Sears Craftsman Snow Blower Pull Cord Repair Highlights

[@rjanderson8012]

Hey SevenFortyOne. Again, great video!!! Believe it or not, I just got around to (in 1/2020) replacing the pull cord (procrastination is truly the thief of time). I modified the process by removing the handlebar assembly which made it easier to remove the pull cord shroud. Removed four bolts, a cotter pin for the chute crank, and the drive/auger cables and the shroud was free and clear to remove. 3/16 cord was a tight fit so I stepped down a bit. Thanks for providing the rest of the process to replace the pull cord.

[@frbhobbyprojects-itswhatid2707]

Hey bud, thanks for the video, I had to do the same thing on my snow blower, but I was able to remove the recoil by just removing the gas bowl on the carb, rather than removing the entire carb. and it worked well, a bit less work. Your video is very helpful. Keep up the great work!!

[@sporty05]

So I randomly searched for a video on how to repair my pull string on my craftsman snowblower and I find 741! One of my favorite ham radio channels! 73

[@SevenFortyOne]

I make all kinds of videos, not just ham radio stuff. Glad you found this one useful!

[@midas617]

This makes me love my 15-year-old MTD with the Tecumseh engine even more.

[@jerryb387]

Great!! Very easy to follow! Obviously not a quick replacement procedure and wondering if Briggs & Stratton engineering department ever had to work on their own machines. Lol!! Thanks so much! I'll be doing this shortly!! Went through a big snowstorm here yesterday with only the electric start working on the snowblower.. ..and luckily we didn't lose power!!

[@SevenFortyOne]

I'm glad this helped you...we got hit by that storm too...I'm in CT and did loose power for about 14 hours.

[@lawrencebarley2353]

Do any engineering departments work on their own rubbish designs?

[@LibertysetsquareJack]

They engineer them like this so regular people can't or won't maintain the machine: it makes most people take the machine to a repair shop, or even buy a new machine altogether, for something simple, like a pull cord. The engine itself would last for many years, if properly maintained; they know, however, that the pull cord will break after a season or two, if not less. It's like this with the cars and trucks too. Designs are deliberately made arcane or require proprietary equipment and tools to do simple jobs, like switch out an air filter, oil filter, spark plugs, etc. It's a symbiosis between SAE and the makers, so that industries are protected. Decades ago, companies competed with each other to showcase a superior car, small engine, whatever, and part of that was making maintenance feasible for the end user. With the protectionism within the auto industry, that came around the 1970s, makers essentially cartelized, so they didn't need to compete as vigorously with each other. "Too big to fail" was a thing with automotives long before it was with banking in 2007-08. So instead of having dozens of makes, all competing pretty fiercely, we have basically three domestic makes, and then we have SAE certification, and the collusion between all the aforesaid. That's why you end up with inane things, like having to remove a carburetor and a bunch of engine housing and chassis components, just to replace a pull cord. If times were right, the four bolts securing the pull cord cage (which are visible and accessible from the outside), would be torqueable and not smooth faced: all the end user would need to do is loosen those four bolts, and pop the cage off.

[@smv133]

Wow! what genius designed that crap?

[@oldrustycars]

The reverse Torx socket looks like one that comes in the giant 500 piece Craftsman assortments. They load those up with everything, I got the same sockets as well as metric sockets down to 3mm I think.

[@gordbz1]

Thanks for the video. It gave me enough information so I can try and fix my machine (not the same model as yours)

[@karlsquire8148]

Thank you buddy for taking the time to do this vid it helped alot Thank you so much Cheers.

[@SevenFortyOne]

Awesome -glad this helped!

[@albatorsodoku8717]

Great video, but much much easier if you drill out the rivets and reinstall new ones. But definitely detailed video.

[@edinguat]

Thanks, it will help me to fix my snow blower with the same problem👍

[@daledemanchuk7920]

nice detailed how to video guy great for the backyard guy!

[@gregrobbins1153]

Thanks for this, I was getting ready to drill out those rivets

[@terrytytula]

My neighbor claims he drilled out the rivets and it worked fine, it seems a lot less work than what's being done here.

[@SevenFortyOne]

+Terry Tytula I think either way works but if you drill the rivets you have to put new hardware in that may loosen up over time.

[@Bruce638]

Jut rivet the cover back on. Pretty simple. And if you don't have a rivet gun , they are five bucks at harbor freight with rivets.

[@dakotamar45acp]

@@Bruce638 yup. I am thinking drill them out will be way easier...

[@walleyeye]

What size rivets are they to replace?

