Snowblower issues

[Ronman189]

These issues will seem trivial to most of you hardcore users on here, but to this 75 year old man, they are semi-critical. I have a nine year old 24" Craftsman snowblower that has been a headache almost from day one. The main issue is it is a bear to start. The first season, it pretty much started on the first or second pull. Since then, not so much. Luckily my wife, who purchased it for me, bought an extended warranty so every year for the first three years, I would try to start it in October and when I couldn't get it to start, I'd call Sears and they would send out a repairman. The problem was always with the carburetor. Finally a guy told me to drain the gas at the end of every season. A minor pain, but so be it. Now, I not only drain the gas, but change the spark plug every year and I still can't get it to start with the pullcord. It will eventually start with the electric start (thank God) or it would just be a piece of heavy junk. It never has seemed to run very well and I probably just move it an tenth turn from "choke" to make it run smoothly at all. Even then, it just doesn't seem to have the power it should have. Is there something else I should be doing? I always use new gas each fall. Also, is there something I can do to keep the front end on the pavement? Any time it meets any real resistance, it tend to do a wheelie, with the wheels spinning, which really defeats the entire purpose. Do people put extra weight on the front end to combat this or am I the only one with this issue with this blower? Are chains an answer? It has 6 forward speeds, but I never get past second. I've kept this machine in very good shape for being nine years old and I wish it would return the favor by performing better. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rivets]

Please supply us with the units model and serial numbers so we know which engine you are dealing with.

 

[Ronman189]

It's a Craftsman 24" Clearance Width Electric Start. The serial number on the motor is 365SUB0905222A0673.

 

[Rivets]

Need the Craftsman number. Should start with 917. XXXXXXX

 

[Ronman189]

The plate on the bottom rear: Model:247-889570. Serial: 1L039B36559

 

[Rivets]

Looks like you have a Huayi carb, part number 951-12705. Being that it is at least 9 years old I’m guessing that the idle jet is clogged, causing your hard starting problem. This jet is under the idle speed adjustment screw, which you can remove and the you can pop out the jet. It will have two holes, one vertical and one horizontal. The vertical one is the one I find clogged 90% of the time. Before you attempt to clean this jet I must warn you that over 50% of the DIY guys end up ruining the jet and will end up replacing the carb. If you don’t feel comfortable in tackling this job, I suggest you take it to a good repair shop and have them rebuild the carb for you. My success in rebuilding these carbs is over 90%, but there are a lot of techs who will not touch them and just install a new carb. As to your problem with the front end coming off the ground there are weight kits out the which may help you solve your problem, but they can get $$$$. If you do an google search for snowblower weight kit you’ll find different ones. Again I suggest you talk to a good repair shop and see what they recommend.

 

[Ronman189]

I think that's great advice. Thanks for your responses.