Craftsman 32cc 4 cycle leaf blower issues.

[meep]

Same here. Done with Troy Bilt after spending $300 on a four stroke backpack blower that started having engine-related issues around 5 years old. I will say this, however, they got the weight and balance right - I could, and did, use it for hours.

mine started to do the same thing yours is. It hit me with a bunch of fails all at the same time, including the rope!

i bought a makita, which has more power and starts every time, but the balance and weight on the back is the worst ever and I don’t actually see how they ever approved the design.

 

[1 SX]

Ill say this…. I’ll never own another 4 cycle Blower or Weedwhacker ever.

While the balance and weight on this blower is so good it feels like a toy

I would rather use the stihl 2 cycle blower (50:1 stihl full synthetic 2 cycle oil). I love to tinker, and stihl equipment most times just doesn’t let me do that because it always works. Never even looked at the plug and it’s been 5+ years.

Same here. Done with Troy Bilt after spending $300 on a four stroke backpack blower that started having engine-related issues around 5 years old. I will say this, however, they got the weight and balance right - I could, and did, use it for hours.

mine started to do the same thing yours is. It hit me with a bunch of fails all at the same time, including the rope!

i bought a makita, which has more power and starts every time, but the balance and weight on the back is the worst ever and I don’t actually see how they ever approved the design.

It hit me also, since the craftsman blower has such a cheap design (you can see In video 2 after main jet drill out) the extremely porous air filter that I never oiled(young) would always fall off initially when new…. and you may not notice for an hour… So this blower would run with out any filter for hour(s) or until you noticed it… while this blower only has maybe 20 hours of use….. it ran 10 hours without air filter, and the other 10 hours with no oil in the filter…..



The rings are definitely worn… black oil in minutes after every synthetic oil change (3 times this week alone ) lack of compression, (the pull rope before it broke is very easy to turn the engine over…) fuel delivery issues… I had to drill out the jet to let the engine get more fuel - which is just a Band-Aid on this craftsman blower…

Part of me wants to tear it down and replace the rings just to do it… I will have absolutely nothing to lose, and if it’s completely shot like cylinder ect, off it goes.

But as of now. It’s one start and revs out normal. But it’s lacking initial pick up and is sluggish to rev to a small degree I believe..

 

[1 SX]

Cliff Notes:

-Air filter would always fall off.
-I never oiled the air filter..
-It has 20 hours of use but 10 hours without the air filter and another 10 hours with no oil in the air filter..
-Low compression - easy to pull start and slower to rev
-Fuel delivery issues because of lack of compression to pull fuel into the engine.
-Black oil immediately after every oil change.
-Sluggish to rev I believe.

Thinking new ring time at the minimum. Just for fun and experience.

 

[BrianF]

I completely forgot about the air filter design or lack thereof. Mine has fallen off a few times although I caught it relatively quick. I had oiled mine early on and so far so good.

 

[DIYme]

Apology for jumping in, but I have the same issue. Stalls out at full throttle after warming up for a few minutes, and runs fine at about 80% throttle. I tried to take off the carb and clean up, but with this one I'm stumped. Does it come apart into 2 pieces? Do the 4 tiny screws turn out ( I can't get them to turn at all). Where is the main jet referred to in an earlier post? My model is the 316.79401 and when I search under that number the Carb comes back as 753 - 08025. The cabs I find on Amazon and other places don't look quite right, as they all show two copper tubes coming from the carb. ( like it shows here https://www.partstree.com/parts/mtd-753-08025/). Seems this was made by MTD for Sears. My carb has the wire from the fuel pump as well as the fuel line, leading directly in to the carb if I'm looking at it correctly. Any help is appreciated.

When I cross reference the Model number, I find the carb model number to be 753-08025. However, when I look at the Manual, the part number is 753-05676. They look the same to me online.

 

[jeepman3071]

Apology for jumping in, but I have the same issue. Stalls out at full throttle after warming up for a few minutes, and runs fine at about 80% throttle. I tried to take off the carb and clean up, but with this one I'm stumped. Does it come apart into 2 pieces? Do the 4 tiny screws turn out ( I can't get them to turn at all). Where is the main jet referred to in an earlier post? My model is the 316.79401 and when I search under that number the Carb comes back as 753 - 08025. The cabs I find on Amazon and other places don't look quite right, as they all show two copper tubes coming from the carb. ( like it shows here https://www.partstree.com/parts/mtd-753-08025/). Seems this was made by MTD for Sears. My carb has the wire from the fuel pump as well as the fuel line, leading directly in to the carb if I'm looking at it correctly. Any help is appreciated.

