1976 Sears Craftsman Eager 1 RATROD/HOTROD

That joint there on the drag link looks awful loose. Might be a big part of the slop

Yeah I know Ive already tightened it up. The big thing is that the front axle leans forward or backwards depending on which way you turn the steering wheel, so I'm guessing that the bushing is shot and probably the bolt too! Also the shaft that the sun gear is on has alot of slop too and it doesnt look like I can adjust it........basically just looks like it needs to be completely overhauled but I just dont feel like it right now.

It looks pretty similar to a first gen LT1000. If it is, then yeah, you best overhaul every part of the steering.

Tractor supply carries all different sizes of bronze bushings. Can probably find some the right size there

MightyRaze wrote:

Carb kits are pretty reasonable and give you parts that may need.  I use to cannibalize, now I get kits.  They work out so much better.

I just buy an entire knock off replacement carb on amazon these days. I've had decent luck with them and some are only around $15. Can't beat that when you don't even have to take it apart. You gotta kinda match things up with the pic but many are exactly the same.

Ok so I got the carburetor back on and everything hooked up and I even got it running but it only will run wide open. I tried the idle it down and even tried to adjust the screws but it either dies when I mess with the screws or runs wide open. I dont think it's a governor problem because I can hold the carb butterfly shut and itll still run wide open which makes no sense to me. Its frustrating!

It’s gotta have a big vacuum leak somewhere. Make sure all the gaskets are good. If you have to, spray some carb cleaner or brake cleaner around the gaskets while it runs to see if it changes

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

It’s gotta have a big vacuum leak somewhere. Make sure all the gaskets are good. If you have to, spray some carb cleaner or brake cleaner around the gaskets while it runs to see if it changes

Big big thanks. I took the intake off and found that the bottom of the gasket was covered in gas, also it was hard as a rock. The gasket didnt squish out at all when you tightened the intake down. So I made up a new one and had to wire wheel the old one off of the block because I couldnt scrape it off. I also re-checked all of the bolts to make sure they are tight. I'll have to wait till tomorrow to see if it's fixed or not. If it still runs wide open I think I'm gonna disconnect the governor just to rule that out and if it still runs wide open I'm betting it's the main jet because the old one looked like it had been cut off for whatever reason.

Well it still ran wide open today no matter what I did so me a dad finally got it to not be wide open by adjusting the screws but it runs like crap. I had to look at a manual because this carburetor might as well be fuel injection for how stupid complicated it is. I even did what the manual said to do for adjusting the carburetor but it only runs at one speed and the throttle cable is broken. I have one but the Z bend isnt correct and I don't have a Z bender tool. So I'm having to hold the throttle by hand. Also when I give it gas it wont rev up because the governor spring is stretched out. I honestly dont even know if the govoner is working. It seems to only hold the butterfly shut and I have to manually open it also when it starts to die the govoner doesnt try to keep it running like every other engine does so that makes me think something is wrong. The fuel bowl is also leaking so that's just great. Honestly I want to strangle who ever thought this carburetor was a good idea cause it's sad when my truck has a simpler carburetor than a lawnmower. If it was a sbc I'd have it running months ago. Junk!

Governor adjustment?

Well if the fuel bowl on the carb is leaking maybe it's flooding? Like a needle and seat issue or the float is sunk. So that wouldn't help things if that's the case. I guess it might also just drip a bit if there's a gasket problem which won't effect running. There's a washer gasket on the lower nut (high speed adjustment) that holds the bowl on and of course the rubber ring around the top of the bowl itself.

The governor looks to be hooked up more or less correct from that pic. Governor arm hooked direct to the throttle on the carb, that looks right. Should be able to move free for the full open/closed throttle without binding. And then the gov arm hooked with a spring to the place where the throttle cable is supposed to go. You say the governor seems to hold the butterfly shut, that seems correct for idle. Then as you slack off the pressure on that spring, that's what allows it to run up higher.

BUT, if the engine does not sound right even when your manually operating the butterfly, then you have a running issue which I suppose might be best to sort out first. But either way. As far as adjusting, I've always had a bit of a tough time getting them right. I start with the high and low jets about 1-1/2 turns out from bottomed. (Bottom them gently so as to not damage the seats) Then once you get it running, start with the low speed, slowly turning it in until it starts to cut out, then back it out a bit where it runs good. It's best to have it warmed up at least a little before you make your final adjustment. Find the range where it runs best in between too lean and too rich and then set it slightly rich (out) of the middle of that. The high speed adjustment (bottom of the bowl) is always a bit tougher for me to figure out but I rev it up and kinda see how it sounds. Then make a 1/8 to a 1/4 adjustment and rev it again. The screw on the throttle itself of course is the idle screw which just holds the throttle open for you a bit. As long as there's nothing wrong with anything else, you should get it if you play with it a bit.

