No, this is not possible.... Lawn Mower issue

[Jerry.Tan]

I bought this new "Weed Eater" brand mower about 5 years ago. It's been fairly reliable, once I got rid of "safety crap", like the grass exhaust chute cover that caused it to plug up all the time, and the plastic flap on the rear that got under the blade when I would backup and kill the mower.

Anyhow, another annoyance is the long starting rope which went up on the handle and got stuck against objects regularly. Well, a month ago, that rope finally got stuck for the last time and ripped about 8 inches off, including the pull grip. So, I reattached the grip on the shorter rope, so the grip would be right by the engine (like they used to be). But I left about 6 inches of rope sticking out of the grip. Not long enough to get under the mower, but a little spare rope.

I cant believe that that extra rope got in between the bottom of the engine and the deck. Then it got wrapped around the crankshaft, and suxcked the whole rope under the deck where it was wound tightly around the shaft. Thus killing the engine and seizing everything.

I cant believe that rope got sucked into that 1/8" (at most) gap under the engine. And the grip got torn off. (Yes, I will now fill that gap with some caulk).

Anyhow, I took the whole top off the engine, the part with the rope and it's spring. Nothing is broke, except the grip, (and I have a spare one of them from a mower I junked).

However, this part I dont understand. The rope now hangs out of the mower top, at least 16" more than it used to. And when I pull the rope, it only comes out about 12", (not enough to start the engine). What stops the rope from going inside the top, is a ferrle (metal clip) on the rope. Somehow, it appears that ferrle moved down the rope, yet it's very tight on the rope. How it slipped is beyond me, and how to get it off, and move it on the rope, is even more of a mystery.

I'd probably replace the whole rope, but I remember trying to do that once before, and having the spring unwind and ending up with a huge mess, which I finally had to take to a mower repair shop.

Anyhow, I will somehow have to remove that ferrle, and put it at the right spot on the rope. But where is that spot? Can someone please tell me how far your rope pulls out of your mower (all the way out). I'm thinking it used to pull out about 28 to 30 inches, just a guess....

Thanks

[bob_villa]

[micky]

I'm very surprised too.

It's been a while since I worked on recoil starters, but I find it hard to believee the ferrule ?? moved.

I think there may be a problem with the rope, recoiil spring. That the rope got pulled out so far, all the way, with such force (could t hat make a difference?) and now it only rewinds 12 inches

You may need to take the top cover of the engine off, loosen whatever retains the recoil winding enough to wrap the rope around it all for another 3 feet or so. Try not to take the whole thing apart because iirc, there is a problem getting it back together, At least I thought there was the 2nd through 5th times I tried to do one of these. (The first time everything went fine.)

I sucessfully replaced a recoil spring once, with little or no trouble, but the next time it needed it, years later, I tried over and over and kept breaking off the tab at the end. Obviously I was doing it wrong but I didn't know how. I think someone gave me a better mower at that time so I never got around to fixing the first one, and alas never learned what I did wrong, or if the mower itself had a problem. .

[micky]

Yeah, I was doing it wrong. The mower has been sitting unused and rusting in a corner for 15 years now. It's a very tucked away corner or I might have thrown it away by now.

Small, townhouse lot, use electric now. Lots of bushes and trees so the cord is a nuisance, but it always starts.

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