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NHsnowman

Joined: Dec 17, 2007
Points: 12

craftsman 8.5 hp snowthrower starts fine but dies upon trying to throw snow
Original Message Dec 17, 2007 9:08 am

Hi,

I have the 8.5 hp craftsman snowthrower that has a stalling problem. This machine did have a recall over the summer due to possible fire issues and Sears came out about this recall over the summer. The tech did some stuff to the carb area of the machine to minimize sparks i think. The problem with this machine isn't getting it started (it starts great) but as soon as I try to blow snow with it, if it comes under any kind of load it dies and then will not restart for about an hour or two.

Thus I can usually make one pass up the driveway and then it will die on me. Or if there is only about an inch of snow it will go fine but anything more taxing on it and it dies. Does anyone have any thoughts on what may be causing this? Could it be an issue with the choke not functioning properly? If so how do I check that.

tried dry gas and that did nothing to help. Called Sears and they were not much help either they said they can't even come look at it until Jan 2 2008. Any suggestions anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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niper99

Location: London Ont
Joined: Dec 2, 2007
Points: 354

Re: craftsman 8.5 hp snowthrower starts fine but dies upon trying to throw snow
Reply #3 Dec 17, 2007 4:55 pm

when it stalls check for spark, pull the plug out and rest it against the head turn engine over see if if theres spark, is the spark plug wet? if yes your probally losing spark, l'm thinking it could be a bad spark plug, if the carb is adjustable (probally not) try adjusting the high speed mixture a little richer. it defenitly sounds like its running lean but if the plug is screwing up intermittinly or when under load that could be the problem replace that plug first and if it still does it then check what l siad here. also if it has spark plug is dry try starting it with full choke see what that does.

good luck!

This message was modified Dec 17, 2007 by niper99

NHsnowman

Joined: Dec 17, 2007
Points: 12

Re: craftsman 8.5 hp snowthrower starts fine but dies upon trying to throw snow
Reply #4 Dec 18, 2007 10:31 am

Hi donjag,

Thanks for the info. It is a new machine (only a year old).

I tried your suggestion about the gas cap and it seems to have worked. I tried the machine last eve with the cap slightly loosened and it worked like a champ (boy can it blow snow when it runs). I ate into several large snowbanks and it never faltered once.

So I am ever so cautiously optimistic that the problem may be solved. I wont feel totally confident until I have a few storms under my belt with it however. Thanks again for the help.

donjag

i've gone to find myself,if i'm here when you arrive,keep me here until i get back.

Location: menasha,wisconsin
Joined: Apr 25, 2007
Points: 142

Re: craftsman 8.5 hp snowthrower starts fine but dies upon trying to throw snow
Reply #5 Dec 18, 2007 11:10 am

glad i could be of assistance,good luck

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