Hopefully the auto choke opens a little after it first starts otherwise it will be blowing black smoke until the motor warms up a bit.
Mowers aren't worth enough to waste too much time on taking the carby studs out and installing them again.
I just use some small pliers to bend the choke lever to remove the linkage ,you move the carby out a little on the studs at the same time, then after you put the carby back on you bend the choke lever straight again.
