re: Briggs & Stratton mower will not start

Steps to fix 90% of small motor problems:

Pull plug and clean with bench grinder if you are a cheap arse; get a new one and gap it if not
Sandpaper clean magneto

Look at and smell oil
Change if necessary(rarely to be honest)

Pull carb and make sure everything is on the up and up by doing everything above
Make sure fuel is actually getting to the carb
Check linkages

Throw on a new air filter if old one is dirty

I like to clean every single thing as I go. For some reason, clean stuff runs better than dirty stuff(even cars)



Viola! If it isn't running then and you don't know why, either bring it to a shop or just get a new motor. Doing all of that is basically free, and after you do it a couple of times, you can do it on any motor in a hour

Not looking at a motor right now, so I probably forgot some things



Eta and probably the most important thing: Lay out carb parts in order that they come out. Take pictures of everything along the way. It can save you hours. Most stuff only has one place it can fit, but some can fit multiple spots. Notice how many threads the jets are sticking up. For ones that you can see threads, crank them down to the bottom and count revolutions. It was running before with the same settings, so you want it back after you are done

Eta#2: Use the correct size screwdrivers on carb parts and do not crank down on them. They will break