Could be several things. The first two things come to mind.

* Blade is loose. Tighten the blade to the shaft.
* Foreign object or fluid in piston cylinder. Remove spark
plug, pull rope a
couple times. To blow it out. Replace spark plug, try again.
* Timing error, cylinder not firing a TDC.
* Timing error, valves operating out of time.

In any case, the people at this shop don't sound like they
know mowers.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"DonBloch" wrote in message
news My Toro Personal Pace mower is 9 years old and has always
started on the
first or second pull of the starter cord. Not so this year.

I sent it out for maintenance, and when I got it back after
being "repaired"
I still had a hard time starting it.

Can anyone tell me what is causing the starter rope to hang
up and be very
hard to pull?

Where I sent it for repairs, they don't seem to know very
much at all.

Thanks,

DLB