Hard starting Jiffy

[nast70]

My dad has an older jiffy (maybe 8yrs old), not sure the exact model, he loves ice fishing but hasn't gone out much because this thing is and has always been a bi*ch to start. I was think a neat christmas gift might be to get it serviced so it starts properly. Once it does get running and warms up its good, until it gets turned off and you start all over.
Anyone have a suggestion about who might be a reputable guy to take it to?
Or better yet have an idea what might be up with it and i can yake care of it myself.

[Dean2]

My dad has an older jiffy (maybe 8yrs old), not sure the exact model, he loves ice fishing but hasn't gone out much because this thing is and has always been a bi*ch to start. I was think a neat christmas gift might be to get it serviced so it starts properly. Once it does get running and warms up its good, until it gets turned off and you start all over.
Anyone have a suggestion about who might be a reputable guy to take it to?
Or better yet have an idea what might be up with it and i can yake care of it myself.

First, add Sea Foam to the gas and run it till you have used up that tank. Should start and run a bunch better. If it has a primer bulb use it and the choke together on cold starts and make sure you push the primer often enough to actually move gas into the cylinder. Make sure you are using fresh mixed gas at the beginning of every season and make sure it is premium with fuel stabilizer added. If you are already doing all that and it is still hard to start take it in and have the carb serviced by someone that knows Jiffy well.

IF it doesn't have a primer bulb put one on it. Single easiest fix for first start problems on a two stroke auger.

[BPman]

The best thing I ever did for quick starts with my gas auger was to switch to high octane gasoline.

[Kim473]

First, add Sea Foam to the gas and run it till you have used up that tank. Should start and run a bunch better. If it has a primer bulb use it and the choke together on cold starts and make sure you push the primer often enough to actually move gas into the cylinder. Make sure you are using fresh mixed gas at the beginning of every season and make sure it is premium with fuel stabilizer added. If you are already doing all that and it is still hard to start take it in and have the carb serviced by someone that knows Jiffy well.

IF it doesn't have a primer bulb put one on it. Single easiest fix for first start problems on a two stroke auger.

New spark plug also ! And watch you oil mixture.

[neilsledder]

Most people use to much oil. You would be surprised on how little of oil is needed for a 2 stroke engine. With a good quality oil you only need 50:1 or less ratio, you can buy ams oil in a 100:1 ratio.

[tonypower]

Step one- put jiffy on Kijiji
step two- buy an eskimo

:fighting0074:

[nast70]

My dad..
" whats a kijiji?"
Lol!

[tonypower]

My dad..
" whats a kijiji?"
Lol!

that literally made me laugh out loud.

[dodgeboy1979]

The best thing I ever did for quick starts with my gas auger was to switch to high octane gasoline.

X2 i only run premium in my small 2 stroke engines.

[Bigmountainrider]

If the Auger is the only thing holding him back, I'd say keep the gas auger for yourself. Buy him and electric/battery auger for Christmas. Never has to worry about starting it, and you ensure he keeps getting out. Seems to me like the best gift you could give the old Fellow.

[nast70]

I agree about the electric auger, but $500.00 is a bit out of reach this year for a gift.

[Bigmountainrider]

Where do you live? If your in the South Calgary Area PM me.

[saddleup]

Have an older jiffy too., was hard to start, replaced the fuel line and primer line, and new plug... cured the problem... even the tiniest bit of air leak on carb fuel line or primer line will make 2 stroke hard to start, or just wont start.
Total cost for fix under 10$, oh ya, as prev adv. use sea foam too, and most 2 strokes are always over ratio on the oil and gas mix... measure carefully. :)

[Dean2]

Step one- put jiffy on Kijiji
step two- buy an eskimo

:fighting0074:

Most ridiculous advice I have ever heard. Jiffy and Eskimo are virtually indistinguishable. I have a 35 year old Jiffy 30 that has cut thousands of holes. Still starts first or second pull and runs like a champ. My brother has a Jiffy that is about 31 years old. Exactly the same results.

Why is that? because we both maintain our equipment very well. We drain the carbs and tank every spring, use fresh ethanol free premium with stabiliser, mix our gas no more than 30/1, clean the plug annually and replace it every 2nd year, adjust the carb high and low speed screws to fit the temp and elevation and keep the blades razor sharp.

The single biggest reason people have issues with gas augers is they treat them like their lawn mowers. No care and attention or regular maintenance and then wonder why they don't run in minus 30 weather.

