Murray WideBody Blown Head Gasket?

[rhkraft]

When the engine is difficult to turn over with the battery, try to turn it over with your hand. If it is very difficult or impossible to turn over, I would suspect improper valve adjustment. Most of these engines have too much compression for easy starting so the manufacturer adds an extra bump on the cam to open the exhaust valve a little just before TDC to reduce the compression while starting to make it easier to turn over. If the valve adjustment is just a tad loose, the cam does not bump the valve stem and the compression stays too high to turn the engine over easily. I think the exhaust valve adjustment is like.05. Put a pencil in the spark plug hole so you can see TDC. The exhaust valve should crack open just a little before TDC to release some compression to make the engine easier to turn over. Once running, this compression loss is not perceptible. Many people have replaced starters to correct this problem. Don't be one of them!