# Craftsman Snowblower... won't start



## Guerzy (Dec 31, 2015)

Hey everyone,


I've got a CRAFTSMAN/MD 24" Dual Stage 305cc B&S EZ-Steer Snow Blower Model# 944.525410 purchased new in end of December 2015. It's been great since I got it, starting on the first pull every time. The other day I went to get it ready for the winter season and it won't start. I stored it in the spring with gasoline and stabilizer in the tank, ran it for 10-15 minutes, shut off and stored. Now I can't get it to start. I've got fresh gas, oil, belts look good, new spark plug, cleaned the carburetor as best I could with carb cleaner and twist tie wire. There was a little bit of white deposits and I thought maybe that was my problem. Overall though the carb looked pretty clean to me. Bowl was clean and fills with gas no problem. 



After I cleaned the carb I tried starting it and first pull the engine turned over and began to start but puttered out. Can't get it to even roll over now. Pull of the cord and just nothing. Try the electric start and nothing.




I'm not too engine savvy so I am pretty stumped. lain: .. any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## SkunkyLawnmowers (Oct 18, 2018)

A blocked jet would be high on the list of suspects. Did you remove it and clean it out? Compressed air is best, avoid anything wire in there. 

I would also drain _all_ the fuel from the system if you haven't already and use ethanol free fuel. It's what I do and have been problem free for a long time. Stabilised fuel is OK to a degree but these small engines are still very sensitive to anything other than ethanol free fuel during storage periods.


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## kenora (Aug 29, 2018)

Yup...run them dry after the last use in the spring.. then no worries about stabilizing fuel.


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## Guerzy (Dec 31, 2015)

SkunkyLawnmowers said:


> A blocked jet would be high on the list of suspects. Did you remove it and clean it out? Compressed air is best, avoid anything wire in there.
> 
> I would also drain _all_ the fuel from the system if you haven't already and use ethanol free fuel. It's what I do and have been problem free for a long time. Stabilised fuel is OK to a degree but these small engines are still very sensitive to anything other than ethanol free fuel during storage periods.



I didn't remove the entire carb as I'm not overly familiar with it. I could get what I thought was a good look at it though and cleaned the main jet i could see. Perhaps I missed an area though. I removed the bowl and cleaned pin, float/float valve, gasket, etc. Maybe I'll have to figure out how to remove the entire carb and go from there. 



From now on I'll use ethanol free gas and drain my tank before storing. Thanks for the info.


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## SkunkyLawnmowers (Oct 18, 2018)

I'm not that familiar with Craftsman engines / carbs but if you can remove the float bowl from underneath the carb then the main jet usually lives up inside the tube in the middle bottom of the carb. Remove carefully with medium flat blade scewdriver. There are a lot of 'how to' videos about this on Youtube. 

Regarding the fuel, I wasn't able to source ethanol free fuel very easily where I am so I bought some 'Trufuel' at Lowes. 110 oz tins of ethanol free fuel. It lasts 2 years when opened and 5 years unopened. It's much more expensive than regular fuel but the convenience factor and engine safety factor are very high. 

I keep my blower in short term storage with Trufuel in the tank. That way he's ready to go whenever. During storms I can add some regular stabilised fuel but then make sure sure that stabilised fuel is run completely out of the system before long term storage. Either then store with tank empty or store with ethanol free fuel in the tank but with the carb run out of fuel. Do this by running the engine but with the fuel line switched 'off'.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

even if you spray a squirt of starting fluid? nothing?

did you pull the plug and see if you have a strong spark? is the plug wet from flooding? if that is the case, shut off key , pull cord 10 times , then turn key on and try again.

if your blower worked fine at the end of season it is probably something simple......clogged jet , flooding, weak or lack of spark 

finding those crystals in bowl is probably the culprit. one got sucked into main jet. as the "skunk" said, don't use wires . I use carb cleaner spray followed by compressed air and that usually works. Most people don't have air compressors so I used to buy cans of compressed air that people use to clean their computer key pads.

check back when you figure it out. this is the most common problem this time of year and you may help someone else out with the solution.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

kenora said:


> Yup...run them dry after the last use in the spring.. then no worries about stabilizing fuel.


:welcome: to SBF Kenora

+1 on running them dry. 

.


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## Mountain Man (Oct 14, 2018)

Was fuel flowing freely rhrough the fuel line into the carb? I have seen fuel lines degrade or get stuff stuck in them. After that, if you have sperk, its the carb.


