs. Did your trick & I also used carb spray in the hole before I replaced the jet. No more surge! (Mid-Mich)

15 year old slowblower now purrs like a kitten thanks to you. It hadn't run in 3 years due to a broken starter motor bracket and it typically wouldn't start the first time in a season any other way. I welded up the bracket earlier in the fall and was pleased that the machine still ran - though not well. Followed this video and a small tweek on the idle screw and the machine runs better than I ever remember it. And it starts on less than a full pull.

Good tip! I checked the one in my snowblower engine...plugged solid! Thanks!

Well spent a hour trying to get the old girl running tonight. Snow tomorrow. Once I got it running it was surging finally after tinkering for a while I gave up. While in the house I thought “hmm wonder if donnyboy has a fix?” Sure enough. Still hands down best instructional videos on the tube. Thanks man!!

Donyboy73 thanks a million. The last couple of winters I have only used my snowblower a few times. This year I'm needing it quite often. Was having surging problems and then having to run with the choke partially on. Next time it would not run at all. Took the carb apart and found the float was sinking and had a hole in it. Fixed the hole and was congratulating myself but when I started the engine it would run but was still surging. Found your video and your recommended fix worked perfectly......

Thanks so much for this video . I took out the snowblower for the first time this year and noticed a surging from the engine .I just cleaned out the jet as you demonstrated and it's running like a top . One tip for your viewers is to change the oil in the spring and put a piece of painters tape on the handle bars to tell yourself ,"oil changed May 2016" .That way your snowblower has clean oil in it and is ready to go come winter. Maintenance will make your equipment last !

What great information. Thanks for posting this and the other older videos about rebuilding them. I rebuilt a lot of Mikuni carbs in snowmobiles but this is a lot different and after taking it apart it would run for more then a minute. Watching your videos I was able to spot that my float bowl isn’t orientated correctly so it’s likely my float is not opening all the way starving it for fuel after a short run!

I just did this and it worked perfectly! Thank you very much for posting this. You saved me a lot of money and frustration from taking it in to any of the small engine repair shops we have around here and being charged another $150 bucks and it would still not be running right!

Thank you for your help. That fixed the problem for me. Great video instructions, very clear and easy to follow for the non mechanic. Keep em coming!

Fantastic video. I tried all the usual fixes for the surging / no idle problem that everyone has described without success. I never would have thought to remove and clean that screw. Now my SnowKing runs like it did 10 years ago. I can't thank you enough for this really helpful video!

Don; I just came into my house an am writing you. I performed this technique on my poorly running snow blower about 1 hour ago and it runs well now !! :-D. Thanks for your guidance MY Friend. Now I can't wait for Snow***. Just kidding !!!! about the SNOW. It's a good feeling when your machine runs good. Cheers !!***.

Your advice was totally spot-on for me. I have a snow king tecumseh on my Ariens that was the last year for the snow king on those blowers. My blower works perfectly now. THANK YOU!!!! (I was nearly ready to take an old carb from another old snow king motor and rebuild it and install it). You saved me tons of tinkering!

Tried everything to make my Craftsman 8hp snowblower stop surging & backfiring. This tip took me 10 minutes and that tiny hidden screw was causing the problem. Once cleaned, the engine got enough gas & now runs perfect! Thank You!

Thanks! Just bought a used 1028 that was surging and this solved it, super easy fix. Was worried the carb was shot but nope! Appreciate the video!

Thank you Don, I would have probably done more harm than good working on my carburetor for a long time if I had not seen your You tube video. Worked like a charm. Thanks again.

I just fixed my snow blower by following your instructions. Thank you so much.