[Zip-in-Z]

Have an older jiffy too., was hard to start, replaced the fuel line and primer line, and new plug... cured the problem... even the tiniest bit of air leak on carb fuel line or primer line will make 2 stroke hard to start, or just wont start.
Total cost for fix under 10$, oh ya, as prev adv. use sea foam too, and most 2 strokes are always over ratio on the oil and gas mix... measure carefully. :)

Nailed it ... my units over 20 Years old, did the same, now only use premium fuel, starts on first pull, drilled 10-12 holes today, now that my blade is on the right angle, no more issues.

.

[Thunder/FX]

Try Aspen fuel
No mixing
No smoke
No stink
Runs better than it ever has
Jiffy 3.0hp STX

[wellpastcold]

Step one- put jiffy on Kijiji
step two- buy an eskimo

:fighting0074:

Step 3 order replacement recoil unit

[Kim473]

Step 3 order replacement recoil unit

I have had my eskimo for over 5 years and no recoil problem to date. The problem is all you macho men like to yank as hard as you can on them and then they break cause you pull the cord right out of them and break everything inside. They just need a little tug and it starts, 1 to 2 pulls.

Your Too used to the Jiffy when they don't start, and you have to pull 10 times or more as hard as you can before they start. I just wish I got the 10" flight and blades for site fishing. $200.00 is too much to change it up now.

If anyone has a 10" flight for an eskimo, I'm looking for one for a resonable / cheap price.

[The Fisherman Guy]

They are pretty simple engines, built to last. Here's what I would check:

Pull the plug and replace it with an NGK. Check the owners manual for plug type (can also be found online).

You can pull the carb, and soak it in Seafoam to clean off deposits - but you can also buy SeaFoam spray which cleans the fuel system by spraying it in the carb air intake while it is running. If this doesn't make a significant change, pull the carb and soak it.

Inspect fuel lines for wear/leaks/cracks. If it's sucking air, it will cause idling issues. Also inspect the primer bulb for cracks or holes. Replace if necessary.

When you get it all back together, mix either Opti two stroke oil or the prescribed Jiffy oil into your premix. Adding some Seafoam to the first mixed can will help.

You don't need to always run SeaFoam, it is a detergent and not necessary to always run.

Once it's running, take a look at the carb screws, they should be a small flat head. Take it to the lake, and adjust the carb in between drilling. The low idle screw should be adjusted to the point that the auger flyte isn't spinning, but high enough that it isn't starved for fuel.
The high adjustment screw needs to be adjusted between drilling. You need to put the auger under load before setting the high screw. This is because the auger performs differently at wide open throttle (WOT) under load than it does spinning in air.

Once you tinker with it a bit, it should start first pull every time - like my old Jiffy!

[Gilligan]

Tuned a bunch of ol Jiffys over the year.

Kit#631893 Is the Laser part #
You get a needle and seat and a diaphragm
In Edmt - "Cutters Edge " has cheap kits
Not sure about Calgary
It's a one beer job To install it .
Get a can of carb cleaner and do it right !

Base settings :
Idle screw - left one - turn it 1 1/8 out from closed
High speed - right one - turn out 5/8 out from closed

This will be the base setting . Oh may have to tinker with it .
For the power setting ..... You must have the auger under load so
Take it out and drill a few holes and do the fine setting .

I haven't been skunked on tHese settings yet.

You can try to add a all kinds of stuff to your fuel but in the
End ....... Sometimes you need to FIX the problem .

Hope this helps ....

See you on the ice!!!

[latenite]

since we're on the subject, i got a 3 year old jiffy lightning with the briggs motor, and since new, when i push the choke lever down, fuel drips off the lever. i have removed the fuel tank and inspected by can see no issues. anyone else had this problem with similar age jiffys?

[dfrobert]

Good advice Gilligan.

[Crankyfish]

Have a jiffy that never run right sense new, was always acting up and wouldn't stay running from hole to hole. Has the carburetor that has no settings on it,tried every thing. Finally bought a Eskimo. Problem curried! But then had a useless hunk of metal sitting in garage . So finally ordered a new carburetor on line ($100.00) put it on there and runs great now.

[Dean2]

Have a jiffy that never run right sense new, was always acting up and wouldn't stay running from hole to hole. Has the carburetor that has no settings on it,tried every thing. Finally bought a Eskimo. Problem curried! But then had a useless hunk of metal sitting in garage . So finally ordered a new carburetor on line ($100.00) put it on there and runs great now.



Glad it runs good. Virtually aĺl auger issues start with fuel delivery and air. Rarely do the motors wear out. Too late for uou but a replacemnt carb for a Jiffy should be $40 or less, in case anyone else is lookin .

