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Hello everyone, my trusty Toro PowerVac has started to go on the fritz. I am pretty handy with small engines and I like to DIY so I have been troubleshooting/swapping parts/cleaning this thing for about a month already, unwilling to give up the fight and have this dang small engine defeat me. I am about to give up on it and just go buy an Echo blower (before gas equip is illegal lmao).

First let me give you the info: 2013 Era Toro 51987 PowerVac.
Carburetor: Walbro WYC-7-1 or something very similar with no adjustment :-(
I bought a cheap Chinese Walbro replacement on amazon and installed it, no change.
I stripped the the OEM Walbro carb and cleaned it up good in an ultrasonic cleaner, no change.
Fuel lines/primer is new.
Fuel filter is new.
Air filter is new.
OEM spark plug is new. (Champion RCJ6Y)
Spark arrestor is clean.
Muffler is clean.
Replaced gas cap (vent was bad).
Heck, I even thought my 2-stroke fuel ratio was bad so I got some fresh Rec90 fuel and mixed a perfect 50:1 ratio and refilled the tank. (all my other 2-strokes love what I feed them).

So all of the above has been a process of over a month working with it. It started by me having to blow a bunch a debris and clean up after my weekly mow ritual. Of coarse that is always how it goes. So the thing basically died and it would not start back up, I am pretty stubburn so I fought it for 20 minutes before I gave up. I figured alright, let me replace the carb, filters, fuel lines, etc. Did that and got it up and running again fine. Then it started bogging down the next time I used it. Thats when I started looking at more things on the list above. The last thing I replaced was the gas cap because it would build up quite a nice vacuum after using it for a while and then it would bog down and die. I thought for sure I figured this out because when I removed the gas cap there was a lot of suction. After this I ran it with the gas cap cracked to let air in. It ran fine at full power. Then I replaced the gas cap with a brand new OEM one that I tested the vent and made sure no vacuum occurred. It ran fine but started bogging down at high RPMs.

It starts fine on choke, then I have to run it at half choke for about 2-5 minutes before I can take the choke completely off and get full power. I was testing it out this morning again because I have to mow on Wed. and I wanted to make sure it's working; I fought with it for another 2-5 minutes on half choke. Every time I would go to no choke it would bog and die. I finally set it on its side to take the (brand new) gas cap off just for giggles, no vacuum in the tank, I thought ok good, screwed the cap back on, set it to run, first pull crank right up, super responsive. What gives?

A few things come to mind as I read your post.
1. OEM carb Toro part number 308480002, can be found for less than $30.00
2. Have you checked to make sure the intake gaskets are in excellent condition and tight? If not they may not seal as the engine warms up and expands causing an air leak and lean running condition.
3. Have you checked condition of both crankshaft seals? Again as the engine warms they may not seal, causing leakage in the crankcase.
4. Have you removed the muffler and checked the condition of the exhaust port and cylinder? A plugged port or damaged cylinder may contribute to your problem.
5. I know this may sound stupid, but have you checked for spark when the engine fails? You may have a coil that is breaking down as engine warms up.

if you post back, please include serial number.

Rivets said:

A few things come to mind as I read your post.
1. OEM carb Toro part number 308480002, can be found for less than $30.00
2. Have you checked to make sure the intake gaskets are in excellent condition and tight? If not they may not seal as the engine warms up and expands causing an air leak and lean running condition.
3. Have you checked condition of both crankshaft seals? Again as the engine warms they may not seal, causing leakage in the crankcase.
4. Have you removed the muffler and checked the condition of the exhaust port and cylinder? A plugged port or damaged cylinder may contribute to your problem.
5. I know this may sound stupid, but have you checked for spark when the engine fails? You may have a coil that is breaking down as engine warms up.

if you post back, please include serial number.

Click to expand...

Hi Rivets, thanks for responding. Here are my answers.

1. OEM carb Toro part number 308480002, can be found for less than $30.00 I don't think this is the one, mine doesn't have an attached primer bulb and looks a little different. The 308480002 might be the older model Toro blower I'm thinking.
2. Have you checked to make sure the intake gaskets are in excellent condition and tight? If not they may not seal as the engine warms up and expands causing an air leak and lean running condition. Yes, new condition and tight.
3. Have you checked condition of both crankshaft seals? Again as the engine warms they may not seal, causing leakage in the crankcase. No, I have not checked these yet.
4. Have you removed the muffler and checked the condition of the exhaust port and cylinder? A plugged port or damaged cylinder may contribute to your problem. Yes, look clean.
5. I know this may sound stupid, but have you checked for spark when the engine fails? You may have a coil that is breaking down as engine warms up. No, I haven't checked this, the coil wasn't even on my radar because I can always get the engine to turn over and run, it's just a matter of choking is right if it is giving issues.

if you post back, please include serial number. 313015262

Funny enough, I was messing with it this morning, it started right up on full choke, ran it for 30 seconds on half choke, switched to choke off and ran it for a couple minutes, then I used it like normal with the trigger going between idle and full throttle (this would usually cause it to start bogging) and it was responsive and working correctly. Not really sure whats going on with it. It is likely possessed

Could your model number be 51987? The serial number you provided does not show up in the data base I have, but does show in the 51987. That unit has a carb part number of 308480001. The model 51988 was first produced in 2015, while the model 51987 was produced in 2013.

