# snowblower dead?



## barristan (Jan 15, 2005)

I have an old Arien's 6hp snowblower.

Last weekend I was using my snowblower when I noticed some smoke coming out of a small hose sticking out of the side of the engine(someone told me it was something to do with the valves). I stopped and looked a little closer and BOOM. Obviously it shut down after that. I pulled the cord and it pulled very easily( I am assuming this means it didn't sieze up). 
Today I decided to take the head off and try to figure out what was wrong. 
What a mess in there! After I got the head off I could turn the flywheel and the valves would move up and down, but the piston didn't do anything. Obviously I am not very familiar with engines, because I don't know if it's supposed to do this or not. Anyway I pushed the piston down and tried the flywheel again and it would not turn. 

Is it dead for good or can it be saved?


----------



## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

you threw a rod! if the piston isn't seized to the bore and if you take the engine apart and nothing is banged up or cracked bent etc. exept the rod you can get a new rod etc and have it rebuilt. cause the valves are opened and closed by a cam driven by a gear on the crank. it would still move the valves but not the rod when the rod has broken.


----------



## barristan (Jan 15, 2005)

How difficult would it be to rebuild? Could I do it myself? I don't want to throw a lot of money into it because it's very old.


----------



## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

welll a new rod will be money and you'll need new rings probablly and the right tools to do it all so in your case it might be cheaper to get a shop to do it or either get a new engine but that would be alot unless you could luck up on one on e*bay but see the rod either broke or disconnected from the crank or the head and you always don't know what damage was done inside.


----------



## barristan (Jan 15, 2005)

You were dead on. I took the motor off and something was rattling around inside. The thing connecting the piston to the other end was broken into many pieces. I think I could probably get it all back together if I had a new rod.


----------



## bbnissan (Nov 7, 2004)

Before you go and buy a new rod, go ahead and pull the crankshaft and piston out and take a look at everything. Make sure that the rod didn't damaged anything when it broke free, and make sure that the journals for the crankshaft aren't damaged. If all checks out ok, do what bugman said....get a new rod and some rings and you should be good.


----------

