Of all the "inexpensive" mowers produced by MTD, the above "HUSKEE" brand is, in my experience, the crappiest. I can't even list all the challenges I've sorted through with this mower since getting it last summer.
There are only two problems remaining. First, the thing won't go uphill in any gear other than first. I'm assuming that the lower drive belt has stretched, and I have a replacement on order.
The second problem is that this engine, a B&S twin, is showing the characteristic signs of a failed compression release. About half the time it won't start up without help. The flywheel spins to the point of maximum resistance and then stops. I can get past this by manually rotating the flywheel past the high compression, and it starts after that. This mower is not worth the time and expense of installing a new camshaft, so I'm wondering if anyone has ever had any luck overcoming this problem by putting in a new battery with a higher CCA number. My reasoning is that since I only need a little more force to overcome the resistance of the failed compression release, I might accomplish this end with more cranking amps.