Strikemaster Powerhead Mods ***May Void Your Warranty***

[McGurk]

DOING ANY OF THESE MODS MAY VOID YOUR WARRANTY, AND THIS IS NOT INTENDED FOR SOLO ENGINES!!!

These are a few things that I have done, and have been happy with the results. I am able to start it easier, run near-smokeless, get a bit more power out of it, and get a higher top end. This is for a Tecumseh TMO 49XA Powerhead, with the Yellow Decompression button, 1) 1/4" hole in the muffler, and the red plastic "flap" throttle on the handle (not the little squeeze trigger). DO NOT ATTEMPT THESE MODS ON A SOLO ENGINE.

I came up with these on my own, and may not give you the same results I got. Most of these are done to override the California-enforced emissions limitations, and not to get more out of the engine than it was built for. I recommend doing them one at a time, and making sure your auger starts and runs between steps, but it's up to you. Do them in this order, and you don't have to do the last steps if you don't want to.

1st- Switch to Amsoil Sabre Pro synthetic 2-stroke oil, mixed at 80-1 or so. Also, always get higher octane gas, and non-oxygenated if possible (no 10% ethanol). It will cost more, but big picture it's not that big of a difference for a gallon or 2. You'll notice a difference after you run a 1/2 tank through. It will start easier, and idle and run smoother. A new plug is never a bad thing, either, and I still run the stock recommended plug. I may try a hotter one sometime but see no reason too at this time.

2nd- Remove the air filter cover and air filter. Clean it with fresh gasoline and squeeze out as much gas as possible with a rag, and let dry for 10 minutes or so. Put it back in and put the cover back on. Don't ever run this auger in dusty conditions without oil in the filter, but most of the time your on a lake anyways with no dust around. Be aware of this if you are running it on a monthly basis in summer if there are dusty conditions, in which just add some oil to the filter, squeeze out any excess, and then clean again it in winter.

3rd- On the linkage connecting the throttle flap to the carb: slide the black plastic tube to the side on the connecting linkage, revealing a few holes for the wire from the carb to go into. I found that the flap was hitting the handle before max rpm's were achieved. I shortened this linkage by moving the wire into the next hole closer to the flap. You'll have to remove the screw holding the plastic part on the trottle flap to do this, put it back together, and slide the tube back over it when done. This should allow for more max rpms.

4th- On the muffler, check to see if you only have 1) 1/4" exhaust hole or a dozen or so small holes in a screen pattern. If you have the screen, don't do anything for this step. If you only have the 1) 1/4" hole, get a drill with a sharp 1/4" drill bit, a hammer, and a centerpunch. Mark 2 more holes close to the existing hole, between the hole and the outer edge but on the same face as the existing hole (away from the bolts). It should look like a nickel-sized triangle with the existing hole being one corner. Centerpunch the 2 new hole locations, and drill them, being careful not to push so hard as to get into the muffler's insides too much.

5th- Start it and run it. If it seems to be starting and running well, allow it to warm up for a minute or so. Then give it full throttle for a couple of seconds listen to how it sounds and how high it is revving. If it seems higher than what you had, go to a lake and try it out.

If it doesn't seem very different, there is a governor screw on side opposite of the spark plug, under the fuel tank, that you can adjust while it is running. Get the right tool to adjust it, and start it up and get it warm. I think backing it out will allow for more top end, but listen, adjust, and listen again, counting the number of tuens in or out that you are making and noting them. The best way to do this is at a lake so you can see what it's like under load (drilling holes), and I don't recommend changing this a whole lot (many many turns) as you can burn up your motor, and you loose hp at the very top end, anyway.

[piker007]

Ill add 1 thing to the muff mod. You may want to take the muff off to drill the holes so you get the metal shavings out of it. Also making one big hole increases flow verse 2-4 smaller ones. A dremel works wonders on mufflers!!!! And depending on how much bigger you make the muff hole you may need to adjust the carb settings! You have some great ideas McGurk!!! Thanks

[McGurk]

Good Call. Either reaming the existing hole out or drilling new holes will get you the same desired effect, but a bigger hole will allow for snow to pack in there alot easier when it's cold. Making sure the shavings don't get into the cylinder is a very good point, and taking the muffler off to drill the holes is a great idea to minimize that.

BTW, there are no adjustments to do on the carb itself, other than the idle speed screw (tiny screw underneath). I wish there was, and the older ones (10+ years old) do have adjustable carbs on them, but I have never messed around with one.

[ratherbefishin]

I just got a used auger and after a carb cleaning it still wasn't right and found me wondering what else could be done. Now id like to say thanks for posting your mods!!!!!!!!!! Now my auger seems to be doing much better!

[hydro]

Good ideas McGurk. I would add that out on the lake, the air cleaner element is not really necessary as there is no significant dirt in the air. It could be removed to reduce intake restriction a bit, but will increase engine noise at the same time. Doing so may require that the carb adjustment be fattened up a bit and it sounds like the carb on your motor has the "D" shaped adjustment screws so that may require some work.

[McGurk]

Thanks, guys. This is an old post (I forgot I even wrote it) that I should give an update for. I did all of these thing to my auger almost 5 years ago, and it is still running strong, starting easy, and idling well. If anything, I may need to drop the idle speed, as I still get a bit of auger spin at idle.

I do feel I should re-iterate, this is only for a Tecumseh TMO 49XA powerhead with the Yellow Decompression button and 1) 1/4" hole in the muffler. This is not intended for the new Solo or Honda engines. If you have a Jiffy 2hp with that same powerhead these may apply, though, along with anything else you might see that would work for you. Do not hold me responsible for undesired results.

[ihc1]

I have a lazer mag that I believe is a 1998 the I "tuned" a little bit before last season. Here is what I did and it is similar to your mods. My auger was getting hard to start and always seemed to run on the lean side because the adjustment screw could not be turned far enough to richen it without hitting its stop. First thing I did was completely clean and blow out carb, then modify the adjustment screw so in could be turned in and out to any position without any stop. Then reassembled carb with new carb kit and cleaned the air cleaner I did use some k&n filter oil on the filter. Next I adjusted the throttle cable to make sure it was opening the throttle all the way and while I was there "tuned" the govener to gain a few more rpm's. I did this because this engine always seemed to run slower than it should. My muffler has 11, 3/16" holes in it so I left that alone because I really didn't want it any louder and figured that provided enough flow for that small engine. I finished off with a new spark plug and fuel mixed 80-1 with amsoil sabre and a new set of blades. The first time on the lake I adjusted the carb after it was warmed up and its like a completely different auger now. This auger is faster and seems to have more power than any other auger I have ever used. This is the second season after I made these changes and have easily drilled 500+ holes with no problems whatsoever. Always starts with 1-3 pulls and almost seems to run better every time I use it and I'm sure I did void the warranty [that expired long ago] but I don't care.