"Bob" wrote in message
...

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
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.

There were sufficient details for me. Either the flywheel key is sheared,
or
more likely, the blade is loose. Many mowers use the blade as a flywheel
and
will kick back if started with the blade loose or gone.

Bob


And if it kicks back it will often shear the key.