Blown engine

[LSMFT]

Why do so many Craftsman lawn tractors have blown engines? There always one for sale, "Nice machine but engine is blown".

[bob haller]

lack of proper maintence oil changes etc, plus most craftsman are lower cost shorter life

[aemeijers]

Lack of upkeep, in most cases. (Duh! I didn't know you had to change the oil!) Craftsman, while not 'pro grade', are not total junk either, and usually have the same Briggs or Kohler engines as the 'real' brands. Craftsman are OEM'd by the same companies that make all the other store brands, and while the chassis and accessories may be 'decontented' to make Sears' price point, engines are pretty much a commodity item for consumer-grade equipment. A lawn service company would probably be foolish to buy a $1500 Craftsman versus a $4k commercial unit, but for one lot, they should be plenty good enough.

[WW]

I had a Craftsman 7 horse rototiller attachment for a garden tractor. Bought it used First owner had a blown engine. He replaced it with a like type Craftsman engine. That one threw a rod through the case soon after I bought it. (same as the first one.) I replaced with a different brand. Used it for 10 years on a 3/4 acre garden. Moved to a smaller property. Sold tiller to a friend an he never had any problem with it.. WW

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Today's Craftsman anything is jink. I quit going to Sears years ago. Their price is not good either. Things I bought (tools) ~50 years ago are good, I still use them. Craftsman is only name sake now.

[A. Baum]

Agree.

Disagree.

Sears (Craftsman) isn't in the engine making business. They use Briggs, Tecumseh, Kohler which has nothing to do with the tractor build.

[willshak]

Sears, Kenmore, and Craftsman are not products of Sears. Sears does not make anything. Craftsman engines are most likely B&S.

[clare]

Usually because Craftsman owners seldom or never check or change the oil????????

[clare]

And I've seen some very old, well maintained Craftsman equipment -

[clare]

The "craftsman" engine WAS a tecumseh engine, built to a spec - but that was used on the lawn mowers and real low end riders. The bigger stuff got normal Briggs, Kohler, Tecumseh, etc engines that were the same as everyone else got.

Their snow blowers got the same "sno-king" Tec as everyone else.

[clare]

Well, for one thing, Tecumseh is gone as an engine source, so who knows what chinese crap they (and all "lower end" equipment is using.?

[clare]

Craftsman engines, with the craftsman name on them, were tecumseh made to Sears spec. The part numbers differentiated them from other Tecumseh engines.

[Lil Abner]

mandated products but...... I had a shed full of the new Craftsmen Trimmers, leaf blowers etc. I bought some out, of belief, in the brand name right after this new Sears came on the scene. They lasted a few day or weeks or whatever. just long enough for Sears to tell me to send them to wherever for warranty work or the warranty had expired etc. I have bought some of them and used them once or at least starting them once and the quit or refused to even work the first time. I bought and returned 3 push power mowers. I bought one of highest priced riding mowers ever from them. From the get go, I couldn't lower the deck of let out the clutch and it continued to run. They came and got it. I've bought several of their new hand tools which broke and or bent. They no longer have a lifetime warranty. I have a quality Craftsment ratchet form several years ago. The pwl in the rachet needs to be replaced. Sears use to replace the cartridge, in a few minues, on the spot and that was that. I took it in and they wanted to replace it with the new limited warranty or no warranty, I don't remember which and that was the end of the warranty. Now I don't think they honor the Lifetime warranty on the quality product, at all. My Daughter bought a hot water heater from them. They devlivered it and couldn't install it. The Craftsman name is now associated purely with junk. The Sears name is universally associated with junk now days. They took it back and issued a credit. A few months later they billed her card for it again. Weeks of calls to them were to no avail. Daughter had gotten rid of transaction records after a few months. So Sear Stole 600.00 dollars. As a Child then a young adult I went to Sears$ Roebuck, to browse and buy tools, yard, tools, hunting and fishing equipment and supplies and guns. I spent a lot, of time, perusing their catlog, particlarily firearms. Sears and Roebuck was the American Insitution. Sears now is a ghetto name an sorry products and warranties and sales practices. They are just a reseller of the cheapest produced Chinese junk available. They are still trading off the reputation and integrity of the old Sears and Roebuck. I haven't darkened t heir doorways in a ery long time. neither have anyone I know. We go shopping for quality products, we have to shop long and hard to find quality American or any other quality products that we use to get at Sears and Roebuck. We went to town it was to Sears and Roebuck. Not anymore. the same junk is available at WalMart or Target or whomever. Same for KMart. It is nothing more than a tax writeoff. Ther is no concept of value for money, reputation or trying to satisfy the demand of the American market. Craftsman junk can now be bought a lot of places that sell other junk labels. Thanks Wall Street.

[Jules Richardson]

Maybe they're not always really 'blown' - maybe that's just the common term for "engine stopped working but I don't know why" and might cover all kinds of faults. There might be some good deals around.

And yes, running out of oil is probably the no.1 killer for engines that really are blown. Neither of my B+S engines present a very accurate picture of oil level because they have such a shallow sump and the oil filler's off to one side - to check I normally just drain out whatever's in them and then add the manufacturer's recommended amount so I know that it's right.

cheers

Jules

[LSMFT]

I never see the oil go down on any small engine I have. Maybe it's because I change it every year. I don't know how it could "run out of oil" and blow up. Especially these new machines.

[clare]

Welcome to America._Where there is always someone willing to sell you something cheaper than the next guy. Price is king, and quality be damned. Doesn't stop the prices from going up, either.