I have a Sears Lawn Tractor, and am having a slight problem starting it. When I turn the key, there is a one or two second delay, and it seems to be straining to start cranking. Then it starts a normal crank and turns over. Recently changed the battery, and tuned it up. Wires all seem ok, and its only 3 years old. Is my starter bad? Is something out of allignment?

aldozac

There could be many causes.
Dirty connections?
Check the battery voltage, does the condition improve whit a jump?
Try a jumper cable directly to the main starter lug (main battery cable)if better this would show a bad main cable.
Try a jumper from battery posative to the single starter solenoid connector, this bypasses all safeties and key switch.
My best guess is a weak solenoid!

Thanks, I will give it a try.

Hey Bruce, things look OK. Connections are good. I ordered a new solenoid. If that doesn't do it, do you have any other suggestions??

If this is a Briggs engine, one common cause for this exact problem is that the compression release is on the camshaft and the easiest way to alleviate this problem is to readjust the valves to about .004" on both the intake and exhaust valves. Easy to do if you have a set of feeler gauges and smalll wrenches. Make sure to set them when the engine is at Top Dead Center and Cold. Hope this helps. Please note that this is actually a couple of thousandths less that Mfr. Settings, but I haven't had any problems doing it. Hope it works.