i have a craftsman riding mower with a 12.5 horse techumseh that i have recently picked up, it needed a lot of work to get it to start and also cut the lawn. the newest problem seemes to be hard starting. someone told me that particular motor has a problem with a compression release? could that be the reason for slow cranking (it cranks fast without the plug in place). also, by chance i could problably use a manual to tear down this motor and carb any ideas would be greatly appreciated. btw it is an overhead valve motor. thanks in advance for any help

It can be a compression issue. It may just need the valves adjusted. You can find links to service manuals in the helpful links thread of this (4-cycle) section, I believe they are on page 2.

Best of luck...

i have been folowing the links for 30 min. got some good info and technical specs