JD Z425 cold start problem

[Dmitry]

I'm using my John Deer z 425 zero turn for hauling the wood so it is qualified to be in this thread .
It has 100 hours . Bought it with 60 hr as return from Lowes. It was serviced by some local shop before I got it from them. I don't know what they did. I've used it for a year with no problems. Now it's getting harder and harder to make it start from cold. I have to crank it like five-seven times or so. Never had this problem before. Starts with no problem if it's hot.
Any suggestions?

 

[greg13]

I'm using my John Deer z 425 zero turn for hauling the wood so it is qualified to be in this thread .
It has 100 hours . Bought it with 60 hr as return from Lowes. It was serviced by some local shop before I got it from them. I don't know what they did. I've used it for a year with no problems. Now it's getting harder and harder to make it start from cold. I have to crank it like five-seven times or so. Never had this problem before. Starts with no problem if it's hot.
Any suggestions?

Start with the easy stuff first, Is the choke closing all of the way?

 

[Dmitry]

Seems like it. When it starts the sound is characteristic for choked engine. How do I check if it is?

 

[Jags]

For starters - you can just look at the choke cable and linkage to make sure it is dogging over the full 90 degrees. The other way is to pull the air cleaner and visually check to see if the choke plate is closing to the full choke position.

 

[Tom123]

Hi: if it is an overhead valve engine the valve clearances may need to be adjusted. There are videos on YouTube showing how to do it.