[fish99]

Glad it runs good. Virtually aĺl auger issues start with fuel delivery and air. Rarely do the motors wear out. Too late for uou but a replacemnt carb for a Jiffy should be $40 or less, in case anyone else is lookin .

we do i order one from

[Dean2]

we do i order one from


Google is your friend

http://www.amazon.com/Tecumseh-Engine-Carburetor-Auger-640347/dp/B00M3CXBLS

[Mangosteen]

I restore old two stroke motocross bikes and have had to go through a big learning curve.

These days only use Shell or Chevron premium gas as they do not contain ethanol. Sea foam will help some but yours may be too dirty.

Take the carb off. Remove jets. Boil in water. Use carb cleaner and a small needle if necessary and make sure all passages in your carb are clean. Inspect float function. It is not rocket science but remember how it all goes together.

Throw a new spark plug in. Make sure you drain all old gas. Pay attention to the kind of premix your using.

Two strokes are very simple but with regular gas containing ethanol in the mixture your not going to last very long for storage.

Use stabilizer like sea foam or better yet drain the carbs and tank prior to storage.

I prefer not to drain but use sea foam once your clean.

Start it every season for a good run.

Hope this helps. Your jets are not clean is the bottom line. Most likely your baby primary jet if it does not want to start. They typically have the smallest jet office compared to your main and gum up the easiest.

In one half hour you will have it back to perfect.

[nast70]

Here's where we are at with this machine:
Stored this summer drained
Added a mix of premium,oil and seafoam per directions
Had to use some quick start to get it going
Ran it under idle for about 30 mins
Checked the plug, looks good
Checked the fuel lines, all are in good shape
Let it cool for 20 mins and tried to start it
It took a few pulls but did light up
This carb has no adjustment screws, so will take it out after christmas and run a full tank with sea foam and work it hard and see what it does. For 40 bucks a new carb would probably be the way to go as it has behaved like this since it came out of the box. Could be a lemon

[Dean2]

Here's where we are at with this machine:
Stored this summer drained
Added a mix of premium,oil and seafoam per directions
Had to use some quick start to get it going
Ran it under idle for about 30 mins
Checked the plug, looks good
Checked the fuel lines, all are in good shape
Let it cool for 20 mins and tried to start it
It took a few pulls but did light up
This carb has no adjustment screws, so will take it out after christmas and run a full tank with sea foam and work it hard and see what it does. For 40 bucks a new carb would probably be the way to go as it has behaved like this since it came out of the box. Could be a lemon

The ones that look like they have no adjustment screws usually actually do. They just have a flat pug installed over them. The plug can be removed to access the adjustments screws. They will never run right without tuning the low and high speed mixtures to match the temp and altitude you are operating at. If you post a picture of your carb we can probably tell you how to get the plugs out.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f347/Icefishman/6609f406c08ac57957e66c178dbaa3ee.jpg

Ones that look like this can still be adjusted even though they don't look l;ike screws.

The screws were plugged off to meet US enviro rules. Was never a good idea.

[fish99]

Google is your friend

http://www.amazon.com/Tecumseh-Engine-Carburetor-Auger-640347/dp/B00M3CXBLS

thanks for the info i have one order.

[dfrobert]

The ones that look like they have no adjustment screws usually actually do. They just have a flat pug installed over them. The plug can be removed to access the adjustments screws. They will never run right without tuning the low and high speed mixtures to match the temp and altitude you are operating at. If you post a picture of your carb we can probably tell you how to get the plugs out.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f347/Icefishman/6609f406c08ac57957e66c178dbaa3ee.jpg

Ones that look like this can still be adjusted even though they don't look l;ike screws.

The screws were plugged off to meet US enviro rules. Was never a good idea.

A lot of the newer engines have zero adjustments other than the idle screw. I have an older 3hp model 30 which has the low/high speed jet screws. And also own a 2hp model and the carbs only adjustment is an idle screw.

[nast70]

Here are a couple shots of the carb.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20151230/66ff24eb7ead80fe4be1aa8fe590c8c0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20151230/d3ea6967a61423870e10be9c9c46ce04.jpg
We will be going out on the first and put it through its paces.
Like i mentioned before i dont see any adjustment screws
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20151230/c239ada7cea8371f05cf2c5787cfca67.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20151230/73884fe038a29e117bcc47de38e07c45.jpg

[Jar4500]

They clog in carb from old fuel it has to be disassembled and cleaned then adjusted .