I have been having the problem with surging for over a year with my snowblower,had the carb apart cleaned ect. never did I realize there were 3 holes in that screw as shown, cleaned,running better than ever! Thank you very much

You dear Sir is a small engine genius! For two winter I struggle with my blower Surging , I dumped 2 cans of C foam in it and got no result , I drained my carb and tank twice ; Constantly putting high octane gas and yet my blower did not ran any better , I tried to get my Blower serviced back in November by Meetz in Waterloo Ontario , I would have had better luck finding Willy wonkier magic ticket , They were all booked up for the season, I then started to find an excess to convince my wife we need a new blower ,After watching this video I fixed that annoying issue in 3 minutes. Thanks ,

I just bought an Oregon carb for my Tecumseh HMSK 80 snowblower motor and although it started with the 1st pull, it surged like crazy - watched the governor going back and forth etc.I remembered that you advised someone on one of these vids to try adjusting the bottom screw. I took this to mean the one underneath the bowl of the carb so I marked it and slowly backed it off (counter clockwise) about 1/2 a turn. Purs like a kitten now - simple !! Thank you yet again donyboy, you da man !!

May as well leave a comment. I have a 621E and has been doing well in Wisconsin. I had a 826 E in the shed for 10 years. I pulled it out and the engine crazy revved. Time to clean it up and put it back to work. With all the strange weather nowadays, I may need it!!! It almost looks new. Thanks for your videos.

Thanks very much for the tip! I have a machine that's been driving me crazy and I think I just learned the fix from this video!

Thank you for posting this. I was at my wits end trying figure this thing out. This was the culprit, runs like a top now.

Great video. I've cleaned and adjusted the carb on my snowblower in time for winter. It surged the last 4-5 years.

Thanks so much for this tip donyboy! I was about to take my machine in for service when I found your video. It runs like a champ now. Now I just hope I won't need to use it too much this year!

I watched a lot of carb cleaning videos yesterday. What I noticed was, they usually did not look that dirty or clogged. While some of them had been previously cleaned off camera prior to the video, I was sceptical that I really needed to do a full carb cleaning on my snow blower. I’m going to check this part first before taking apart the carb. Thanks.

Thanks. Worked like a champ. The machine idles like new now. I removed the screw, used and old tooth brush in the holes and put the screw in my ultrasonic cleaner. THANKS!!

I have an Ariens 1024. Been suffering with this surge for many many years. Tried gumout into the intake, gas additive, seafoam and Nothing. Found this vid, removed my cover and didn't see the screw. Low and behold it was on the left side of the carb. Removed it and it was plugged SOLID!!! Got it cleaned out with a wire brush bristle and SHE RUNS FANTASTIC!!! PROBLEM SOLVED! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

FYI - I was having the exact same problem with the idle on my Tecumseh engine on my Ariens snow blower. I followed your recommendation exactly as demonstrated on your video and it now idles perfectly. Thank you!!!!!

My Ariens with a tecumseh snow king was surging at idle/no load. When under load, it ran well. In the northeast, I had only run it very sparingly in the last 18 months given the extremely light winter last year. Excellent video and advice. It took me about 15-20 mins at most, and that was to grab tools, and find a cleaning wire. Sure enough, the bleed was plugged. Works/idles perfect after doing this! Ready for use in a few hours when the snow stops.

thank you for making this video. totally fixed my surging engine .. it idles perfectly now . liked and subscribed .

Thank you very much for posting this video. Finally I got the snow blower run smooth as it should does after playing with a lot of things. God bless you Dony

LIFE SAVER!!!! I was getting ready to take the whole damn carburetor apart. This worked for my tecumseh generator.

Thank You!! My Tecumseh Snow king 10hp was surging and backfiring. Came on all of a sudden..thought it was bad gas. After cleaning the gas tank,carb seafoam and new spark plug same thing still happening. I didn't even see the little plug! Should have put my glasses on. But yes after a second look ..there it was. Removed and cleaned with wire brush strand soaked and compressed air. Thing runs like new! I also checked the oil after seeing the video with the cracked block! Crossing my fingers I get a few more years out of it. Thanks again for these videos!!

