Z422 Zero Turn Starter Woes

[Tennspread]

Mower is under warranty and at 67 hours the starter went out. They replaced it and not 3 hours in, the starter is making a whining noise again when it turns over. I try again and it starts normally. This is the same pattern the previous starter took before finally grinding to a halt. What could be causing these repeated issues?

 

[Brad M]

When the starter whines, you didn’t mention if it was turning or not? Two possibilities come to my mind, are the teeth on the starter gear meshing good with the teeth on the flywheel? Is there fuel leaking into the cylinder causing it to hydrolock?