Craftsman Blower that Really Blows

Craftsman 52 cc Backpack Leaf blower SKU#96785101 fixes. This video describes some poor designs of this model, and what needed a cleaning and modification to get it running well. Or you could just throw it out and buy a blower from a good brand.

Bought blower 8 months prior. Never ran well, and engine would want to bog down when hitting the throttle. Used it for a season. Forgot to drain the gas over the winter. Wouldn't start the next spring.

Flimsy spark plug cable: I started investigating why it wouldn't start up. I pulled the spark plug cable from the spark plug, and the cable end broke into pieces. Apparently, there's a coiled copper wire that connects the spark plug cable to the spark plug. One end of that coiled wire pierces the wire with fangs, and its other end coils around the spark plug head. That coiled copper wire came completely apart, and it obviously wasn't designed well. I then discovered how flimsy the spark plug cable was, and expected that even if I could reassemble the cable, I still wouldn't achieve a good connection. I replaced the spark plug cable with 14 gauge house wire. This worked well.

Next was the carburetor. Two problems were found. Old gas had clogged the spray nozzle. It was cleaned, and in addition, I widened the spray nozzle area to allow for more gas to enter the mixture, and to prevent any future clogs. The spray nozzle was made out of plastic, not brass.

Third modification, was that I modified the carburetor adjustment screw to permit a flathead screw driver to turn it. I cut a flat channel into the screw top, and a flathead is now able to turn the screw. No special tool is needed (except a dremel LOL).

Hope this helps everyone with this model. I did get it to run real well, but only after a bunch of work and investigation. Who knows how long it will last until something else breaks.