Need advice on lawn mower starter
 

Well I have been having problems getting my Ariens rear motor lawn mower to start. I concluded that it was the starter going bad. I went to Harlow's in Lake Charles to get a new one and they wanted $125 for that SOB!:eek: Needless to say I didnt walk out of there with a new starter.

Question is does anybody have experience with rebuilding starters or know anyone that does it?

2nd question is does anybody know of a website that sells parts for a better price? Thanks for any help. Motor is a 12 HP Briggs.

There is an old man in Crowley who rebuilds them. Normally a truck starter cost 40 bucks or so to rebuild. Dartez Repair, probably too far for you to drive though, but he has a quick turn around time.

Auto marine eletric might do small starter rebuilds, they're in Lake Charles.

J & J armature is another you might try.

Go to mowmore.com good prices

Corey, what is it doing?

Iowa starter on hwy 90 can fix it

With a fully charged battery, it doesnt have enough juice to crank. Just barely gets a rotation in. Troubleshooting from manual points to starter going bad.

mines was doing the same thing the other day and i added some fresh oil and it started up on the first try

If you jump it does it spin faster?

jumped it from the boat battery, not the car. And no it didnt.

You can't go wrong here, he is very reasonable.

jackssmallengines.com..here's a link the highest one is $40, http://www.jackssmallengines.com/sta...tton/Engines/s



edit, some are more than $40, one is outrageous at $700 the others are all under $100

Probably starter drive or bendix (sp)

Just be careful, sometimes it is cheaper to buy a new one than have one rebuilt. Smokey's in Sulphur rebuilds them.

Was already checking out this site. will probably use them once I confirm part number.

I've ordered a few things from them over the years and always had good service.

Yeah I had already found that site in a search, then I got reccomended it by people here and at work. Must be a good site.

Any idea if these are new or refurb parts? Doesnt really matter just curious.

I really wouldn't know. You can call, I'm sure they can tell you.

Is it a OHV (overhead valve) engine? Had an OHV that was hard to start when the valves got out of adjustment. Seems like it would start turning over slow when they got out of adjustment. Would have to use a feeler gauge and reset them every now and then.

Yes its an OHV

I have a kohler engine that is doing the same thing. I spoke with guy at BMC in Westlake the other day and he suggested to check the valve clearance also. He said if that is OK then jump across the start solenoid to make sure that it isn't the issue. If it still drags then it is the starter. He said they normally just replace them.

Valves
 

Yep the exhaust valve has a compression release mechanism on it if valve is out of adjustment it will not crank over well , I have repaired several with same problem, keep us posted

Might want to make sure that the guy knows what he is talking about. Most Kohlers has hydraulic valves and doesn't need to be adjusted.

Smokey's rebuilt my starter on the boat motor several years ago . Worked better than i ever rember it working. Less than half of a new one.

By not cranking well, I am saying that it doesn't have enough juice to fire the starter 100%. I ordered a starter from Jacks and hope it works out ok.

I had a simalar problem with my outboard starter. It just did not have enough power to start the engine.

My problem was a burnt wire going to one of the carbon brushes. If the braid copper "wire" connecting to the motor brush has a very slight change of color....it is bad.

A new set of brushes [about $ 20] and I was back up and running.

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A few years later, the starter started making a very loud noise. Talked to a boat mechanic and he said to take the starter apart and put a little grease on the sleeve bearings. Starter has been quite for 2+ years now.

Most don't, some do.

I appreciate all the help guys. I ended up going with jackssmallengines.com. I was able to get a new starter for $70, the local shop wanted $125:eek:. I got the starter hooked up, a brand new blade, and changed my oil and it fired right up with no trouble. And just in time too! I was having to use a machete to get to my shed! To give you an idea I will attach a before and after shot. Been fighting my lawn mower for weeks and with all that rain, it was a jungle.