Thanks Grumpy - talk about stating the bleeding obvious ! I got the complete B&S manuals on CD I bought when I needed to overhaul the engine on the ride on - never thought of using for the digger

Guess as I could get it started never considered a problem - better take some time out and 'sharpen the axe'
PS anyone know if you can still obtain the weight for the front - never had one but sure would help keeping it in the ground.