Rear Discharge Guard spring retainer broke... help?

[chgowiz]

Model # HRN216 Type VKA - Serial # MANA 106####

Love the mower, but have one annoying issue that is getting worse. One of the retainers for the spring that holds the rear discharge guard broke. I tried a quick-fix of using a sheet metal screw that would fit inside the spring "clip" and grip into the plastic underneath. Well, that's managed to work its way out finally and there's no plastic left.

It looks like that retainer is part of a much larger part of the mower. I can't be the first person that's run into this issue... how've you fixed it?

Left pic is my broken and "not fixed" retainer/spring. Right pic is retainer still in place.

 

[Born2Mow]

From your photos it looks much more like the doubled over end of the spring broke off. The landing (besides having a screw in it) looks just fine.

 

[chgowiz]

From your photos it looks much more like the doubled over end of the spring broke off. The landing (besides having a screw in it) looks just fine.

I know it's hard to see, but the doubled over spring is there. The screw is held in place in the center of the U loop that it makes. It's the retaining plastic bit inside that broke off. You can see in the right hand picture where the spring is retained.

I'm surprised I'm the only one who's had this happen?

And it looks like I'd have to nearly disassemble the rear of the machine to remove the plastic piece and put a $45 replacement in... ugh!

 

[bertsmobile1]

I don't get it
The spring is held in by it's own tension
If the spring is not holding the flap closed then it was installed wrong without being preloaded
Slip the rod out far enough to get to the end of the spring. wind it around one turn then slide the rod back through.
Easy to say, not quite so easy to do

 

[chgowiz]

I don't get it
The spring is held in by it's own tension
If the spring is not holding the flap closed then it was installed wrong without being preloaded
Slip the rod out far enough to get to the end of the spring. wind it around one turn then slide the rod back through.
Easy to say, not quite so easy to do

I think it was installed right. What happens is that when I raise the rear discharge guard, it doesn't stay down. It lifts now. The right one doesn't. It looks like a bit of that clip holding it in place broke off.

Sure, I'll give re-winding it a try. Maybe when it first popped loose, it unwound? We'll see.