I have a mountfield empress 16, it has a cracked deck but i've sorted it, i'm always fixing stuff and if given the advice could probably do this, the pull cord has broken and the height adjust for the deck won't budge, the control knob turns, but doesn't seem to adjust anything, i've managed to scalp a patch of my lawn, i just want to mow with it!!!
The height adjuster on plastic Empress models is a known weak point. There WAS a repair kit available - don't kow if you can still get it. What has hapenned is the plastic scew thread moulded into the adjuster knob hole has stripped. Most people put packing under the head of the adjuster to acheive a useable (non-adjustable) height.
The pull cord is anthother matter - the procedure varies slightly depending on what engine is fitted.
howtomendit.com for free repair help, information and advice.
Try fixfault.com to fix lawn mowers.