Okay, no plug will spark unless grounded to the engine. The starter 'hang-up' is just compression - yank it on through. I have a Ryobi too, and mine also is hard to start. The reason is fuel starvation for whatever cause. Try this - take the little shroud off the carb area which exposes the air intake - put a few drops of fuel mix in the intake, replace the shroud, engage the choke and it should start. This will get you going, but sooner or later you either have to get a new trimmer or fix that one by overhauling the fuel system. Personally, when they start this I throw them out and get another one (usually 10 years or more). They're not worth taking to a shop and the crummy little carburetors will drive you crazy. I'm convinced these things are made by devils from hell and are designed to fail. I suppose I'll have to go get an Echo and be done with it. I have an old Mantis tiller with an Echo engine and the thing has been reliable and easy-starting for many years.

Oooh ooh, good stuff randyj14, knew about bus. cards for chain saw gapping, like the b'day card idea, saves trying to handle two bus. cards. And the domed washer tip is good, though I did make note of it. Sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone, car probs. the last few weeks, and had to take the mower to show someone to know where to tap the flywheel to free it after taking off the starting nut on top that fits into the starter assembly. Once that was settled proceded with the dismantling. Will be placing an order with mfg supply in a couple of weeks and will include the points and condensor. Back to everyone then. Couple of questions, the points assembly, tried to put it back on, after removing it, the thing with the little spring, couldn't get it on, was trying to use a pointy screwdriver(just a point no blade, name excapes me) to lever on the spring, no luck, by the time I had finished the wire had detached from the cyl. thing it was soldered to. Any tips, won't be good to do the same thing with the new points? Also there looked to be a post that hit the points assembley, however when I rotated the blade(ign. wire removed from plug and tucked away safely:-)) and it did not push against the points arm/assembly. Should it have, what is up there? Thank you in advance for your advice.

Also if it has over head valves, check the adjustment. Valve adjustment should be done every year. BG

That might be true, on the vibration. This engine is 24 years old lol; it's still running strong when I can keep everything firmly connected. I HAVE had issues with the engine mount bolts coming loose and have to tighten them up regularly. Discovered when we inherited the tractor from hubby's grandma that the engine was being held to the frame with only three of four bolts, and those just regular bolts, not the OEM engine bolts, if it makes any difference. Got four OEM B&S engine bolts on eBay, and the lock washer that was supposed to go on one of them, but that one somehow came loose and fell out someplace. So back to a regular bolt in that hole. But I periodically tighten those bolts because they do seem to work loose; there is definitely some vibration going on but don't know if it's related to the PTO or not. No problems engaging or disengaging; no unusual vibration. So probably a good case for the carb bolts working loose; once they loosened (before I discovered the problem with them and the engine mount bolts) maybe they started wearing on the bolt hole threads??? Anyway, back to current problem. The bottom screw on the carb mount still can be tightened I think, but the muffler shield on top of the muffler directly below the carb is in the way making it REALLY difficult to access or pull the bolt; you can barely work a screwdriver in there to turn it and you have to bend the back edge of the shield down to do that. I think I need to use Locktite on both bolts though. I tried re-doing the Locktite on the top bolt and tightening the bottom one, and it held for all of about 5-10 minutes of running. After that I ended up bungee-cording the air cleaner to the engine to hold it against the engine block just to finish mowing, but by the time I was done both bolts were loose again. The carb mounts to the left side of the engine, btw. I can link you to a diagram if you like. (see below) I used the same tube of locktite I had from three years ago (still pretty liquid) but maybe it was no good? It was the removable type of Locktite and I am wondering if I should try something with a little more hold? Would JB Weld be better? I noticed it did grip the bolt in the hole better once it began to set but was afraid to tighten it down too much; just turned it till it felt like it was catching a bit and then let it set. Otherwise the bolt would just spin in the hole. I have gotten some more OEM bolts to try new ones but they are shorter than the bolt I used last; last time I just used an ordinary bolt that was a little longer than the original, and it did the trick, but this time I used the same longer bolt and it let go, after applying Locktite, tightening as best I could, and letting it cure 24 hrs before running. Should I replace the carb mount gasket again too? Seems to be ok but I haven't pulled it; I replaced it last go-around. The mower starts and runs just fine if I can just keep the darn carb on the engine! Here is the link showing the carb and air cleaner assembly for my B&S engine, no. 280707-0411-02. If you look at the carb bottom left, you can see the attachment point (intake??) you can also see the bracket I was referring to (no. 662 in the chart). Just a strip of metal that attaches to the little box with the choke linkage on it. Doesn't really support the carb-to-engine connection; the whole unit including aircleaner and bracket moves, I think. It's screwed down pretty tightly regardless. Carb and aircleaner assembly B & S 280707-0411-02 Thanks for any suggestions or advice!