I am having trouble getting my lawn mower to start.
CY: Walking mower, riding? What brand? Size of engine?

I have run it a
few times this year but it seems to have stopped working.

I had the local college kids give it a tune up and I suspsect that
something was not done correctly.
CY: What type of mower?


I got the mower back from the college and I found that the blade was
loose. I tighten it, mowed and stored for the week. The next time I
tried to star ( a week later) the engine kicks back and yanks the cord
from my hand.
CY: OK, so now we know it's a pull rope unit.


I noticed that the oil was a little low so I added.
CY: How did you know? How much oil did you add? Did you check the level
after you added? What kind of oil did you use?


The blade spins freely.
CY: How did you test t his?

The cord is hard to pull and when the engine
seems to want to start it yanks out of my hand. I also get a puff of
grey smoke from the out of the air filter.
CY: Air filter? Or exhaust muffler?

Any thoughts?
CY: Yes, I'm t hinking you should give us more details.