That is typical for the el cheapo engines coming from China.

you will find the same thing on most every boxstore unit. they demand cheap price, so they get cheap quality. my FIL has an old 36" walkbehind tiller (i don't know who made it no sticers left) that has to be pushing 40 years and he uses it all the time. regualr routine maintenace is all it has ever had. todays low-low/mid level priced machines will usually be lucky to get 10 years if WELL maintained and probably less than 5 if not maintained to spec.

i know folks who toss out weedeaters and push mowers eveyr year cause they won't start come spring. 95% of the time it is nothing more than they have bad gas.

i was adding to the above to say tha tif the current users out there cannot maintain a unit well enough to last beyond 1 season, how can we expect even top of the line stuff to last as long as the older stuff did. years ago folks took better care of things, now society has a throw away mentality. and that goes for users up to manufacturers.

Maintenance is surely important, but when you see what you're starting with in the pics above, all the tender loving care in the world won't make that garbage last.

I've had 3 Craftsman rear tine tillers in for repairs, with bad transmissions. Two went to the junk heap, and one i managed to fix it, with no guarantee on longevity!

You get what you pay!!! Read my other post in respond to this.

For LCOs, it would be crazy to get a Craftsman!!! For weekend warrior like me. It sure better than paying over a hundred to rent a tiller each time unless you slave yourself to death to finish in one day and the transportation of a few hundred pounds. For $299, I use it to till my yard 3 times already.
As home owner, how often you really use it? After the first time, it is more important to have a Mantis than a good tiller. I have to Poulan front tine( same as Craftsman) to break the ground. I have been using the Mantis mostly. I use the Poulan to till mainly to keep it alive!!! Can't let it sit for years. It don't make sense for home owner to pay double to get a rear tine or more for a high quality. You get what you paid, and you only pay when necessary. Get a cheap front tine and a Mantis, this would be a more sensable way if you are a home owner.

i have a rear tine Craftsman, as well as a 24" tractor mounted Snapper tiller. i use them for my home garden and to bust up areas of my lawn for smoothing out/seeding. a buddy of mine borrowed the 14" RT Craftsman and tilled his entire 3 acre property several times with it. he tied the handle down and let it go, as it would walk a straight line on it's own. try that with a FT tiller!

i know many home owners who buy and use RT tillers. and tiller rental here is only about 35.00 a day, but it is so much nicer to be able to walk outside and decide to till than to have to go thru the hassle of renting/hauling/using/hauling back.

If you have a 2+ acre, I'll keep quiet!!! I cannot even imagin 1/2 acre lot in my area!!! It would be multi millions!!! You can get copal tunnel on your wrisk using a front tine to break the ground!!! retilling a year later is easy.

Isn't it true for home owner, they need to till the yard to plant stuff or grass. After planting, you almost cannot use a tiller anymore particular rear tine that don't manuever between plants. In fact even the front tine tiller is not that useful. I would pay cheap for a front tine and use the money saved to get a Mantis.

Of cause, if someone don't plant anything, just want to till the ground every year to get rid of weeds only, then a big tiller is useful. That was what I was doing the first year because we had not decided what to plant. But still after the first time, it is very easy to till even a year later, a front tine can even glide through. Now that I have planted fruit trees, I mainly using my Mantis. I just barely using the front tine to keep it alive just in case I move to a new house in the future.