An authentic American icon in tools and outdoor equipment, the Craftsman brand has become synonymous with quality after serving consumers for nearly a century. Consistent with their reputation, Craftsman lawn mowers remain some of the highest-rated and most popular mowers in the world. The process can be as simple as making a minor adjustment or as complicated as replacing a transmission or another major part.
This article will discuss 12 common problems that can prevent your Craftsman lawn mower from working properly. For example, there are more than a dozen reasons a lawn mower will not start.
For that reason, you will want to start troubleshooting the simplest problems to eliminate them before moving on to more complicated problems and involved solutions. For instance, if you are using an electric mower, check to see if it is fully charged. If not, then plug it in and try starting it after it has fully charged. If you have a gas-operated lawn mower, check to see if there is fuel in the tank. If not, fill it up, fully engage the choke, and try starting it again.
The most common issues preventing a mower from starting include a dirty or clogged air filter, water in the fuel, and a faulty spark plug. A dirty air filter is one of the three most likely reasons for a mower not starting. Air must be filtered before it mixes with fuel in your mower and burns in its cylinders.
Grass and dirt fly up in the air around your mower every time you use it and can clog an air filter in no time. Symptoms of a clogged air filter include a loss of power in your mower, increased fuel consumption, and trouble starting the mower.
Look for a plastic or metal shroud that is secured with snap fittings or screws. It is a fairly basic device with porcelain sheath that encases a center electrode, and a firing electrode that arches over the one at the center of the plug.
It also has a threaded shank used to attach the spark plug to the engine block. Symptoms that your spark plug is bad include difficulty starting your mower, or an inability to start it at all. Poor performance to include frequent stalling is also a symptom you should replace the spark plug. Additionally, increased fuel consumption is another symptom your spark plug is bad. Although Craftsman mowers are some of the best ones on the market, they can have problems with belts that keep breaking.
If you have to replace your mower belt once a year or sooner, you have a problem with your mower that you need to resolve before it gets any worse. Remember, if you replace the same belt multiple times a year, you are probably treating the symptom of a problem and not the cause. Bad pulleys are the biggest culprit when it comes to belt-related issues. Take the time to periodically check your belts for any excessive or uneven wear and tear. If you notice any, you probably need to replace the pulleys or the bearings.
Additionally, you can inspect the pulleys and bearings themselves for any wear. When in doubt about them, it is best to go ahead and install new ones just to be sure.
Another cause for broken or thrown belts is a missing or damaged pulley guard. Yes, it can be a pain installing a new belt with the guard in the way. If you have last season's gas in your mower, drain your fuel tank and fill with fresh gas.
Other possible causes include:. This might look a little scary, but it's usually not serious. Your lawn mower's engine can smoke if your oil chamber is too full, or if oil leaked into the exhaust muffler when you tilted your mower to the side. It's simply burning off while the engine is hot. But if you're seeing lighter colored smoke, plus have trouble keeping your mower running, it's time for a serious look by a professional.
Of course, there are those cases when special tools or skills are needed to make a fix, or DIY attempts aren't doing the trick. View solutions for handling the most common engine and product troubleshooting and maintenance questions.
All rights reserved. Change Region. United States. New Zealand. Latin America. Push Mower Engines. Riding Mower Engines. Commercial Power. Racing Engines. Utility Engines. It's probably a bad solenoid on the bottom of the carb bowl. It heats up and the coil stops conducting electricity.
It cools down and works again. Unscrew it from the carb and snip off the plunger then re-install it. They stick Craftsman stickers all over it because craftsman parent company is MTD. Powermore,Craftsman,Cub Cadet, and many, Many more , and all the reasons listed are good examples, but if none solve the problem, it is your valve lash.
A major issue in any, and ALL small OHV engines that are just gassed up and run without proper valve adjustments for wear. June 2 by Dimented Illusionz. Make sure that your cooling fins etc. Ensure that all fuel lines etc are away from the block and potentially causing a vapor lock. If you tell us what model your mower is and what engine it has we should find more concrete information for you. If the spark plug looks dry and white after some use instead of slightly wet or tan colored, then it still could be caused by something restricting the fuel supply.
Check for a partly blocked fuel line, fuel filter, or tank vent,possibly even something inside the carburetor. Also, check if you still have spark when the unit is hot and stalls out. Sometimes an ignition coil or spark plug can work fine when cold but short after having enough time to heat up. Change the plug. Post an image of the spark plug face with your question use this guide for that. You also can check the intake and exhaust valves for proper settings trying to find more info for this particular engine If they are running a little to tight they will close when the engine is hot and causing those symptoms.
Any issues related to the engine cannot be found in the mowers service manual, but it's in the engine manual. So we'll have to investigate yours carefully.
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