Tumbleweed36

There is also a very good chance that the KEY in the magneto rotor got bent. They put a soft lead-like pin in there to keep from breaking the crankshaft when one hits something. What happens, is that this pin bends and can almost get chopped in half. The metal is very soft (like lead) and is meant to bend in this case. Then, when you start the mower, the thing being bent changes the timing of the ignition and you get the result you see. Have done a few of these through the years.

Here is what you do. Take off the top of the mower (motor housing) and then you may need a wheel puller (some do, some don't) to pull the Rotor Magneto off there. Go to a mower repair shop and get a new pin for less than a buck. Pull the old one out, put the new one in and seat the Magneto rotor back down. Put it back together and it should work. This DOES NOT mean that the shaft can't bend, it does in RARE cases. Let's just hope you didn't have one of those that bent.

Oh, this job takes about twenty minutes if you have the tools and a wheel puller might be necessary.

This sure sounds like what happened to you if it starts. Most likely, if the cranshaft is bent, it would not start. Oh, on second thought, don't run it that way, fix it first because with the timing being wrong, it is firing while not lined up with the timing.

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