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I'm new to the board.

I have a 2 cycle Hedge Trimmer someone gave me.
It had a broaken spring on the pull cord re-wind.
I had an identical spring, in good condition, replaced it and re-wound it, etc.

But after a few pulls, it hangs in the extended position.

The cord itself is somewhat stiff, would that cause it not to rewind?

Thanks,

Gary

hey PawPaw50 welcome.that stiff rope may be your problem,I just put a new rope on this boat motor I'm working on and that solved the problem on it. russ

I agree with the previous poster. Just get a new rope and see how it works. You will realize it was such a simple thing to solve. All the best.

mois25 said:

I agree with the previous poster. Just get a new rope and see how it works. You will realize it was such a simple thing to solve. All the best.

Click to expand...

I'm going to follow this one with interest, I have a pair of Craftsman 32 cc gas powered blowers, they are about 15 years old and the pull cords don't retract well. I took them apart last year to clean everything and gave the recoil springs an addtional turn or two, thinking they needed more tension, but after a month I was having the same problem again...:confused2:

Papaw50 said:

I'm new to the board.

I have a 2 cycle Hedge Trimmer someone gave me.
It had a broaken spring on the pull cord re-wind.
I had an identical spring, in good condition, replaced it and re-wound it, etc.

But after a few pulls, it hangs in the extended position.

The cord itself is somewhat stiff, would that cause it not to rewind?

Thanks,

Gary

Click to expand...

I am trying to understand WHY the cord would be stiff, a new one would be the same way, if I am thinking right. On my equipment the older the cord gets, the more flexible it is.

Papaw50 said:

... it hangs in the extended position.

The cord itself is somewhat stiff, would that cause it not to rewind?

Thanks,

Gary

Click to expand...

Take a candle and drag the rope across it. The wax is going to be just enough lube to allow the cord to work good... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

Take a candle and drag the rope across it. The wax is going to be just enough lube to allow the cord to work good... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

Reminds of the trick I used on the double hung windows I used on the older part of the house, they were wood and vinyl Andersons, very hard to slide them up and down. Had read about the candle wax lube trick but instead I used a coating of Armor All on the vinyl sides of the inner frame, worked just great.

Candle wax didn't help, but it's good a tip I'll remember.

I thought ithe problem had something to do with compression.
I removed the spark plug and it retracted better for one or two pulls.

Then, even that became difficult, would'nt retract.

I took it back apart, down to the recoil spring, and found the shallow metal cup that the spring sets in was pretty dirty... ( I had oiled the spring earlier).

I cleaned all that out, and now I'm thinking dry is better, any thoughts on that?

Also, I'm interested in an easy way to rewind the spring inside it's metal cup.
Any tips on that will be greatly appreciated...

I can't rewind them by hand anymore (my hands are too weak)

Thanks,
Gary

Try something as simple as wd-40. does it recoil part way or just nothing at all?

I used an off brand light lube like WD-40 when I first re-built it.

That's why I'm wondering if dry is better, perhaps graphite?

It recoils when I give the flywheel a couple of prompts with a screwdriver.

Right now, I can't re-wind the spring inside it's shallow metal cup...

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Gary

If you loosen the screws that hold the rope rewind mechanism to the engine... does the rope rewind?

No, it still required a screwdriver assist.

I want to go with clean / dry, but I am now looking to this forum for tips on how to re-wind the spring. It came unwound, and I'm having difficulty getting it rewound inside its shallow cup, because my hands don't work so good anymore.

Thanks,
Gary

Gary...
Can you post a picture of this mechanism?
What engine make is it or what model ?? :smile:KennyV

Will do as soon as I can get my camera from work and take a pic.

I'll look at the model, etc., then as well.

Will post back

Thanks,
Gary

Forgot my camera...
I finally got the spring re-wound, by starting with the outer coil and working my way in.
Its all dry now, and I got the rope rewound as well.
Pulls good, multiple times, without spark plug.
But when spark plug is installed, it pulls 2-3 times, and hangs in the out position.

I don't see a flywheel keyway, so I don't suspect that.
It fires, but hasnt run for more than a couple of seconds.
Seems to have a kickback

I cleaned the carb, and the exhaust screen is clean

What else could I be missing?
From what I can see of the cylinder walls, they look clean.

