I have a Cub Cadet 169 and it is in pretty good shape. The person I got it from said he thought the compression spring was broken because it was very hard to crank. I was wondering how difficult it would be to fix. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will try to post some pics soon.
Sounds like you are talking about the automatic compression release. Do you have a Briggs & Stratton engine on your mower? If so, adjust the valves to the proper clearance first and try that before you replace the ACR. If the ACR is broken, you will have to remove the engine oil pan to make the repair.
IIRC, intake .004 and exhaust .006 but you must check the spec with your particular engine model, type & code numbers.