When I cross reference the Model number, I find the carb model number to be 753-08025. However, when I look at the Manual, the part number is 753-05676. They look the same to me online.

I looked up the model on the Sears parts site and the carburetor you linked on PartsTree is the correct one. Sometimes the part numbers are different from the manual because the original number supersedes to a new number/part revision.

Before replacing the carb you can try adjusting the jets if they are adjustable. Usually there are two tiny screws right next to each other, one marked "L" and "H" for low and high speed. Sometimes only L or H is marked. You may also need a special screw driver (splined or pacman shape) to adjust the screws, but they are cheap on amazon for a whole kit of them.

With the machine at full throttle, turn the "H" screw out or in slowly until it no longer bogs.

 

[DIYme]

I looked up the model on the Sears parts site and the carburetor you linked on PartsTree is the correct one. Sometimes the part numbers are different from the manual because the original number supersedes to a new number/part revision.

Before replacing the carb you can try adjusting the jets if they are adjustable. Usually there are two tiny screws right next to each other, one marked "L" and "H" for low and high speed. Sometimes only L or H is marked. You may also need a special screw driver (splined or pacman shape) to adjust the screws, but they are cheap on amazon for a whole kit of them.

With the machine at full throttle, turn the "H" screw out or in slowly until it no longer bogs.

Thanks for the reply. I've found no jets on the carb.

 

[jeepman3071]

Thanks for the reply. I've found no jets on the carb.

Yeah it's likely a fixed jet non-adjustable carb for emissions then. Replacement will be your best bet unfortunately.

 

[BrianF]

Of this is the same rotary carb the troy bilt 4 stroke string trimmers use, I open up the main jet in the venturi. I did that with mine and the one at my office. Had starting issues and mid to high speed issues.

The discharge is a slit in a plastic tube in the venturi. As the throttle opens, a cammed pin begins to slide out and opens up the slit. I just used a sewing needle to open that slit up a bit.

Made my trimmer a beast. Although I never figured out the reason those trimmers siphon the tank out when left with fuel in it.

 

[DIYme]

Of this is the same rotary carb the troy bilt 4 stroke string trimmers use, I open up the main jet in the venturi. I did that with mine and the one at my office. Had starting issues and mid to high speed issues.

The discharge is a slit in a plastic tube in the venturi. As the throttle opens, a cammed pin begins to slide out and opens up the slit. I just used a sewing needle to open that slit up a bit.

Made my trimmer a beast. Although I never figured out the reason those trimmers siphon the tank out when left with fuel in it.

Have any photos so it's easier to understand?

 

[BrianF]

I don't have any photos and it will be a couple of weeks before I can get at my trimmer. I will see if I can dig up some other random net photos.

 

[DIYme]

Apology for jumping in, but I have the same issue. Stalls out at full throttle after warming up for a few minutes, and runs fine at about 80% throttle. I tried to take off the carb and clean up, but with this one I'm stumped. Does it come apart into 2 pieces? Do the 4 tiny screws turn out ( I can't get them to turn at all). Where is the main jet referred to in an earlier post? My model is the 316.79401 and when I search under that number the Carb comes back as 753 - 08025. The cabs I find on Amazon and other places don't look quite right, as they all show two copper tubes coming from the carb. ( like it shows here https://www.partstree.com/parts/mtd-753-08025/). Seems this was made by MTD for Sears. My carb has the wire from the fuel pump as well as the fuel line, leading directly in to the carb if I'm looking at it correctly. Any help is appreciated.

When I cross reference the Model number, I find the carb model number to be 753-08025. However, when I look at the Manual, the part number is 753-05676. They look the same to me online.

I just did a cross reference, and the correct OEM carb model is 753-05676, replaced by 753-05676A

 

[Bullet]

A few years ago I bought a Craftsman 2 cycle leaf blower. It became increasingly difficult to start. Finally I took the carb apart and didn't find any trash anywhere. It runs pretty much like the one in the videos. The only replacement carburetor is OEM and is $70.00. Stopped by the local Sthil dealer and they were out of the small leaf blower. I've been calling them weekly for two months and still never received any. I found one used on Ebay from a Sthil dealer that looks new. It will be here tomorrow. The Craftsman is going out in the trash.