[@jfmpjfmp6917]

Great video. Thank you so much, found it very useful.I don't have the same machine but I'll still try it on mine

[@SevenFortyOne]

I'm glad you l enjoyed this video - thanks for letting me know!

[@garywellings2281]

As James mentioned the screen is a spark arrester for flare up of gas fire.

[@robertwurth999]

Great video - think I'll be able to fix my own now.

[@donaldthomas7696]

Being an old sailor the proper knot to tie off both ends of the starter cord, is a figure eight knot! Not a double over hand knot. Using double over hand knots will not let the knot seat properly down in the handle and is bulky. The figure eight is a simple secure knot with less bulk, google it. Unless you are Chinese, keep using the wrong knots.

[@SevenFortyOne]

A gold star for you sir! ⭐

[@paulreno4553]

Fixing the spring on a snowblower that’s the craftsman on the pool starter. How do you fix the spring? 16:05 16:05

[@cantstandya112]

Screen over the carb was the result of a recall where priming a warm motor could result in a fire ball out of the carb setting the plastic cover on fire.

[@SevenFortyOne]

I forgot about that! I bought this new and remember having one or two fireballs the first season I used it. I got a recall notice from sears telling me they were going to come to my house and fix the problem. They gave me a free "service" (Oil change, spark plug, etc) too. I thought they changed out the carb but I guess all they did was install the screen to act as a diffuser. Thanks for the info/reminder!

[@stevesmith6058]

I was putting Recoil s. Together when I was 10 years old then they didn’t have Chinese engines they’re all together different together today the new ones at Briggs and Stratton put on a riveted to the blower housing that would be eliminated real fast drill out the rivets put studs in tack welded in the back and bolt the recoil on

[@SevenFortyOne]

Ok

[@davelaity7697]

i found it very helpful. Thankyou

[@davidmorrison7424]

Can you show the wiring for your light. It looks like you may have added it yourself. The plug/connector coming off the snowblower is the same type on my 8.5 HP craftsman. Not sure what type of connector fits that or if LED lights are an option.

[@SevenFortyOne]

I think I uses an automotive style barrel connector...I don't remember. I don't know if LED will work - the voltage source on the engine isn't regulated

[@julieseguin9647]

Thank you so much. Your video was very useful

[@rjanderson8012]

I have a similar issue, used the electric starter the last season. Did you need to replace the gasket between the carb and motor?

[@SevenFortyOne]

No - mine was OK so I reused it.

[@jeffreypekarcik25]

MORAL OF THIS VIDEO: DOUBLE KNOT BOTH ENDS!

[@johncote7313]

great video

[@giosolinas6079]

Thanks that was helpful

[@danielarroyo121076]

Thank you sooooo much

[@johnnykracun8044]

I have the same machine would you know what size is the belt for the auger

[@SevenFortyOne]

Sorry - I don't. But you can probably look it up on the Sears parts-direct website.

[@michaelm3843]

good job

[@shaungriffin4617]

Why not drill put the rivets and put in selftapping screws ?? A lot quicker and less of a chance of messing something up

[@SevenFortyOne]

You can do it like that if you prefer but I like to keep things stock. Self tappers can back out over time due to vibration. And I don't think taking the shroud off is difficult or risky.

[@TUONOv4]

Thank you! Great video. I’ll go the drill-self tap route. I’d suggest adding a wrap on the recoil to allow for cord stretch. It will avoid slack and a handle dangling. My cord broke right at the handle from chafing. I may add a hanger for the handle as well.

[@suemcquay8983]

@@TUONOv4 you cant get to the recoil by drilling out the rivets i learned this the hard way

[@andrewsefcik3806]

Jesus! It's a $500 job at a repair shop! No doubt highly educated engineers designed that damn thing! A million steps to replace the pull rope. UGH!!!

[@SevenFortyOne]

It was designed for ease of manufacturing, not repairing.

[@steamer97]

No you can't replace the rivets with screws for several good reasons . One reason is when you drill them out the back of the rivet falls in the blower housing and jams up the flywheel. Second reason is there's only 3/16 of 1 inch clearance between the housing and the flywheel. The biggest reason is once you drill out the rivets the whole starter mechanisms fall inside of the housing and you have to take the whole damn snow blower apart anyway and replace with rivets. Worst design ever!

[@Leo-qw1dv]

Sure don't make it easy to repair.

[@garywellings2281]

Lool engineers design this crap yikes

[@snip3r416]

Question i pulled my pool cord string out my snowblower is Craftsman 3/20 Model - 536.884351 Where I brought it from SEARS Hopefully 🙏🏻 u can help me out much appreciate it :)