[Dean2]

Someone has messed with that carb. It was removed and replaced incorrectly. The gasket between the base of the carb and the motor is clearly not the right part. My guess is it is leaking air around the ill fitting gasket. The cheapest fix would be to get the proper gasket, remove the carb and reinstall with the proper gasket, I would clean the car real well while it was off. The auger MAY run just fine after that but never as well as it would with an adjustable Carb.

To fix it completely right I would order a replacement carb, they are $20-30 plus shipping, with proper adjustment screws, and a proper gasket and remount it. I would also add a primer bulb to the assembly as they make cold starts MUCH easier. You could install a small one right on the gas line from the tank to the carb.

[nast70]

Dad took it in twice to get fixed. Both times "it works fine". That gasket is a square piece of carboard, for lak of a better term.

[Dean2]

Dad took it in twice to get fixed. Both times "it works fine". That gasket is a square piece of carboard, for lak of a better term.

Are u saying it now starts fine cold, plus I added a little more info to the original post,

[nast70]

It works fine is what the shop said. It behaved exactly the same after. Waste of time and money

[EZM]

It works fine is what the shop said. It behaved exactly the same after. Waste of time and money

remind me never to take any of my equipment to the guy who "fixed" your auger ........ that's a hack job.

He didn't even care enough to cover/hide his tracks by properly trimming the junk (likely a big mac box) he used to make you up a gasket.

I think dean is 100% right - that is likely a major contributing factor to the way your auger runs.

I'd suggest pulling it off, putting on the correct gasket after a thorough cleaning. Check the fuel line as well to ensure it's not cracking or letting in air.

I would bet dollar to doughnuts that will solve your issue.

[Soiler]

Worst case, if you can't tinker it into shape, I know the rental house in Leduc tunes up augers & what not........

[quotester1964]

Most ridiculous advice I have ever heard. Jiffy and Eskimo are virtually indistinguishable. I have a 35 year old Jiffy 30 that has cut thousands of holes. Still starts first or second pull and runs like a champ. My brother has a Jiffy that is about 31 years old. Exactly the same results.

Why is that? because we both maintain our equipment very well. We drain the carbs and tank every spring, use fresh ethanol free premium with stabiliser, mix our gas no more than 30/1, clean the plug annually and replace it every 2nd year, adjust the carb high and low speed screws to fit the temp and elevation and keep the blades razor sharp.

The single biggest reason people have issues with gas augers is they treat them like their lawn mowers. No care and attention or regular maintenance and then wonder why they don't run in minus 30 weather.

words to live by...

lol this is why a friend is currently looking at my jiffy.. I did not drain it.. and the guy I got it off did no servicing each year.. so far mind has needed the carb rebuild kit.. but told the friend to sea foam it for me... Thank god I have a good friend who can do this for me :)

[nast70]

Just want to say thanks to all the guys on here who offered advise, special thanks to Dean2 who offered to take a look at the unit.
Yesterday we managed to run some seafoam directly in the carb while it was running. After several shots we tested it after it cooled and started with one pull. Left it over night and this morning it started with 2 pulls. Its going to be a much better hardwater season now!
Once again thanks guys and have a safe and happy new year!

[Kim473]

Always put a little seafoam in your gas. It will help keep things clean. If you haven't yet, change the spark plug.

[TEE]

IF it doesn't have a primer bulb put one on it. Single easiest fix for first start problems on a two stroke auger.

Thread resurrection!!!!

How do you do this?

[Jigsalot]

I have had my eskimo for over 5 years and no recoil problem to date. The problem is all you macho men like to yank as hard as you can on them and then they break cause you pull the cord right out of them and break everything inside. They just need a little tug and it starts, 1 to 2 pulls.

Your Too used to the Jiffy when they don't start, and you have to pull 10 times or more as hard as you can before they start. I just wish I got the 10" flight and blades for site fishing. $200.00 is too much to change it up now.

If anyone has a 10" flight for an eskimo, I'm looking for one for a resonable / cheap price.

My last unit was the 10 inch Eskimo. Great machine but man is it heavy when the ice starts building. And you are right about the starting. Don’t pull too hard. It’s a hyper coil that needs very little effort. I broke one up at Utikima one day. 50 bucks for a new one.
I now have the strike master electric. That’s the way to go. Love it

[morgan]

And always run top shelf gas,
I run 50:1 Aspen and have never had a carb issue on my 10 year old Jiffy.
I’ve never even swapped the spark plug. Runs really clean.

On a small engine, it’s worth the price on the high end gas.

[dennis wood]

Why Got old strikemaster still good recoil purchase this used in 1984
still runs compression downs little