Hello good evening everyone.. I am looking for some help concerning my 3 hp edger that has a problem starting.. I tried adding some gas in the plug hole and i noticed that there is no compreesion.. I removed the head and besides alot of soot the piston looked pretty good but one of the i guess you call valve rods was stuck.. I tried pushing it down but only moved when i softly hit it with a rubber mallet.. I am very interested in repairing this so please give me any suggestions that you have.. Thank you for any help it is really appreciated..

If it is stuck due to corrosion then you may have to remove the valve and clean it. If it's stuck because of old gas, then just spray some carburetor cleaner on it and tap on it a few times and it should be alright.

MAKE SURE the engine is at TDC on the compression or power stroke when you do this. If the cam shaft is holding the valve open when you tap it, you could cause damage to the cam shaft.

Thanks for the help but can you tell me what is TDC? And if i do have to remove it does it involve dismantling the entire engine? Thanks again

TDC=Top Dead Center this position is when the piston is at the very top of it's travel on the compression stroke. To remove the valve only the valve cover and cylinder head need to come off. On some engines the carburetor or muffler may have to be removed to take off the valve cover.

Thanks for the help

Thanks.I got it moving with the carb cleaner but its moving a little so I will let it sit a while to see if it could break up the soot. Thanks for your help