Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I have a Briggs and Sratton Vanguard 11 hp Merry leaf blower made by Mackissic. Specs are: Model #235432, Type #0540E1, Code #98062549. Great machine but one problem. First start of the day it starts up easy with 2 pulls of the rope. If I shut her off or she runs out of gas and restart right away it’s very difficult to pull the starter rope. I feel as if the motor is holding back and have a counter pull from the motor. When that happens I need to hold the blower down while I pull start otherwise the machine comes along. If I let it sit a bit its a lot less of a problem. I’m thinking the problem lies in the area of a wrong valve clearance. Can someone on the GREAT forum lead me in the right direction and tell me what the clearance should be at and how to set it.