self propelled now hard to turn over

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Today I tipped the mower on its side (oil fill down) and pulled off he blade and hub. Cleaned the grove of the hub so the belt would fit in the grove nicely and put it back together. Even without the new belt attached, the mower seems to turn over hard when I pull the pull start handle. I pulled the spark plug out and its easier, but does not feel right.

Oil level if proper.

Airens front self propelled with Kohler Courage engine.
 
Something to do with the deadman control (blade brake). That would be my guess.
 
The drive is probably partially engaged.

Is the mower hard to push without engaging the drive?

Try pushing the mower forwards and backwards several times, with the engine off and the drive disengaged.
 
Just FYI, there is a big difference between a blade brake, and a blade clutch. Just because there is no clutch under the mower and the blade is attached to the crankshaft, doesn't mean there is no blade brake. Starting in I think 1983 possible, all mowers had to have either a blade brake, or blade clutch, so unless you have a really old mower, or it had been bypassed, you do have a blade brake.
 
Originally Posted By: old1
Just FYI, there is a big difference between a blade brake, and a blade clutch. Just because there is no clutch under the mower and the blade is attached to the crankshaft, doesn't mean there is no blade brake. Starting in I think 1983 possible, all mowers had to have either a blade brake, or blade clutch, so unless you have a really old mower, or it had been bypassed, you do have a blade brake.


The mower has an ignition cut-off if you release the handle. I think that is all that is required
 
Originally Posted By: Warstud
Did you sharpen the blade while it was off and didn't balance it?


I have not even started it yet. Just pulling the handle slowly.
 
regarding the blade brake, yes, all mowers have a brake that applies when the handle is released and the ignition is killed. The gov. required that the engine/blade stop rotating in less than 3 seconds, so a brake was needed. Now that said, yours may not be working well, but it came with one. Are you holding the handle up??
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
The mower has an ignition cut-off if you release the handle. I think that is all that is required


No, there is also a mechanical brake on the flywheel. Regulations state that the blade must stop within 3 seconds (I believe) of the operator bail being released. The engine will not stop on its own in 3 seconds without the mechanical brake. Folks are recommending that you check to make sure that this brake shoe is not contacting the flywheel when you pull the bail down.
 
Look at where your brake/stop cable hooks to on the engine. Pull the lever on the handle back and see how far it travels. If it's not traveling approx. 3/4 of an inch or more, it's not disengaging the flywheel brake. Sure there's not oil somewhere it's not supposed to be on this one?

If the cable has stretched, you can drill a new hole in the handle usually almost right on the existing hole because it doesn't take much, but a wee bit farther away from top of handle. If it's one of those junky cables that don't bolt on, put a strong zip tie around it and the handle to keep it in place (if you drill the hole a little big).
 
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Donald, I had that to happen with my JD JX75 with the Kawasaki engine and BBC. It turned out to be a pushrod had fallen out of the rocker arm. After 15 years of use the valves had gotten out of adjustment and after placing the pushrod back into the rocker arm and a valve adjustment it ran like new. It's easy to pull the rocker cover off and take a peek at the rocker arms.
 
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