ride mower engine turns 1/4, but won't start

euchoreo

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Aug 19, 2012
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I bought a ride mower with a Briggs and Straton engine less than a year ago and it is been increasingly difficult to start. Last week, I stopped it in the middle of my lawn and now it won't start anymore.

* When I turn the keys, I can see the engine turn 1/4 of the way, but then do nothing else
* Once, today, (on about the 50th try) the engine did what looks like a full 2 rotations, but died before I had time to release the clutch
* I replaced the spark plug last week. The tip of it was black and kind-of burnt looking, so I put in a new one.
* there's plenty of gas and oil in the engine, though I did notice blue smoke coming out of it when I went up or down hills before it stopped working. I assume this was the oil, but I'm not sure why it seems to be burning on such low hills and assumed that the engine was overheating
 

EngineMan

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Jun 12, 2012
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Try with a different battery.
 

ILENGINE

Lawn Pro
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Make sure that the valve clearances are set at .004-.006. Excessive valve clearance is an every day problem on the single cylinder briggs, with an occasional failed compression release mechanism on the camshaft.
 

SONOFADOCKER

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Jun 19, 2011
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Valves went out of adjustment - notated how many tries or bulldozer battery the engine can not complete a compression and exhaust stroke .
 
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