Unable to start mower

Rivets

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Many of the major auto parts stores will loan you a torque wrench, no charge.
 

yannick

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It should be 60 ft-lb for that OHV engine.
Thanks! You were right about the 60 ft-lb. When undoing the nut it released around the 60 ft-lb mark. So I checked the key and she is perfect. No signs whatsoever of damage. I am at a real loss to the issue.

To recap I have done the following:

1. replaced armature (since taking off the flywheel and reassembling, I have adjusted the armature gap to .007in from .010in)
2. changed the spark plug and gapped it to .020in as per manual
3. cleaned carburetor twice
4. checked flywheel key
5. checked that the linkages for the throttle system is operating as expected.
6. changed oil yesterday
 

bertsmobile1

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The 500e engine came with :-
cable controlled choke , you pull the lever all the way up. start the engine then push it back to the rabbit position
Primer button that you pus till your finger falls off & still the thing won't start
Auto choke where the choke is connected to a thermostat on the muffler & an air vane so when cold the choke is fully on & when running or hot the choke is off. Highly failure prone .
 

yannick

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The 500e engine came with :-
cable controlled choke , you pull the lever all the way up. start the engine then push it back to the rabbit position
Primer button that you pus till your finger falls off & still the thing won't start
Auto choke where the choke is connected to a thermostat on the muffler & an air vane so when cold the choke is fully on & when running or hot the choke is off. Highly failure prone .
Yeah the engine is a piece of :poop:. Never want to purchase a Briggs and Stratton made engine again. Mine is with a cable controlled choke.
 

bertsmobile1

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In that case check that when the cable is in the choke position that the choke is fully closed .
It is fairly common for the cable to slip under the clamp so it no longer fully closes the choke.
The other thing that I have come across is the actual choke butterfly which is not fixed into the shaft with a screw can slide a little sideways so again it can not fully close ( a dab of silicon works wonders )
 

yannick

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In that case check that when the cable is in the choke position that the choke is fully closed .
It is fairly common for the cable to slip under the clamp so it no longer fully closes the choke.
The other thing that I have come across is the actual choke butterfly which is not fixed into the shaft with a screw can slide a little sideways so again it can not fully close ( a dab of silicon works wonders )
Hi @bertsmobile1, the way this lawnmower works is you put the throttle in the open position (i.e. full throttle), prime it and then pull the starter. I had a look at all the linkage mechanism and it seems that all the tolerances are in check. When the in open throttle position the butterfly in the carburetor is open fully, which makes sense.
 

Rivets

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How about posting the model, type and code numbers for your engine so we can see exactly what you have?
 

yannick

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How about posting the model, type and code numbers for your engine so we can see exactly what you have?
Hi @Rivets, I have actually posted and even given a link to the manual of the engine. Here is a YT video of the exact engine and is quite a detailed maintenance video of how it operates -
 

Rivets

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Sorry, I guess this video guy, who makes money off what he posts, knows more than me. I’ve just found that when I’ve got the actual model numbers it is much easier to help people. Sorry to have wasted your time, as you also must know more than I do about fixing engines. Wish they had the internet and videos 50+ years ago when I tried to understand how small engines work.
 
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