Someone brought me a Craftsman/MTD snow blower (Powermore Engine with Huayi carb)to repair and I found the idle jet in the carb had a broken off drill bit in it. I do not want to replace the carb with a generic aftermarket. Yes they are inexpensive, but, I find they are a crap shoot and I am not a gambler. I already have a hefty bill for this person and do not want to spend over $100 for an OEM carb from MTD. The MTD Rebuild kit (951-12712) is about $50 and it does have a new idle jet in it. All I need is the idle jet. I have tried a Honda/Preditor idle jets and they do not fit this Huayi branded carb. They are different enough. I have seen some cheaper kits but they do not have the idle jet. Am I missing some other options? I want to run this by you experts before I pull the trigger. Thoughts?
Craftsman carb issue
- Thread starter nbpt100
- Start date
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- Sep 7, 2024
- Messages
- 3,337
Hello N.,
I agree, aftermarket carburetors are a crapshoot.
Possibly there is a used one on eBay that you can use for parts, otherwise take the hit and buy the $50.kit with the idle jet you need. If the customer wants the machine fixed correctly, they will spend the money on quality repairs.
My policy is customer pays for parts up front or as a job progresses, then labor can be settled once it is fully tested and ready. I no longer absorb the cost of parts to fix their machine just to have them abandoned when it came time to pay the bill at the end.
The old days of a customer dropping off equipment and saying "call me when it's done" are over. This approach has caused way too many good shops to shut down because they overextended themselves.
I agree, aftermarket carburetors are a crapshoot.
Possibly there is a used one on eBay that you can use for parts, otherwise take the hit and buy the $50.kit with the idle jet you need. If the customer wants the machine fixed correctly, they will spend the money on quality repairs.
My policy is customer pays for parts up front or as a job progresses, then labor can be settled once it is fully tested and ready. I no longer absorb the cost of parts to fix their machine just to have them abandoned when it came time to pay the bill at the end.
The old days of a customer dropping off equipment and saying "call me when it's done" are over. This approach has caused way too many good shops to shut down because they overextended themselves.
And you can get that the 951-12712 carb rebuild for $34.89 with free shipping which is my cost if I had purchased it thru my MTD distributor.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/147339717860
https://www.ebay.com/itm/147339717860
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