Toro Z5035 wont start

Les' ZTR

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I have a Toro Z5035 with the Kawasaki 24hp motor FR691V. I have had it for 12 years. Ever since I purchased it it goes through spells where it will not turn over. I can hook my truck to it to jump it or completely charge the battery. It just will not turn over. I've had it serviced twice for this problem but it always starts happening again. I've pulled 1 of the plugs out & it'll turn over with no problem. Has anyone else had this problem with this motor? Any solutions would be appreciated
 
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If you removed the one spark plug, and it turns over, that tells me that a valve is not opening up and the engine is compression locking. Take the valve cover off, and make sure that the rocker arms are actually on the valve. Adjust to .005-.006 clearance. I would also check the other side while you are at it. To adjust the valves, have the piston at the top of the cylinder and on the compression/power stroke cycle. How you can determine this, both rocker arms should move.
 

Les' ZTR

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Thank you very much. I’ll definitely give this a try.
 

Les' ZTR

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If you removed the one spark plug, and it turns over, that tells me that a valve is not opening up and the engine is compression locking. Take the valve cover off, and make sure that the rocker arms are actually on the valve. Adjust to .005-.006 clearance. I would also check the other side while you are at it. To adjust the valves, have the piston at the top of the cylinder and on the compression/power stroke cycle. How you can determine this, both rocker arms should move.
 

Les' ZTR

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I adjusted the valves today. It started up pretty quickly. It’s running much better too. Thanks again for your help
 

7394

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Cool Beans.
 

awkerper

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If you removed the one spark plug, and it turns over, that tells me that a valve is not opening up and the engine is compression locking. Take the valve cover off, and make sure that the rocker arms are actually on the valve. Adjust to .005-.006 clearance. I would also check the other side while you are at it. To adjust the valves, have the piston at the top of the cylinder and on the compression/power stroke cycle. How you can determine this, both rocker arms should move.
I was thinking the same thing. One way to find TDC is to insert a screwdriver through the spark plug hole until it rests on top of the piston and then slowly turn the engine over BY HAND until the screwdriver stops rising. Then the Piston is at the top of its stroke. I had a similar problem with a recoil start engine that would kick back horribly when I tried to start it. The valve clearance adjustment has to be surprisingly accurate in order for the engine to work. In my case, the stud upon which the rocker sits had started unscrewing itself, which raised the rocker to a higher position and caused an exhaust valve to open late. This effectively created a second compression stroke and prevented the engine from turning over enough to start. The kickback was so bad that it ripped the starter cord right out of my hand and slammed into the housing hard enough to break the starter assembly.
 
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I have a Toro Z5035 with the Kawasaki 24hp motor FR691V. I have had it for 12 years. Ever since I purchased it it goes through spells where it will not turn over. I can hook my truck to it to jump it or completely charge the battery. It just will not turn over. I've had it serviced twice for this problem but it always starts happening again. I've pulled 1 of the plugs out & it'll turn over with no problem. Has anyone else had this problem with this motor? Any solutions would be appreciated
 
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if this is water cooled engine there is probably antifreeze getting on top of piston and locking it up until antifreeze leaks by the rings you could have cracked head or block or leaking headgasket also check for warpage of head or block when engine sets long enough coolant will slowly leak by the rings you need to drain the oil when it is hot and you can determine if there is coolant in the oil
 
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