Had the same "surging" problem as everyone described. Pulled and cleaned the main jet in the bowl, checked for water, all the usual stuff including Gumout straight into the intake while running. NOTHING. Usually an air corrector jet gives little if rarely a problem. Stumbled onto your video while trying to search for any ideas I could find. Figured your idea was the one thing left I didn't actually do. Yanked a piece out of my wire brush and ran it through and blew it out with some carb cleaner. BAM!!! FIXED!!! Thanks a lot for a great video! Sure came in handy for a quick fix!! Took about 15 minutes tops.

Well, just pulled my snow-hoser out to grease and oil it, change the motor oil, and generally get it running. A White with an 8hp snow King. Surging! My 2 neighbor's brought theirs over for me to tune up, and both of theirs had the same issue. This was the fix for all three! This is my go-to channel for all mechanical mysteries and mischief. Thank you so much, I can't tell you how many times you have helped, and how much time and money you have saved me!

Thankyo for yor very informative videos. Perfect. I took an older snowking to a shop they said it wasnt worth fixing. I took it home emptied th gas tank cleaned it put a new spark plug in and afer a bit got it running. 👍

I worked at Tecumseh for a couple of years. Amazed at the amount of engines they pumped out of from that little factory in New Holstein, Wisconsin

Just tried this on a 2007 11HP Snow King that sat last winter without use and did not want to start. I cleaned the carb, bowl, jet, & installed a new E3.10 spark plug, She was popping and surging at high throttle and surging badly on low. Removed the screw & found the orifice completely plugged. Used a bread twist tie wire & some carb cleaner to clear the orifice & reinstalled She now purrs like a kitten with an nice smooth idle (for a Tecumseh) at low with no surging!!! Thanks a bunch!!!

Excellent guides in many of your videos ! Thank You for your efforts. This one solved an intermittent problem for me on my Ariens Snowblower with 8HP Tecumseh engine. Cost to me was less than an hour.

Thanks for posting this. Did the trick! Again, thank you for taking the time to make and post this video.

This guy knows his stuff . Worked like a charm !!!

Holy cow dude your a GENIUS hehe, fixed mine in minutes :-). Had pulled the float bowl and everything was pristine in there, was still scratching my head.

thank you for the vid. This worked on my Toro mower with Suzuki 2 stroke engine. Likely works on many small engines. thank you again!

Great job !! this fixed my problem , you're a genius.

I was set to buy a carb kit and rebuild it on my Arien 9526DLE but I decide to dig a bit on the net before, I didn't loose my time since this video nail exactly the problem! 15 minutes later the 9.5hp Tecumseh OHV engine purr like a Kitten! All I can say is Thank you for this video and all the other 697 you did !

My 20+ year old snowblower gets a gas treatment every spring and gets fresh oil/gas and a spark plug cleaning each fall. First snow fall and it's surging like crazy. Still works but c'mon, I maintain all my toys. Found this video and followed the instructions....well holey dang, it's purring like a kitten now!! Like everyone before me, I wish to give you BIG thanks on this tip. You've saved me $$$ and a trip to the shop....not to mention the embarrassment from the neighbours! Keep up the good work!

Thank you - God Bless your repair suggestion worked like a charm. After the wire I squirted some Blaster "Lawn mower tune-up" into the tip of jet and into jet hole on carb. Runs like new.

I think you mean: "When you're at your wit's end". I really enjoy your videos. I've been watching for years. You explain everything so clearly.

Great video, this fixed my idle issue on my 8hp tecumseh. Thanks for posting

Works Great fixed my problem Doesn't matter if surging is at idle or full throttle Clogged jet will cause problems at full throttle range

I told myself that that hole at the end went thru,, couldnt get my wire thru,, so i second guessed and i was wrong... thanks again donnie,, really appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us

I have the same motor on my snowblower and it's surged for the last 2 winters. Good ideas in this video. I'll try this in September when I get stuff ready for winter. Thanks

thanks for watching, make sure to subscribe

Donyboy, it's obvious that you are passionate about your small engine business - I think it's great what you do, and you provide a lot of great information to people so they can fix their engine problems. It makes no sense to toss out power equipment when so many of the fixes are simple, and with your expertise.

