Crankshaft not turning smoothly

[michig54]

Hello all,

After dealing with the struggles of having to start my lawn mower with constant kickbacks, I've decided to look into fixing it. Once I get it started, it runs just fine. I just have to be careful when I pull the cord because it kicks back and can yank out of my hand. I've removed the fly wheel and the blade and I can't see anything that could be the issue. When I try to turn the crankshaft by hand it gets hung up at the same spot every other turn around and then spins smoothly around until it hits that spot again. What could be causing this? Is it something inside the engine? Is it repairable?

I have a Cub Cadet Model 18M, the engine model is 1P70.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ILENGINE]

that spot you are hitting is the compression stroke. Nothing wrong there. May want to check the valve clearances. in .003-.005 ex .005-.007

 

[mechanic mark]

MTD 952Z1P70M0 Engine Complete MTD Cubcadet Troybilt | eBay First check oil level on dipstick, is it on full mark? Have you replaced spark plug, fuel & air filters & adjusted valves? Post all numbers from engine data plate or post picture of all numbers, thanks.

 

[michig54]

Thanks. Oil is full. Air cleaner is new. Spark plug and fuel filter were changed last season. It sounds like I need to adjust the valves. What should the clearances be? I attached all labels for reference.

 

[Mikel1]

ILENGINE listed it on his reply

 

[ILENGINE]

See post number 2 in this thread.

 

[michig54]

Duh, I guess I wasn't paying attention.

The valve clearances were a little loose so I went ahead and tightened them up. It now pulls so much better and doesn't yank out of my hand or make me feel like my arm is going to come out of it's socket. This was a great learning experience for me. Thank you for your input!