You actually don't even need to take the front hood or the plastic cover off. The starter retaining bolts that attach to the motor as plenty accessible. This job can be done in less than 5 minutes!
I'm going to replace mine in the next few days. Cub Cadet repair near me has them for like $200. I need to check around for something cheaper, but fear whatever I find might be sketchy.
Thanks for this! I’m a beginner mechanic and was stressing that is was going to be a complicated repair- turns out it’s not! 😂 I ended up finding a new starter on Amazon for about 60 bucks so we’ll see how it works!
I do not have money. And like most Americans, I've been forced to shop online for most things. And of course, most of it is Chinese. That's all due to corrupt politicians who've done away with manufacturing in the United States for the most part. I have no idea where it was made, but I ordered this starter from eBay last week. I'm in WV and it came from Ohio. 50 bucks. And that's in March of '24. Mower is four years old. So this cheap one doesn't have to last long to be as good as the original.