So I took off the starter, opened it up, it looked fine, put it back together, and it bench tested it...where it spun up fine. I greased the gear-pinion assembly up good, put it back on the tractor, and she started right up. My guess is the the gear-pinion assembly was just sticking. I should've tried bench testing the starter before I took it apart though...just so I'd know if it was the gear-pinion sticking or if the starter was just bound (or something along those lines). I'm guessing it was the gear-pinion... Thanks for the suggestions...I'm sure I could still use a valve adjustment.

I wonder what "20 something, just out of school" moron they hired to write that garbage???? Suggesting that someone drain the oil at the end of the season but not refill immediately is a recipe for disaster. However, I'm sure that it helps increase the sales of new mowers when Joe Average forgets about the dry crankcase the following spring and proceeds to mow his lawn. What have spark plugs got to do with how well an engine "turns over"???? Certainly, they can affect how quickly it starts but that's it. And since when did batteries "unplug" from tractors??? So, let me get this cleaning sequence right. First you wipe the entire tractor down. Then you remove grass clippings. And then you spray it with a hose. Hmmmmmmm. I guess I have been doing it all wrong. And how many people are going to remove the mowing deck even once a season, let alone after each use??? And how much water volume and pressure does one need in order to get a three-blade deck to spin it's blades just from water hitting one of them?? Unbelievable!!!!!!!!

If you are like most of us, you have a beer budget. A new machine that is truly capable of doing all the things on your wish list will cost you ten to twenty grand. Deere only makes one garden tractor series and that's the X-700's. Go to Deere.com and look at the MRSP's for the BASIC models and then add on the cost for a loader, hitch and all the implements you desire. The top Sears tractor is over seven grand and the costs to fit it out will mount equally as fast. According to you, the property is ONE ACRE TOTAL in size. Subtract the foot print for the driveways and buildings plus any planted areas and you likely have a half acre of grass to cut. To use a garden tractor in your garden effectively, you need lots of open area on all four sides of the garden so that the tractor can leave the garden area on each pass and turn around on the lawn for the next pass. Most of the experienced gardeners cross-till the soil and some take it further by finishing on the bias. I think that your needs would be better served in the garden by way of a quality walk-behind, rear-tine tiller from Honda or BCS from the used market. After all, most people only conduct a full-till once or twice per growing season and then spot-till during the season for weed control and re-seeding of fast growing crops such as radishes, onions, lettuce etc. You already own a Mantis and those are perfect for spot-tilling. I think that your other needs would be well-served by way of a quality, used garden tractor that is simple for you to maintain. A Case 444 would fit that bill. As good as Deere and Simplicity tractors are, they are also a royal PITA to work on. Do some research by visiting the site below and learning more about what a Case can do for you. Here is a link that might be useful: link

There are some nice oil drain extenders made from copper and rubber hose. The unit screws into the existing oil drain hole and the hose has a copper fixture on the end that is easy to open/close. I installed one on my chipper and one on my leaf vaccumm (both briggs). They work great... The unit is left on the engine. There are some that are plain pipe, but are fixed... good luck! -gh