Craftsman mower starting problem

[Born2Mow]

Does anyone when, in relation to the TDC mark on the flywheel, are the valves supposed to open and close?

You'll want to verify 2 separate events to be able to trust the results:
1. With a screwdriver down the sparkplug hole, verify that the piston is indeed at TDC when the mark says so. (This will insure you can believe the marks.)
2. Then, with the engine at TDC between the exhaust and intake strokes (both valves slightly open) verify that the clearance goes out of each valve at approximately the same distance from TDC. (IOW, if the Intake gets tight about 1" away from the TDC mark, then the Exhaust will get tight about 1" away, but on the opposite side of TDC.) This is because...

 

[jimbir]

Thanks for your reply and information. I need to comfirm that the TDC mark on the flywheel is supossed to point at the rear left ( when looking at the engine from the front ) cover mounting post. Is that correct?

 

[Born2Mow]

The flywheel is supposedly coupled to the crank & piston. Whatever the flywheel mark is pointing at with the piston at TDC should be the stationary mark. (This is really just the inverse of Event #1 from above.)

Understand that IF the piston is at TDC and you find the stationary mark more than 3/32" away from the flywheel mark, then that may be an indication of your root issue.