Strike Master carb question

[Tom I Am]

I have a Strike Master 2000 that seems to be leaking gas out the air filter intake. The intake filter seems to always be wet with fuel. Is there a needle/seat assembly on this type of carb that could be the culprit? I had a new carb kit installed last March and I'm wondering if the guy didn't quite get something right.

Thanks

[harleyharry]

Your SM has a Techumseh engine. Yes the carb has a needle and seat inside.

After the small engine shop installed the carb kit, did the carb leak at that time, or did it start leaking this year?

If the leak occured at the time of the carb cleaning, the tech did not do a good job. If the leak did not occur until this year, stale fuel is the problem.

I have found after years of working on two cycle engines, if there is old fuel left to dry in these small carbs, and not cleaned out, they will exhibit the same problem you are having. The problem is the new fuel you use has a lot of detergents added. After you add fresh fuel, the detergents will, after time, loosen and clean the stale fuel from fuel wells and fuel passages. The minor bits of contamination will and can end up under the inlet needle.

A dried out fuel diaphragm will do the same thing, but will normaly soften up with new fuel.

Hope I helped. This problem is not only on your brand. Any small engine with this design of carb, which is most of all the two hp ice aguers will, in time, have the same thing happen.

Harry

[chris o]

inside the carb you have a set of diaphrams and gaskets on both sides. on the bigger side, 4 screws on the edges, this is the fuel pump. if you take this side off you will notice on the diaphram there is a small metel bump. this pumps up and down on the fuel metering lever, you can see this on the carb itself once side cover is removed. this metering lever is connected to the inlet needle. this whole set up moves up and down with psoitive and negative vacuum of engine. when sitting for an extended amount of time this diaphram can become brittle, if it happens to stay positioned onto this metering lever causing needle to stay open it will leak. i would contact your local tecumseh dealer and get a carb kit. i happen to run a product called opti-2 in my fuel. during the summer months i start my auger 2 a month and run for a couple of minutes each time.

[Tom I Am]

Thanks for the info guys. I had a new kit installed in March 08. Did not leak then that I recall. I ran the fuel out the stored for the summer. Sounds like a $100.00 lesson.

Is it difficult to do a carb kit on these? Are there any free technical carb documents available? Trying to get by as cheap as I can.

[caster]

Very simple procedure. Check Strikemaster's HSOforum for a list of certified repair centers. It looks like you have one in Mankato. They should have a kit (about $10) with some instructions.

[Tom I Am]

Caster,

I just found the location. I'm going to get one tonight. I've done other bowl type carbs but not the diaphram style. Thanks much for the info.

[caster]

You should have no problems at all. Good luck.

One thing I think that helps is to leave the vent open when storing them dry. I believe the pressure in the tank can cause the diaphram to go bad.

[keyks42]

I was told by strikemaster to leave fuel in during the summer months and just start the auger every month.

Mark

[caster]

That's typical. Look at the Strikemaster HSOforum tips on summerizing your auger. They say to drain the tank, then run until it stops.

I drain the gas from all my motors and all fuel tanks. Running an engine in the off-season with gas left for several months does not prevent the gas from going bad. I've worked on too many snowmobile engines that guys have left the gas in and then wonder why they run bad (or worse, stick a piston) the next season.

[Dave]

They say to drain the tank, then run until it stops.

The one time I ran it dry for summer storage, when I gas'd it up for winter, the carb gasket leaked. Luckily, the by the next day, it stopped leaking since the gasket must've expanded back to normal.