Pull the spark plug wire off, and secure it well away from the spark
plug.

Leave the plug in.

Tip the mower on its side, and try to turn the blade backwards of the
usual direction.

If it spins freely, scrap the mower, and get another one. If it binds
and gets hard to turn at one or two places in the revolution, then you
have compression. Proceed to look for other problems.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi.
Yesterday while I was mowing the lawn, my mower engine suddenly
stopped. The blade continued to spin until it slowed to a stop. It did
not strike any objects. It was working fine up to this point.

When I attempt to start the mower by pulling the string, the blade
will
spin quietly, but I do not hear the engine try to engage.
Additionally,
it feels "loose" when I pull the string; previously, I could hear the
engine cranking, but not anymore.

I'm not very experienced with lawn mower or small engine repair, but I
did some basic troubleshooting by looking at guides on the web. The
flywheel key, and the blade adaptor key both seem to be intact. The
gas
is fresh. Oil was recently filled.

My mower is a Craftsman, model 143.996504 with a 6.5 Eager-1
(Tecumseh)
4-cycle engine (917.377431).

Any ideas?

Thanks.