I have a craftsman II 5.5 hp 22" lawn mower, one pull start, model 917. We can get it to start but it immedeatly dies. We changed out the air filter and put new gas, also chaged and gapped the sparkplug in it but still have the same problems. I cant seem to find schematics on it anywhere! We think it might have something to do with the throddle cable, please help if you can before our grass gets to tall:) Thankyou

Melissa, May 2006

I would say that your float is stuck. Go buy some carb cleaner (it's only like.... three bucks) and take your carb off, take it apart (remembering how things went...), and then spray it out being careful not to lose peices...

Jessie Morris, November 2007

You said that you have changed the gas so I assume there is no water in the tank. It sound like the engine is not getting fuel fast enough to keep it running. This could be due to several causes. Partically blocked fuel line, The float in the carb is stuck and is not opening to allow enought fuel. The carb jet could be blocked. If you stored your mower over the winter and did not drain the fuel or did not add a winter gas additive, your fuel may have gone bad (turned to sludge) and clogged the carb jets and components, also causing the choke to stick and not function correctly. You would need to remove the carb and clean it out. Also it is possible that the rubber primer button on the carb has developed a crack and is sucking air causing the fuel/air mixture to be incorrect resulting in the engine dying. Over the 10 years I have owned my craftsman 917. self propelled walk behind mower, I have had all of these to cause my mower to crank and then die. I was able to correct the problems and my mower is still running today. april 2007. good luck

jeff, April 2007

The carb most likely needs cleaning or rebuilding.

Rick, May 2006