Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Starter/Solenoid, starter solenoid, yazoo mower

Question
I have a Yazoo mower with a M20S Kohler engine, Serial No. 2412408826.  The solenoid was clicking and I followed your steps from another question.  When I got down to the part where I attached the cables from the battery and touched to the starter post, it spun but did not engage to turn the engine.  Will that be my starter?  Also I did not remove the plugs before doing this? What type damage can this cause?  I then touched the solenoid and it does the same thing.  Is this my starter?

Answer
Jamie
Sounds like you may have a bad Bendix gear or the starter is weak and it will not push out the Bendix gear which engages the flywheel. I would check to see about replacing the gear,you would need the model # the spec # of the engine to find the correct one, as Kohler has a few of that type of engine and that would clarify it more direct.