Duke, I have to resize too. Wife taught me to use paint function . Anyway , I recognize the picture immediately. It is the clutch. My ryobi had a similar clutch . The reason it spins freely is that's how it works. Inside is a shoe connected to the crank . As it spins above idle centrifugal force expands the shoe and it locks up with the "can" in the picture. The square cavity and the shaft are then driven .
The factory did not want me to remove my clutch. If you shine a light down the hole you may see a phillips screw head. On mine it was inaccessible . I finally destroyed the clutch getting it off. The Ryobi had died after 10 years and I had seen contact between the flywheel and coil so I wanted to examine the crank bearing. Never got there. By the time you price out just a few repair parts you are at $100+ and can buy another low end trimmer. I bought a Sears weed wacker which is fine for my homeowner use. I do not see any shavings. By the way why do you suspect the clutch?
The factory did not want me to remove my clutch. If you shine a light down the hole you may see a phillips screw head. On mine it was inaccessible . I finally destroyed the clutch getting it off. The Ryobi had died after 10 years and I had seen contact between the flywheel and coil so I wanted to examine the crank bearing. Never got there. By the time you price out just a few repair parts you are at $100+ and can buy another low end trimmer. I bought a Sears weed wacker which is fine for my homeowner use. I do not see any shavings. By the way why do you suspect the clutch?
