Hi there,

Looking for help with a Craftsman 5.5 Horesepower mower, Power-propelled, 22' Side Discharge, Model # 917.379090

Manual: http://www.managemyhome.com/mmh/lis_pdf/OWNM/L0403226.pdf

Got it used and we have gotten it to work long enough to mow the lawn a couple times, but it has intermittent troubles starting.

When we first got it, it would start, run for a short while, then quit. My housemate looked online for ideas, then decided to clean out the carburetor. This approach didn't solve the problem; then a neighbor took a look at it. He gave us a replacement spark plug and also recommended replacing the air filter. After this, it worked and my housemate mowed the whole lawn.

About a week later I tried to fire it up and it would only run for short periods of time. I gave up after mowing a little bit. My housemate was able to get it to work fine in the next day or so, simply by removing the air filter.

It's been about a month or more, and I tried to fire it up today without the air filter. Got it to run for a minute or two of mowing, and now it won't start again.

Thanks for any thoughts.