Hard To Start My Mower

[pelligrini]

I don't know much about small engines, but if it was a V8 it sounds like a timing or possibly an ignition problem. Did you pull the plug and crank it?

Do you have to prime the engine when you start it?

[crokett]

Well I fixed it. I put it on a trailer and took it to my mechanic. He called back an hour later to say the crank case was full of gas. When he drained the oil it was mostly gas. His theory is the battery was dead last fall and all my testing flooded the engine and just made it a lot worse.

[cabinetman]

His theory is the battery was dead last fall and all my testing flooded the engine and just made it a lot worse.

That's a lot of gas from just flooding the engine.
.

[phi1l]

I agree .. if you have bad rings, you can get gas from the combustion chambers blowing down into the crank case, & diluting the oil. Check the oil frequently, & if the oil volume increases or even stays high feel the oil to make sure the viscosity stays up. Diluted oil can cause even more damage. SO change the oil if it seems "thin" at all. & consider a ring job for the near future.

[WayneJ]

Just a little trick I use on my power equipment. I leave a little fuel in the tank and add Sta-Bil to the tank and add about an ounce of fuel injection cleaner also. Run the engine for a few minutes. When I start it up again in the spring, add a half a tank of fuel and a little more injection cleaner. Run it a while and then top off the tank.This will clean out any varnish built up over the winter with stale gas. It works well for me.
Wayne