# Tecumseh won't start



## JBFab (Nov 7, 2008)

Hi guys, - I have a diagnostic question for a Tec OHV175:

This is a 17.5 HP Vertical shaft engine - I believe it was purchased as a replacement for a rider until I got it for my log splitter. Anyway, rewind to two weeks ago, I had it at my friends house where we got it running by "nursing" it with a bottle from above, we then put a temporary tank on it, and it ran great on it's own. Now I have put the permanent tank on it, and the only way I could get it to run was fully choked. To get it to do that I even had to hold my finger over one of the holes on the butterfly to get it started. When I let go of the choke it would die. So I figured it must not be getting enough fuel. I took the bowl assembly off (series 7 non-adjustable carb) which looked absolutely pristine. but I cleaned it anyway, and I pulled the plastic (idle?) jet out and found the o-ring at the bottom was torn, so I replaced it. I have now found out that there is another O ring past that little plunger thingy when you take the solenoid out. Anyway when I push the float down, gas comes in, so I don't think that is the problem. Now as I have been typing this I realized that the gas we used at my friends house was probably fresh gas, the stuff I am using has probably been at my place since May or June - could that really be the problem?


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## 30yearTech (Sep 14, 2006)

JBFab said:


> Now as I have been typing this I realized that the gas we used at my friends house was probably fresh gas, the stuff I am using has probably been at my place since May or June - could that really be the problem?


Absolutely, gas older then 8 to 10 weeks can cause issues if no stabilizer was added to for longer term storage, especially if it was in a container that was not tightly capped. Try some fresh fuel and be sure to drain all the old fuel from the carburetor, before you try and start it again.

Best of Luck.... :thumbsup:


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## JBFab (Nov 7, 2008)

Well unfortunately none of that worked, so I broke down and ordered a new carb from JSE. We'll see if that takes care of the issue when it arrives on Tuesday.


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