Can anyone suggest how I should proceed with my situation? As per my other thread re: 3 chewed up starters. I'd love to keep trying to start this thing but i can't if it continues to break starters. I WISH I had everyone else's problem where they can crank it but get no start. At least then I could go through a process of elimination and figure it out. I can't get anywhere when it keeps breaking starter teeth. So if you had to guess what would it be? Bad timing? Too much compression? 120psi btw. Could the wrong cdi cause bad enough timing to cause sudden engine reversal? It almost idled with the choke on untill I gave it throttle and then it immediately made a loud noise. It may have been a backfire but I'm not sure, it sounded more harsh than that. I then tried to crank again but the starter teeth were thrashed. Why would giving it some throttle to start it cause this? I just want this thing to crank normally so I can get on with the rest. All the gears, right from the starter teeth to the starter clutch appear fine but once I put the cover back on I can't see what's happening in there when it's cranking. Lynn if your reading this, could you please help. What would you do?