In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 12 Apr 2021 13:13:28 -0700 (PDT), TimR
wrote:

On Monday, April 12, 2021 at 4:10:28 PM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
On Monday, April 12, 2021 at 3:08:27 PM UTC-4, Bob F wrote:
On 4/12/2021 8:06 AM, TimR wrote:
While mowing the yard yesterday the lawnmower made a clanging noise and quit.

Pulling the starter cord seems too easy now and I hear it spin longer than it should. And no, it doesn't start.

Should I give up on IC engines and buy an electric? I've certainly had my struggles with gas engines the past couple of years.

Did you regularly change the oil?
I was wondering about that. I'm pretty careful about oil, but when I checked it after the failure it was very dark.

Also, I ran out of gas halfway through the lawn, and had to take a break for a couple hours, because this mower ran well but never did want to start hot. I tried a bunch of times, then just let it cool off and it started fine.

(Of course I tried it again the next day hoping maybe it healed.

Always a good idea. If you still have it, try laying hands on it.

One hand on the recoil starter and one hand on the air cleaner is best.

Nope. Still pulls easy, still has the same amount of dirty oil, still doesn't start.)