Simple maintenance steps and adjustments can help your snowblower or snow thrower last for many trouble-free years. Taking good care of the engine and other functional parts of the snowblower will prevent excessive wear and premature failure.
Follow the advice of our Sears Service Technicians to keep your snowblower in top shape and lasting longer.
How to maintain your snowblower engine
Give your snowblower engine a thorough tune-up each fall before the snow season. Follow these steps to tune up the engine so it’s ready for winter.
1. Drain old gasoline from the fuel tank
If you’ve got any gasoline left in the fuel tank from last year, drain it out. Unless you’ve used fuel stabilizer, gasoline will go bad in about 6 months.
Use extreme caution when handling gasoline. Work in a well-ventilated area free of open flames or sparks.
Disconnect the fuel line and drain gasoline into a container and safely dispose of the gasoline.
Don’t refill the tank with gas yet. Complete the additional engine and snowblower maintenance tasks below before refilling the gas tank to avoid fuel spills.
2. Replace the fuel filter
The fuel filter attaches to the fuel tank and screens out dirt and rust particles from gasoline. If the fuel filter is clogged, gas can't flow to the carburetor, and the snowblower might not start.
Replacing the fuel filter yearly will help keep your carburetor clean and the engine running smoothly.
Here’s a video that shows how to replace the fuel filter in a common snowblower:
