# Free 8.5/28 Snowblower Craftsman by Noma that I was given



## FearlessFront (Aug 18, 2016)

I just wanted to share this Snowblower that I was given for free. I had a ad on craigslist for free snowblowers wanted. The man responded to me with this, 20 minute drive from my house.
It is a 1996 model year Sears Craftsman by Noma (aka Murray now part of Briggs). It is an 8.5/28 but an 8.5 is actually the same as an 8 and the bucket is actually 29.75 wide.
The machine itself and the engine were in overall Excellent condition. It came with its manual too. He was the original one owner.
It has a Tecumseh HMSK85 8.5 horsepower snowking engine and it runs excellent.
The only issues it had were the chute deflector cable was frozen. I got a replacement for $20.
The electric starters switchbox push button starter was shot. I replaced it with another switch I had and the auger belt was warn, I replaced that. I have $30 in this machine total.
These are the murray machines that they also built for John Deere that had complaints about clogging up bad. I did notice their was a pretty large gap between the impeller and the belly, so I added the impeller mod right away. I tried it in the snow and it throws great and does not clog.
It has the single hand operation feature built in and works well, chute deflection control from behind the dash. Electric start and recoil. It has the headlight built in front and center. It has one and two wheel drive settings which can be changed from on the rim. Excellent large Sno-Hog tire's, which my Snapper has and I prefer and work excellent with chains.
6 forward speed and 2 reverse. Inside the gearbox was clean and the friction disk was perfectly fine. It is honestly in still nearly like new condition even though it is 22 years old. (They made machines better 20 years ago and they were 100% American made, Sears was still a powerhouse at that time).
Adjustable carb, but did not have to touch that, runs perfect.
The augers are a little shorter like most newer machines, but not a huge issue.
The handlebars on this machine are really high. 43 inches high. 6 to 8 inches higher than most other machine's. This machine is actually great for taller individuals.
The one thing I do not like about it is how the deflector does not lock in different positions, its either all the way up or you have to hold it where you want it to throw, my only pet peeve (if I wanted I could add a wingnut to make it hold in the position I want it to throw.
I already have 3 very capable snowblowers, so I do not plan on keeping this machine and I am going to sell it. But I just thought I would share it. This is the kind of stuff you can get your hands on if you know how to negotiate, keep your eyes open and are patient, for free or nearly free. Its the nicest snowblower to date I got for free.
For good measure the guy threw in a Craftsman weedwacker that was about 2 years old and was barely used and still looked brand new. Its only issue the carb had to be adjusted with the pacman screw. Once it was adjusted it started right up and runs perfect as well. The manual came with that as well and its the type of weed wacker that takes different attachments and can use the speed starter.
The gentleman obviously has money and just felt like upgrading to a brand new machine. He was going to buy a Toro, I talked him into a brand new Ariens and than Ariens found out and sent me a winter hat and T-shirt.
It was a very good find and I got very lucky.


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Sweet. Total of $30 for a well running machine is a steal.
Congrats.


----------



## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

Nice looking machine!


----------



## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

Wow.....nice find....


----------



## gregg (Nov 23, 2012)

You are pretty well even money with JUST the T shirt and winter hat.


----------



## Dannoman (Jan 16, 2018)

It looks a lot like my old MTD which is almost 20 years old and going strong.


----------