Ok so I've cooled off a bit since yesterday and I've took the carburetor back off. I do think it's flooding due to fuel spitting out of the carburetor when it first fires up. (How do I fix this?) I replaced the seat and the new needle I got was was too loose on the bowl so and I couldn't bend the wire and when I tried to use the other wire it wouldnt fit over the new needle because the diameter was alittle bigger. So I re-used the original needle.

Second thing is I'm having issues adjusting the carburetor. It has zero throttle response because of the govonor spring being stretched out and even when I manually move the butterfly by hand it breaks up and wants to die. Another big issue is the fact that if I turn both the main and low idle adjustment screws out 1 1/2 turns it runs wild without any control what so ever. Ive tried turning the idle screw (the one that sets up against the butterfly arm) down but it just dies. I cant adjust anything without fighting something else.

So basically it makes me think I have bad carb issues and the only thing I can think of is I didnt adjust the bowl because I'm not sure what its supposed to look like. Other than that everything went together fine....I even took out the old plugs and cleaned behind both of them.

I've cleaned and rebuilt alot of carburetors but I've never had one do this to me before. If I could get it to run and rev up normally then I could probably get it adjusted right.

Well I'm thinking about just buying a new carburetor. I took this one back apart and the throttle return spring broke and of course I took those parts carburetors back. But I cant find a series 3 tecumseh carburetor on Amazon anywhere. It MUST be a series 3 carburetor with these exact choke and throttle arms because it wont work with the throttle plate.

Well today I got my throttle cable all fixed. I took another cable we had lying around and got the end bent up pretty good and just put it through the original case. Hardest part was getting the throttle out of the tractor. When they put these together they must have put the knob on last because you cant get it out with the knob on and I didnt want to break the knob so I just drilled out the rivet and made it serviceable by just bolting it together.


On a side note I've decided to just buy a new throttle return spring and a govonor spring and see if it will run better after I go through the carburetor again. Fingers crossed!

Forgot that I put another video up.

Been a minute since the last post and I ain't done anything else besides move it around to the big garage, once I get everything situated in the garage I'm hoping I'll find some time and some motivation to work on this thing again.

I was just wondering about how the Sears was doing! Been thinking and I wonder if it would be practical to find a cheap mtd or something with a 12 horse Briggs flatty and swap it over and that way parts are easier to find and you don’t have to put up with the carburetor’s tomfoolery on the teccy. Just my thought.

@Rustbucket Garage I agree 100%. I haven't really been looking but I'd love to get a hold of an old 11 or 12hp flatty. It would definitely make finding parts way easier!

Been a minute since I last posted on this thread but I finally got around to putting this peerless 600 back together. I bought all new bearings from Amazon and I bought all new bushings from Mcmastercar. I got all new seals and gaskets from Bolens Parts and Supplies, they were super helpful and they have a nice website with a lot of new old stock parts! 




I completely restored all of the original bolts and nuts. I wire wheeled them to bare metal, then I hot blued them by heating them up with a torch and sticking them in oil. After that I painted the heads of the bolts with a paint marker. I used a paint marker because the paint wont chip off when you use a wrench on it unlike spray paint.

That’s a 600 trans, right? 

When you find more round tuits, send me a few please. I have zero motivation. It is COLD out there.

@Nevadablue Yeah it's a 600 not a 700, went back and fixed it.

I wish I could find a couple more MST206 transaxles. They are scarce here. LOTS of the darn vari drives. 
I do have a Peerless 100 axle, a 400 and a 700 waiting in the pile.

Unfortunately this thread has come to an end.....well at least for now.

 I had the idea to have a cool old ratty/patina tractor that I could mow the lawn with and look cool doing it! What I didn't realize was how bad this thing actually was. There is not one thing that actually works properly or is in good shape. Everything is completely worn out or has been repaired so many times that it's basically a cobbled up mess. The more I worked on it and the more I looked at it, the more I found wrong and the more I realized that my plan to use this tractor to mow with was not gonna happen unless I was willing to put in a lot of time and money into it, and at the end of the day I would end up with a stock lawnmower that I had way too much money into and probably wouldn't use that much anyways.

But the good thing is that I got it for free from my grandparents who just wanted it to go to someone who was going to do something with it. Which I am still going to do something with it but it's grass cutting days are over!
I have a few idea's and a rusty shell of a lawnmower to make a cool project out of! Not sure if I'm going to use the transaxle or the engine but I'm keeping the peerless 600 since I rebuilt it, and I'll keep the engine for now unless someone wants it and then it's gone! For now it's just going to sit until I find some parts/key components and the motivation to do something with it.

That's unfortunate but I truly understand!  It's pretty much the same reason I never built my old craftsman.