Are Craftsman push mowers any good?

[fishhh4]

I just bought the 21"  . Mulcher.... 135 delivered . You can't beat the deals Sears offers . My Grand daughter will be running this one . She is a go getter .

[EdL]

I am replacing my Tecumseh powered snow blower this year with a Honda powered unit.  Can't get parts for the  Tecumseh.  A new carburetor took 8 months to come in.  And it is falling apart (20 years old).  I will probably buy an actual Honda brand snow blower. 

Not sure if you've priced a Honda snowblower, but hang onto yer backside......

Ed

[Mking143]

I have a Craftsman push mower with 6.75HP Briggs and Stratton engine but it's not self-propelled like this one.  My mower is 7 years ago and I bought it for less than $250.  I change the oil in the Spring (not every one) and it has started on one pull every time I use it.  This summer I had to replace the front wheel height adjusters but the parts were readily available through Sears Parts Direct and weren't outrageously priced.  Other than sharpening the blades and that wheel adjuster, it's been a good mower.

I was going to reply with a long winded answer until I saw this ^. Exactly my story.
My 7 year old $200 Craftsman, starts on the first pull of the first mowing of the season, every year. Zero issues.

[Herb G]

Here's something you might find worth reading.
https://forums.woodnet.net/showthread.php?tid=7330391

[daddo]

MTD, a subsidiary for Sears, a partner with Toro, a subsidiary of Pouland, a market and in cahoots with Ariens, cousins of Huskvarna, a relative of Cub Cadet who are all connected via the net and a phone call away.  I see a conspiracy to try and confuse us here! 


 If it has a briggs engine, it is all the same to me unless it is self propelled - did they make the self propelled mechanism durable?

[stav]

I'm looking to replace my 16 year old MTD push mower with something a little less maintenance intensive. I found a Craftsman model 917.377150 on Craigslist for what appears to be a reasonable price. It is 22" w 6HP motor (not sure if that is actual HP or "peak HP"). Asking price is $150. I can't find anything on this model other than the manual. It looks to be in good shape from the ad. Mower ad. If anyone has any input on this or similar, I'd like to hear it.

I think I might need to clarify some points of my OP. The maintenance my MTD needs is due to age and the fact that it seized up about 5 years ago due to running out of oil. That was my fault. I didn't realize it was burning oil ever so slightly and I usually only checked it twice in the mowing season (beginning and end) back then. As a result of this, I have to clean the plug and add oil each run.  Aside from that, the wheels and axles have gotten to the point where they are problems.  Overall it is just time for a replacement. I only paid $199 for it new so it has served its purpose. I would buy the same one again if I could but I can't find one with the same specs anymore.  Basically, it is high wheel, no self propel, as large a deck and engine as possible, bagging and mulching. The simpler the better.

[Cooler]

I think I might need to clarify some points of my OP. The maintenance my MTD needs is due to age and the fact that it seized up about 5 years ago due to running out of oil. That was my fault. I didn't realize it was burning oil ever so slightly and I usually only checked it twice in the mowing season (beginning and end) back then. As a result of this, I have to clean the plug and add oil each run.  Aside from that, the wheels and axles have gotten to the point where they are problems.  Overall it is just time for a replacement. I only paid $199 for it new so it has served its purpose. I would buy the same one again if I could but I can't find one with the same specs anymore.  Basically, it is high wheel, no self propel, as large a deck and engine as possible, bagging and mulching. The simpler the better.

My Tecumseh snow blower engine started to seize up and I killed the engine.  I added oil (it was almost empty) and the engine ran fine for another 10 years.  I think the cold was in my favor and the fact that it did not fully seize by the time I killed the engine.

I'll miss the Tecumseh. It always started on the first pull.  Maintenance was spotty at best but it kept running.  The carburetor went bad, but that was probably a fuel issue and not a maintenance issue, though I did not drain the gas at the end of each season, I did throw it out at the beginning of each new one.