Horizontal Engine Crankshaft/PTO Wobble?

[natenkiki2004]

Hey all. After finishing up my snowblower saga, I've got a (hopefully) final question on the engine. I had the belt cover off because I was replacing belts, I got new ones but only the auger belt fit properly, the drive one was too loose. I left it off to take it back another day and decided to run the engine, effectively without any load at all. I noticed that the PTO will wobble at a certain speed. Since text doesn't describe much, here's a video:

Another snowblower update - YouTube

So, is this safe? I think now that I have the drive belt in place, it will have a constant tension and maybe won't wobble so much?

 

[chance123]

No time to view video, What engine is it?

 

[natenkiki2004]

You don't have to watch the whole video, I linked to the specific time in the video where it starts wobbling. Might have to watch 30 seconds or so.

Anyway, it's a Tecumseh HS50 80's vintage, horizontal shaft on a snowblower.

It would be really good to watch the video because it's not really wobbling, it's like moving side to side... hard to describe.

 

[chance123]

There are thrust washers on the inside of the PTO case, HOWEVER, once things warm up, they expand, meaning that the clearance will/should decrease. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Under load, it might not even move at all when warm.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I'm pretty sure the engine was warm in that video. I think I ran it for a bit to finalize the tweaks on the carb and then went up to the house to get the camera, came back & fired it up again. It seems to only have that wobble at the middle range of RPM, not at idle or full speed. I would imagine that under load, the shaft would be held in place more from the belts & higher speed.

I realize it's a 30 year old engine and things are bound to be worn a bit. I just want to make sure that's not a sign of immediate failure. I think the previous owners didn't change the oil quite often enough... Isn't that always the case?

 

[natenkiki2004]

Anyone else want to comment on this? I ran the engine some more today and it's super smooth and the whole unit just functions great. Totally ready for some snow!