Stay away from Stihl...
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No, he's likely talking about the crankshaft end plate and/or thrust washer which needs to either be precision machined so the bearings sit on their races properly aligned or you use spacers/shims to take up the slack of less-precise machining methodologies so your crank doesn't walk on it's bearing journals and end up rubbing on it's journal caps and bearing aprons. But because the crank moves, it will wear on the plates and washers which eventually need replacing or they fail entirely. When they fail, the high speed engine parts contacting the low speed engine block makes for pretty spectacular failures.
There's Ryobi engines out there where a "regular maintenance" is to, literally, disassemble the valve train and replace all the shims on the valves and reassemble after re-indexing the crankshaft. On a $150 leaf blower/weed whacker. Otherwise, they get out of sync with then engine and it won't start because it won't build compression properly. That's insane. It's either do the service or buy a new one. If you do the service and pay someone, it's $200+ worth of labor. A new one is $150. You might get two years out of a new one before it needs the service. So if you go that route, prepare to dump $150 every year. If you're handy, you can do the service yourself with a basic mechanics tool set. You have to order the parts online because Home Depot doesn't carry them at all.
That's a common problem with those pre-mix 4-stroke engines someone else mentioned and why lots of companies have stopped using them.
They are significantly cheaper to make because they have lower tolerances on the machining. It's way cheaper to stamp out a ton of shims than it is to precision mill the bearing carriers. Plus, if it fails in 3 seasons or so, faster if you're a typical home owner and don't take care of your stuff, then it's easy money to keep people coming back in for a new leaf blower.
From the parts diagram in the link below it looks like the end bearings and seals are squeezed together between the top and bottom halves of the engine block. They may add shims to take up the end play, or thrust, at assembly. It looks like the crankshaft has a step on it just for this.
https://www.diyspareparts.com/parts/stihl/diagrams/bg-86-c/6ec5658a-61f2-4d60-87b3/
One thing I was reading about these blowers(again I was planning on buying one), is that the screws on the flywheel housing work loose and back out rubbing into the flywheel and lock up the whole works. Several people just put Locktite on these screws and re-tightened them and were good to go. Here is a link to that diagram below, item #9......
https://www.diyspareparts.com/parts/stihl/diagrams/bg-86-c/f2f61dec-8180-404a-b3e9/ -
motorstereo wrote: »^^^^One of the better things I've done for yard work was to get rid of my gas powered weed wacker and use a battery operated one. It seemed I could never once weed whack without an issue with the gas jobs.
I got one last year, as well. A Milwaukee. It's pretty capable.
I hate two-cycle engines.
I do like Stihl chainsaws, though. I have one (an older, German-made homeowner-grade with a 16 inch bar), but I sent it to live at our daughter & son-in-law's: They have way, way, way more trees than do we
In fact, they (he) now have another Stihl; a 24 inch "pro" model (also German-made). They are mostly heating with wood cut from their own woodlot, so the two saws come in handy. He and I hie up into the woods with 'em more than occasionally and fell a tree or two. Manly work. 
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oops...
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Your "crappy craftsman" is most likely a Husqvarna unit built for Sears/Craftsman and rebadged as Craftsman.
Husqvarna also owns the Poulan and Poulan Pro names. Your Craftsman is a step above the Poulan Pro brands.
Personally, I have a 4-stroke Craftsman weed whacker and a 4 stroke Craftsman leaf blower and couldn't be happier with them.
Both are 7 years old and aside from the tube end on the leaf blower needing to be replaced because it's worn, that thing has been a champ!
The 2 stroke Craftsman i have now was one my father bought new. In just over a year it quit working and would not start. He bought a new one and was going to throw it away, so I took it. When I got it home and took the plastic off I could see that the cylinder head was coming loose from the block. The threads for the bolts that held the head on were cross threaded and the bolts would not tighten, they were stripped from the factory. I just re-tapped them to a larger size, tightened them up and the thing fired right up. I've been using it now for a few years now but it's a fighter every time I use it. It's time to move on. -
The 2 stroke Craftsman i have now was one my father bought new. In just over a year it quit working and would not start. He bought a new one and was going to throw it away, so I took it. When I got it home and took the plastic off I could see that the cylinder head was coming loose from the block. The threads for the bolts that held the head on were cross threaded and the bolts would not tighten, they were stripped from the factory. I just re-tapped them to a larger size, tightened them up and the thing fired right up. I've been using it now for a few years now but it's a fighter every time I use it. It's time to move on.
How old is it?
Because Husqvarna's only been doing the Craftsman stuff recently. Like within the last 10 years or so. Older than that and it was another manufacturer.
Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
It's less than ten years old so it may very well be a Husqvarna. I'll have to look at it again, maybe there's a name plate or SN# on it somewhere.
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FWIW.
My son & law found a Craftsman 2 stroke weed whacker at the dump in his town a while back that he rehabbed. It ultimately had the throttle trigger (a plastic piece) break -- I tracked it to a Husqvarna part, which I got and replaced it with. The weed whacker was definitely Husqvarna.
I am pretty sure it was more than 10 years old.
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I’ve had a BG86 for about 6 years. No issues at all. Regular maintenance like filter, spark plug and clean the spark arrestor.
I also have a weed whacker and farmboss chainsaw that have been bullet proof.
Good luck with the new unit, at least they are replacing them. -
Im going electric in all these toys except lawn mower. Done with mixing fuel and breathing exhaust. I jacked up my elbow trying to start a pressure washer. Ill take a cord over fuel and exhaust fumes any day from now on.