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## Guerzy (Dec 31, 2015)

orangputeh said:


> even if you spray a squirt of starting fluid? nothing?
> 
> did you pull the plug and see if you have a strong spark? is the plug wet from flooding? if that is the case, shut off key , pull cord 10 times , then turn key on and try again.
> 
> ...



I used carb cleaner and sprayed it in and around the carb. Could see a bit of white crystals/deposits on the main jet so I sprayed them off with the carb cleaner and wiped it as best I could. Everything I can see now looks clean, but perhaps I need to take it fully apart if I haven't gotten the entire jet clean.. I now have a can of compressed air that I picked up so I can try using that too.


I didn't check the plug to see if it was wet. I would only try to start it so much at a time then let it sit in case of/to prevent flooding. I suppose it's possible I flooded it a bit at points. Right now as it sits I've got all of the gas drained out of it. Again I'm not overly knowledgeable with this stuff but trying my best to read up and teach myself. 



I replaced the spark plug with a new one. I'm going to get a in-line ignition spark tester to test out the spark.



I will definitely check back in and keep this thread updated for anyone else perhaps experiences the same things I am.


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## Guerzy (Dec 31, 2015)

Mountain Man said:


> Was fuel flowing freely rhrough the fuel line into the carb? I have seen fuel lines degrade or get stuff stuck in them. After that, if you have sperk, its the carb.



Yes, the carb/bowl was full of fuel, gas seemed to be getting to where it needed.



I'll check the spark and if it's fine I will focus more on pulling the carb and getting it fully cleaned. It's possible I didn't clean it thorough enough, I did my best with not fully removing it given my lack of experience. It all looks clean from what I can see but I very well could have missed a spot in a jet or what not. I was hesitant to try and completely remove it as it's not something I have done before.


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

I don't know what type carb you have, but most of the older carbs have a main jet assembly that also holds the bowl on. if you can get that jet assy off, probably a 7/16 wrench, or what ever else in a pinch will get it off. About half way down the length of the jet there is tiny hole in the middle threads, poke a wire [ yeah I know] usually I use a wire from a wire brush, been doing it quite a while, until i started running it dry after each use. Also as others have posted, blow out the main hole in that jet.Also while you have the bowl off, open the fuel shutoff to see if you are getting fuel through the float valve. A little seafood or techron in the gas might help also.
Sid


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

Guerzy said:


> Yes, the carb/bowl was full of fuel, gas seemed to be getting to where it needed.
> 
> 
> 
> I'll check the spark and if it's fine I will focus more on pulling the carb and getting it fully cleaned. It's possible I didn't clean it thorough enough, I did my best with not fully removing it given my lack of experience. It all looks clean from what I can see but I very well could have missed a spot in a jet or what not. I was hesitant to try and completely remove it as it's not something I have done before.


you probably do not need to remove the carb. if you have spark, spray some starting fluid to see if it will about start. usually it will run for a few seconds. if it does that then you know there is a fuel delivery problem.



but one step at a time.

there are also several excellent videos on you tube addressing this problem with carbs. It is easier for me to learn watching someone do it in a video rather than read about what to do.


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## Guerzy (Dec 31, 2015)

Friend of mine was able to come over and he took the carb off, cleaned it out. Works like new now!


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## broo (Dec 23, 2017)

If it got clogged within 3 years, perhaps you should use a mild fuel system cleaner in your fuel. I use Marvel Mystery Oil, but there are others. A single bottle will last me a couple years since the dilution is 4 oz per 10 gallons.


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## Chris Miller (Jan 25, 2021)

It just depends .. if you don't hear the engine turning over .. it's most likely just the spark plug .. get yourself a pair of boot removers to pull off the metal housing and spark plug wire .. strongly recommend getting yourself a spark plug remover as well .. unscrew it counter clockwise .. spray some engine start in it .. screw the new spark plug back in ..


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Welcome to SBF Chris









Please take a look at the date before posting and make sure you have something that's of value to the thread. This is two years old, in post #9 the OP says he's put a new plug in it and in post #13 just above he updates the thread to let us know that cleaning the carb is what took care of the problem.


.


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## Jackbcryan (24 d ago)

orangputeh said:


> even if you spray a squirt of starting fluid? nothing?
> 
> did you pull the plug and see if you have a strong spark? is the plug wet from flooding? if that is the case, shut off key , pull cord 10 times , then turn key on and try again.
> 
> ...


Orangputeh, ever been to Malaysia?


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