near the end of last year, did the normal mowing, when finished I let the mower cool down about 20 minutes and then decided to spray off all the dust and grass, (which I do about every third mow) engine didn't seem that hot, but it was warm. After finishing the starter made an awful noise, like it wasn't fully engaging and the teeth were grinding. A couple more attempts and it started fine. The problem is now that this happened it starts this way everytime. how would cleaning it cause this?
I suspect that you have a 7000 series Kohler engine which uses a friction drive. The gear gets pushed up by a worm drive when engaged but Kohler uses a rubber friction material between the gear and the driver. I suspect that is were the issue is. Grease, water, etc can cause slippage issues with the rubber. Being a fairly new mower I am tempted to sent you back to the dealer for warranty on the starter.
