Originally Posted By: AMC
Lots of CT people around here! As for the coil, find the correct part number and then check ebay. Ebay is usually much cheaper than a dealer of any type and even most of the online stores. Jack's small engine.com has good prices, accurate parts diagrams and is a good place alternative to a dealer.
Not sure what your budget is, but my Craftsman (Sears) and Toro (Home Depot) self propelled push mowers are over 10 years old and have never given me a problem, even with very minimal maintenance. They are basically the same exact machine, they both come with Briggs and Stratton engines and have all the features and power you could ever need in a push mower. A new one costs about $299. One machine, purchased once for $299 and lasting at least 5 (if not 10 or more) years works out to a huge savings over purchasing junk at $168 every year. In other words, Unless you really like troubleshooting and diagnosing, I would fix yours, sell it and then buy yourself a better mower.
AMC, thanks for the input. I'm not inclined to spend $300 for a mower that "could" fail within 5 yrs. Right now, I'm buying $150-$160 mowers that last 3-5 yrs typically. This one failing at the 2 yr point has not been the norm on the last 6 of these I've had. But, no doubt these are getting cheaper as there are more plastic parts on this Poulan than I've ever seen before. I don't need a self-propelled and/or mulching mower for my yard, that's just another $100 and more stuff that can break. Nothing on the simplest gas mowers should really fail within 5 yrs except the engine...that Briggs and Stratton's problem. I don't see why my B&S series 450E engine should be much different than the one on your upgraded mower with more features. I prefer a simple mechanical mower with a quality engine capable of lasting.
My last $150 mower went 5 yrs with the engine running perfectly. It was rot on the deck/wheel mounts that failed because I hadn't been properly cleaning the undercarriage. The first wheel frame rotted off after 2-1/2 yrs. Regardless, I pushed that around the yard on 3 wheels for another 2-1/2 yrs...lol. I'd have gone longer except my neighbor asked me to start doing his yard too, and 1/2 acre on 3 wheels was too much on my back. So I'm really disappointed that this one that has been religiously cleaned and serviced....gave me an engine problem so soon.
I'll give the coil a shot at $30-$38. Which is about all I'd be willing to spend on a 2 yr old mower. If I do buy another one of these (same model is still sold in 2017), I will have a fairly nice source of ready spare parts for it. I'd have no problem spending $250 for a no-frills cheaper decked-out mower, if the engine is of the quality of those "loaded" units that cost $300-$500. Basically, I'm buying the engine that sits on wheels.