Rivets said:

Could your model number be 51987? The serial number you provided does not show up in the data base I have, but does show in the 51987. That unit has a carb part number of 308480001. The model 51988 was first produced in 2015, while the model 51987 was produced in 2013.

Click to expand...

Oops, you are right, it is the 51987, don't know why I said 988, sorry.

You are right, the 308480001 is the carb, and that is the one I replaced and put a brand new one on.

Experience has taught me that using a Chinese clone carb very seldom works, especially on two cycle equipment. That is the reason I always replace with OEM.

Rivets said:

Experience has taught me that using a Chinese clone carb very seldom works, especially on two cycle equipment. That is the reason I always replace with OEM.

Click to expand...

I tend to agree with you, but the OEM carbs are all Chinese too lol. I was able to find the OEM on ebay for $25 but I am not sure I want to keep throwing money at this thing, I think I would rather save any more money toward a newer better one.

Now there has been a new development after I used it today for about 15 minutes after my mow. The bog down only happens when the machine is being held in the normal position by the handle (normal blowing position). When the machine is held on its side by the secondary handle (vacuuming position) it has full power and runs pretty well.

It could just be my imagination but I seem to remember after testing this out and confirming this, after about 10 minutes of using it at full power this symptom disappeared.

I don't know if this information gives you any more clues. Thanks again.

shurguywutt said:

I tend to agree with you, but the OEM carbs are all Chinese too lol. I was able to find the OEM on ebay for $25 but I am not sure I want to keep throwing money at this thing, I think I would rather save any more money toward a newer better one.

Now there has been a new development after I used it today for about 15 minutes after my mow. The bog down only happens when the machine is being held in the normal position by the handle (normal blowing position). When the machine is held on its side by the secondary handle (vacuuming position) it has full power and runs pretty well.

It could just be my imagination but I seem to remember after testing this out and confirming this, after about 10 minutes of using it at full power this symptom disappeared.

I don't know if this information gives you any more clues. Thanks again.

Click to expand...

The difference is the ones you buy from a mower shop have passed a QC test some where
The ones that fail get on sold to small factories who attempt to repair them then on sell into the secondary parts market ( ebay / amazon / craigs etc etc )
Some of these will be good, some will be horrid bodges , some will be tested & some won't
The ones that factory 1 can not fix economically get on sold to factory 2 where they attempt the same thing
This process gets repeated multiple times.
So anything not bought from real shop you can walk into is always a lottery
Eventually the dud carbs should go to a factory that strips them down for scrap but I feel a lot of these also end up back into the secondary parts supply chain.
OEM simply means it came from the factory or wholesaler that the OEM factory uses
Fits means it goes into the space & the controls all hook up
Neither means that it will work.

bertsmobile1 said:

The difference is the ones you buy from a mower shop have passed a QC test some where
The ones that fail get on sold to small factories who attempt to repair them then on sell into the secondary parts market ( ebay / amazon / craigs etc etc )
Some of these will be good, some will be horrid bodges , some will be tested & some won't
The ones that factory 1 can not fix economically get on sold to factory 2 where they attempt the same thing
This process gets repeated multiple times.
So anything not bought from real shop you can walk into is always a lottery
Eventually the dud carbs should go to a factory that strips them down for scrap but I feel a lot of these also end up back into the secondary parts supply chain.
OEM simply means it came from the factory or wholesaler that the OEM factory uses
Fits means it goes into the space & the controls all hook up
Neither means that it will work.

Click to expand...

That makes sense, it is a shame really that the OEM gaskets cost as much as the cheap Chinese carbs. Do you guys know a good source for carb gaskets other than the manufacturer?

Unless you are buying in wholesale qualtities then the next best is an aftermarket one from Rotary, Stens , Prime Line or Oregon bought over the counter at a mower shop.
Problem is it costs the same for the warehouse picker to pick a pack of 10 to 100 as it does to pick a single gasket so a 20¢ ( cost price) gasket is $3.20 by the time it gets to the despatch desk. add another $ 3 for packaging & post + another $ 1 for invoicing costs and it becomes $ 7 at your door and those costs are very conservative and did not include warehousing costs.
Most of my wholesalers have a minimum pack size of 10 to 25 for this reason.
The difference is the parts counter attendant is paid by the hour so what the company loses in his time walking inside to get you a gasket for $ 5.00 they make up on selling magnetos & whole engines .

So I was messing with the blower the other day getting ready to try to sell it and I figured Out the problem LOL!

I put one of the exterior carb gaskets on the wrong side of the carb so one of the vacuum passages was closed off.

This explains why it would die at high throttle after it warmed up. The only problem is I already bought a brand new Echo blower months ago lol. Oh well, I have had much more expensive lessons in my life.