Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Lawnboy walk-behind mower, hairline crack, engine mechanism

Question
I have a Lawnboy Model #10685, S/N 270012752 that has performed great until yesterday when my husband was mowing and upon the final bag empty and he tried to pull the cord.... it is stuck and you cannot pull on it to turn the blades for starting.  A few weeks ago the cord had too much slack in it and I just coaxed it back to being tight.  Do you think it's the "kill-switch" located by the bag or do you think we should delve into the cowling and see if the engine is ceased?  Thanks Brooklyn

Answer
Since you mentioned you had trouble with the starter a few weeks ago I would suspect the starter.  Just to make sure, are you holding the shut-off handle down when trying to start?  Is the cable moving the engine mechanism to release the flywheel brake?  Just look at the cable when it connects to the engine...does the cable move when you depress the shut-off handle?  Is so, the cable is probably fine and I would remove and inspect the starter.

There are several You Tube videos showing how to repiar Sears and/or Tecumseh starters.  You engine is a Tecumseh engine, which is used by Sears, so these key words will help located videos.

The link below describes how to repair your starter:
http://www.lawn-mower-shop.com/trstrt.htm

This is the engine repair manual link:
http://www.cpdonline.com/692509.pdf

If you are planning on tackling the job yourself I'd recommend you just buy a new starter and replace the old one if the starter is bad.  Often times the starter pulleys crack, a very small hairline crack, and the pulley is almost half the cost of a whole starter.  Add the new pulley price, other misc parts, and shop labor rate it is cheaper for us to replace the entire starter assembly...the customer actually saves money because it only take us 5 minutes to replace and about 20-30 minutes to repair.

Let me know if this helps.
Eric