I found a little melted plastic under the clutch, and cleaned that up

Its a Craftsman, Hedge Trimmer MN 358.769358, 25cc, mfg. in 2006, with 50 hours expected life hours.

Thanks,
Gary

We have a similar issue with the lawnmower we bought second hand. It worked well, but after so many pills it is extended and won't retract at all.

I found my model on the Craftsman parts website, and apparently it does have a flywheel key.

I will investigate further to see if the key is broken. That would explain the kickback, and perhaps that is the recoil issue as well.

Its a small flywheel, maybe 5" diameter...
Do I use a gearpuller, or is it screwed on?

I can't tell by looking.. I know... pictures, pictures, pictures..........
I'll post back when I can remember to bring my camera home from work.

Thanks,
Gary

How do I move this post to the Small Engine repair forum?

Thanks,
Gary

Model No. is 358.769356.
Now that the kickback seems to be the problem, any ideas on how I can get this flywheel off to check the key?

Thanks,
Gary

You shouldn't have to take the flywheel off. The spring loaded tabs on top are what engage with the spinner, and they look OK in your pic.

Sounds like the problem is the spring isn't tensioned enough. I've run into this a hundred times. You have to 'wind up' the plastic piece, with no rope installed (but the spring and everything else is). Then, when it's pretty (but not completely) tight, Hold it By wedging a screwdriver in the space between the white plastic and the metal retainer (that's not the proper way, but it'll get the job done) just enough to hold it once you've aligned the hole in the plastic spinner with the rope outlet.

Carefully feed the rope into the holes, and tie a knot (or screw in the wedge/lock in a bit, tough to see in the pic). Fish it around to its original position( screw in wedge/lock here), and then remove the screwdriver whilst holding the pull cord, and let it retract. If you have too much rope, you'll run out of spring tension before you run out of rope. Pull it out again till you have decent (but not too much) tension on the starter rope. Re-tie the knot on the handle end. Don't cut the handle end rope untill you know it retracts, and you have enough rope to pull out without hitting the stop.

It is a royal pain, believe me, but doable.

Do the dogs come out when you pull it to engage the flywheel?

jteuban said:

Do the dogs come out when you pull it to engage the flywheel?

Click to expand...

I believe they are always engaged until the engine starts, and centrifigal force sends them to neutral. That's why it 'clicks' when the rope retracts and the engine doesn't start..

Another thought:

Are you sure when you wound the spring, it's going the right way? I've put it in upside-down more than once......that's why I always put the spring in unwound, and wind it with the spinner!

After a Youtube search, I found that the holes in the top of the flywheel are basically self tapping.
I used my steering wheel gear puller, and the flywheel came right off.

The key was sheared, so I'm sure that was the original problem.
So, tomorrow, I'll get a 1/8" by 1/2" half moon key and put it back together.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for all of your input,
Gary

Turns out that the key was a molded part of the small flywheel.
I tried to give it a Chinese knurl (tapping it with a drill bit starter punch) but it didn't work.
So, I stripped it for parts, and threw the plastic away.

Better luck next time...

Thanks for all your replies.

Gary

Papaw50 said:

Turns out that the key was a molded part of the small flywheel.

Gary

Click to expand...

Thats a shame Gary...
too bad you couldn't use a broaching tool to cut a slot inside the flywheel and go back with a piece of square key stock...
sometimes after disassembly you end up with a collection of spare parts for the next job... :thumbsup:
:smile:KennyV

My pull cord on the lawn mower would not retract all the way back into the housing after starting. It got to where it took several minutes for it to retract by itself. I removed the housing and inspected everything and all looked fine. Tried oiling things.
Finally I removed the rope mechanism and also the spring underneath it. I disconnected the end of the spring that attached to the engine cover, wrapped the spring around itself one more full turn to increase the tension, put the end of the spring back in the engine cover and replaced everything back the way it was. It retracts well now. I think that after 35 years the retractor lost some of its spring. (After 35 years I have lost some of my spring.)
If you try this be very careful handling the rope retainer and the coiled spring. If it gets away from you there will be an awful mess! So be sure to keep it neatly wound up in a coil the whole time. Also I suggest wearing safety goggles just in case.