I have a Murray mower with a B&S 14.5 OHV motor. When trying to start the mower, I have to boost directly to the starter, the starter gear starts turning the flywheel but hangs shortly after. It won't crank it far enough for the engine to actually fire. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

I would check out this post: https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/lawn-g...wer-78578.html Since you also have an OHV engine, my guess would be your compression is too high and you also ned valve adjustment.

Good Luck,
Morrowrj

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Originally Posted by Madams40

I have a Murray mower with a B&S 14.5 OHV motor. When trying to start the mower, I have to boost directly to the starter, the starter gear starts turning the flywheel but hangs shortly after. It won't crank it far enough for the engine to actually fire. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

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You were exactly right Morrowrj. I adjusted the valves and it started right up. Thanks for
The suggestion.

I have no idea what you can possibly mean by saying the compression is too high! There could be many reasons the starter motor is not turning the engine with sufficient speed for it to start. One reason it can not be is engine compression. If you have adjusted your valve clearances to reduce compression you run a serious risk of burning them out, as well as running with far less power.

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Originally Posted by jonny7995

I have no idea what you can possibly mean by saying the compression is too high!! There could be many reasons why the starter motor is not turning the engine with sufficient speed for it to start. One reason it can not be is engine compression. If you have adjusted your valve clearances to reduce compression you run a serious risk of burning them out, as well as running with far less power.

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If the piston ends on compression stroke and the valves are loose it will cause this exact problem. A sure way to check this is when this happens turn the cover on the fly wheel ccw 1/4-1/2 turn then try starting. If it starts at that time it is a sure indication of loose valves.

Hi esquire1, I am sure you are correct in thinking that valve adjustment must be correct. Correct compression is essential for the engine to start and run properly. Compression is affected by many things, including valve seating, but more commonly general engine wear. If I had poor starter motor performance I would start with the battery, not the valves! Anyway, I think the guy has fixed his problem. Regards, Jonny.

You are correct, however by sound I can tell if the battery is strong enough to start if all other things are correct. I've seen this too many times and B&S it's very common. I am around 974 of these every day and I see this same symptom about 3-4 per day.

I hope you wear ear defenders!