If the starter motor has permenant magnets, as most 12V small engine 
ones do, good luck trying this test.

I have worked on lawn mower engines for over 40 years as a hobby.  IMHO 
any small engine that has to crank over for 10 SEC to start needs some 
attention. 
My 2 small 5 HP engines start on the second pull of the starter rope if 
not the first pull. My john deere riding mower w/ electric starts after 
5 SEC of cranking if it has set for 2 days.

Recon


Dr Skip wrote:

>Take the original out (either way, you're gonna do that) and see how it
>turns by hand. Can you spin it a few revs with a flick of the finger?
>Good. If you need to really push it around, bad. Depending on the
>bearing, you might run some light oil in them to free it up and test,
>then do it right once you confirm freer bearings do the trick.
>
>Really dry sleeve bearings will heat up fast if you use them a little
>bit. Then, they get tighter and worse. It sounds like first time was
>cool, but heated them up. Second time it was much tighter. You can
>really ruin the bearing that way, so lube it before you go on...
>
>-Skip
>
>  
>

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