Just had my Craftsman/Tecumseh blower start acting up today while using it. Was running great and all of a sudden it began surging and would not idle. After trying a few other things I found this fix and problem SOLVED. Thanks for posting this.

just a little hint ! I use a torch cleaning wire set to clean out the jets of carbs. they work great !

Thanks for posting this! My motor was pulsating and backfiring. After doing this it purred like a kitten. I tried cleaning the carb and putting in Sea Foam and nothing worked until I tried this. I was almost ready to replace the fuel line, but you saved me a trip to the store. I wouldn't have said it is a last resort because it was so easy to do....

Thanks for the videos. I just fixed my surge problem in time for the coming snow storm. It was the bowl o-ring. It was all dried out and cracked. I did replace the bowl anyway and cleaned all the jets. It now runs at idle and no more surging. Thanks

This fix worked beautifully. I thought I was going to have it serviced because it would only run fully choked and kept stalling. Now it will slow idle and runs smoothly. Since it is running better it also throws the snow really far. Thanks

worked great thanks I can't believe it. I have had this thing apart 10 times and couldn't figure it out

Followed your instructions and fixed my Ariens which developed a surging problem thus winter. Thanks!!!

Don, You are the man! Your knowledge and video stopped the surging on my 2005 Troy-Bilt MTD 8.5 Tecumseh. The diameter of the wire I needed to use to clean the orifice was 0.012 inches. Many thanks and Merry Christmas!

Your channel has always been very helpful since first finding it. I didn't know a thing about taking apart my used MTD snow blower, but have always been able to find answer's here. Once again this particular video was the solution to my surging motor problem. Thank's again and Happy Holidays!

Thanks so much for the post. Your fix did the trick! You may want to also mention that there are holes in that nut at the bottom of the carb bowl. Another posters solution to rough idle/surging was to remove that nut and clean out the holes there. I think that viewers should be aware that cleaning the holes in the screw that you show and the holes in that bowl nut are both worth doing. In my case the holes in the bowl nut were clean but the hole in the screw you pointed out was not. Thanks again

This fixed my tecumseh engine irractic idle!!! Thank You very much!!

This solved my problem. Thanks so much for posting this video.

I've fixed many like this! Great video! Alot of machines out there surge!

Many thanks for your video. I recently purchased a used (almost new) Ariens snowblower with a 9 HP Tecumseh engine. It would not idle properly. I ran across your video and it provided me with both the know-how and the confidence to tackle the problem myself. I followed your direction and in 15 minutes, problem solved.

omg i also have had this problem for about 2yrs. literally took 5min to do this and it runs like new. thank you

Donyboy, You were right on the kit #. Just rebuilt carb and threw it on and, low and behold, it runs like I just uncrated it. Thanks Bud!

Dony that's another wonderful and informative vid. Just as a suggestion, when I remove this fixed jet I also remove the little bracket right in front of it to make access much easier. It's the bracket held on by pair of 1/4" hex head bolts that helps affix the heat pan cover to the carb. Makes accessing this jet so much easier.

Donyboy- I can't thank you enough for this. Put up with sluggish sub par performance from my Toro 828 in three feet of snow (and its still coming down) before I found your video. Thank you very much.

I am not a mechanic but like to do my own stuff when I can and that fixed my problem. WOW! Thank you for that info. Never knew that jet was there hidden away. Your the best Dony! THE BEST!!! She purrs like a kitten now with no surging, none. Sounds beautiful but my exhaust notes now keep saying Donyboy Rocks, Donyboy Rocks at idle and high rev. LOL Thank You!

I've had this same issue the past couple seasons, and even paid someone to 'tune up' the blower a few years ago. I just tried this and 10 minutes later I have a smooth running blower again. Thanks, it worked like a charm for me!

I did this on a Coleman 5000 generator with a Tecumseh 10 HP and it completely solved the surging problem. Thanks!

Right on the mark with this quick fix Donyboy. Thanks for all your vids