Briggs 14.5hp I/C Quiet Starter Ideas ?

i ran a 22 hp BRIGGS for 8 years then it started doing that... Rotate by hand for 4 years... then adjusted the VALVES as seen on You TUbe... has been OK for 4 years.

Steve beat me... ADJUST THE VALVES !! It's a 'well known' must do thing.....

I raise the front of the riders up, over night , to let the oil drain back into the sump,,,THEN remove the valve covers next morning (far less oil to deal with...) Have the 'proceedure' magnetted to the garage door for easy reference.

All the above suggestions are good, if it wasn't for a well-known problem with that particular engine.

The problem with that engine, is a poorly designed compression release mechanism located in the crankcase, that breaks, and then fails to operate.

If you do searching on the spec number and the compression release problem, you'll find it ad-nauseum.  You'll see that the replacement of starters, cables, solenoids, starter pinions is followed by valve and timing adjustments, with the end result being the same.

There are only two fixes, one is temporary, the other is permanent.

The temporary solution is to pull the engine, drain it, open up the case, get in there and remove the broken ACR assembly, replace it with a new one.  It wil return to normal operation and run well, until the same failure occurs again.  The factory has no 'improved version' to end this, as they consider this failure to be 'normal'.

The permanent solution is to pull the engine, drain it, and drop it in the recycle bin, and install a different spec engine from a different manufacturer, which is what my neighbor did after pulling apart the crankcase twice.

Is it a shame?  Yes- a terrible self-inflicted wound by B&S.  They deserve every bit of it.

Fortunately, this engine was sold primarily to MTD (neighbors had a "WHITE" brand label on it) with intention of being a 'big box' line.  In the long run, they are victims of their own insolence, and apparently not smart enough to figure it out.  The question is, will their customer base see it, and get wise?  Hard to say.  I'm certain the 'definite life perspective' shared by both the engine manufacturer and the machine's manufacturer, is that this is a 'definite life' product, and if they were to improve it, their regular sales numbers would fall. 

As a quality management type person, I would say that drawing the sales line curves based on definite life assures that the Company's operating culture has adopted the path of 'death spiral'.  This is what happens when bookkeepers and marketing departments get to make all the decisions.  Frankly, they're usually the last people to lose their jobs in situations like this, but once done, they have a really nice record to point to on their resume...  "my performance statistics were really good, until the company folded"

I can see being close to poverty by circumstance, even circumstances out of your control, but, necessity??  Maybe I misunderstand you.  

B&S have a PDF on how to adjust the valves, I have a copy 'somewhere' on this PC. Usually spend 10 minutes finding it, print it off, hang in garage...then lose THAT copy....

I know you need a Torx bit and a 10 or 12mm wrench.

Once you read how to do it , it's not that hard...wel after you find TDC and back off 90*....

I appreciate all the replies and activity and will implement them once I am able to once again stagger around --- right now, my head is swimming, my throat has a nagging raw spot, I am seeing horses, teeth chattering and shivering uncontrollably one minute and sweat pouring off me the next, and this is the longest I have managed to stay off the pot.