Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - Craftsman gas blower

I had an issue with my Craftsman gas blower earlier this year. I was using it and it started making a rattling sound then lost power and died. I ripped it apart and found that the cylinder/ cylinder head was actually quite loose. I snugged all 4 bolts down pretty tight and fired it up and it has worked well for about 3 hours of use now and the same thing is happening. I used it for about an hour straight last night and the rattling sound got louder and louder over that time and it started to lose power so I shut it down. I am assuming it is the same issue, i'll tear apart tonight. This time I was going to loc-tite the bolts in there. Any other suggestions on anything else that can be done. Not sure why this is doing this. My mother-in-law has the same exact blower and after a couple years of use it had to have a new pistion put in it. These blowers don't seem to work very well. Thanks

The blowers you speak of are low price units and loose bolts are a common problem. Once the bolts become loose thread wear/damage begins and thread locking compounds may not work. When threads are severely worn/damaged threads need to be restored. Heli-coil or other methods are expensive. Loctite makes a product called Form-A-Thread® that is inexpensive solution. Most parts stores will only carry a thread locking compound and sales staff often have a limited knowledge of Loctite products. Cleanliness of hole and fastener is of utmost importance.

Loctite Form-A-Thread Stripped Thread Repair Kit 4.8 ml - MidwayUSA (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=986916)

http://www.midwayusa.com/midwayusa/StaticPages/pdf/instructions/Loctite_stripped_threads.pdf

http://www.alliedbearings.com/downloads/doitrightuserguide.pdf

http://www.henkelna.com/us/content_data/138230_LT4985TLCapabilityGd.pdf

That's a common problem with those blowers. No, they don't last long. You might try new lock washers on the bolts. I don't think locktite will work with the high temp of the cylinder, but you could try. I agree that the bolts and holes must be very clean. Spray them with brake cleaner to remove the dirt and oil residue. This is whether you use locktite or not.

I have repaired several of these blowers, and used locked washers, and had great success.

Jerry

Loctite and torq cyl bolts to 100in lbs.