Sounds like you blade brake is engaged. The bar you hold to start and run the mower pulls a cable that releases a little spring loaded brake pad that rubs the flywheel. Perhaps the cable broke or is out of adjustment. You may need to remove the starter and cover to see it good.

I didn't see any sign of that, I will take another look. Thanks!

Any other ideas from anyone on what I might look for?

Thoughts are appreciated!

Best advice is to have an experienced lawn mower mechanic look at it. Since you haven't the faintest idea of what to look for, some small item might make you toss out a perfectly good mower, if you don't have it looked at.

Probably good advice there. I am going to take it over to my dad's this week and see if he can figure out something. He is one of those dudes that can fix anything and somehow that genetic trait escaped me. Worse case scenario is the engine is shot and I would probably try to find another motor to put on the deck which is still in decent shape.

You may need a new starter clutch ... Pull the top shroud off and the square stub underneath it is the starter clutch ... see if it spins freely with your hand. If it is stuck ... then you will need to replace it. Alos ... Pull the plug out and try pulling the rope to clear the cylinder of oil if you had it tipped over for any length of time ... Good luck.

Thanks a lot for the info, I will add that to the list to check out when I start tearing it down in a couple of days.

'Pull the plug out and try pulling the rope to clear the cylinder of oil if you had it tipped over for any length of time'

The 10201 is a 2-cycle with 'V' engine. Going back to the first post, there should be no reason to pull the flywheel. Remove the spark plug and set aside. Tie down the safety bail to the handle. Tilt the mower up and try to rotate the blade, which at this point should spin rather easily. If it doesn't, the brake may be on as already mentioned, or the engine may be damaged. If it does spin, the brake is off and the engine is not seized. Replace the spark plug and proceed to replace the faulty components of the recoil starter. There's one other possibility with this model - the fasteners may have loosened in any area of the engine, like the muffler screws, the muffler plate screws under the muffler baffle or the screws holding the shroud base to the engine. For various reasons, some of these conditions could jam the starter or blade. Check every fastener including the engine mounting bolts at the beginning of each season.

Wow! Saxman1 thanks for the info! You are giving me some hope that this thing might be resurrected! Going to start getting into it today and tomorrow... will post what I find. Thanks again!

I've got a spare short block for that mower if you need one lawncadet.

echoman, I may be interested - have to tear into it today and see what I find. Thanks for letting me know!

Ok, so I ran through all of your suggestions and still really no luck. I surrendered and took it to my local Lawn Boy dealer for servicing. Hopefully, it will not be anything major. Thanks for all the help and ideas! I will post the diagnosis when I get it.

I've got the same deal w/ a 10301 however I can't move the blade. Appreciate the help.

lawncadet I have the same problem with the recoil starter. It froze up. did you ever get the reason for your lawnboy recoil and can you share the fix?