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drafted72

Tips on putting the Recoil Spring back on.

drafted72
13 years ago

Can anyone give me any tips on putting the recoil spring back on? When I had to replace a broke pull rope, the recoil spring came all undone. I never found the trick to putting these back together.

It a B&S 6.5 engine.

Thanks in advance.

Comments (7)

  • baymee
    13 years ago

    It's about the worst possible job you can have. I can only offer moral support.

  • tomplum
    13 years ago

    Yes, it isn't part of rope replacement .... Post a model/ type so we know what recoil you have. Most of the modern versions , you can give the man $15 for a pulley w/ a spring in it.

  • drafted72
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Model 12H802
    Type 1768-81
    Code 0002025

  • rustyj14
    13 years ago

    Take the housing, spring, pulley, and rope, to a lawn mower fixer, and they will reassemble it for you. Its too hard to explain it here! Believe me when i say that. Its not a job for the uninitiated, nor the faint of heart.

  • tomplum
    13 years ago

    498144 should be the pulley w/ spring. I used the 12H802-1763-B1 as best guess on the type # as i couldn't locate that catalog. (You can, of course, wind the spring up and insert it back into the pulley. Do it in such a way that the spring tightens as you envision pulling the rope out.)Clean up the housing, a touch of light, plastic safe lube on the stem and set the pulley on. Once again, envision the direction of rope pull and allow the end of the spring to hook (you will feel a slight tension). Assemble the rest of the starter center paying attention so the 2 dogs fit where they need to in the upper disc . making sure this is working freely, tighten the center screw securely. Next, prep your new, long enough rope by burning the ends and wiping them down w/ a fire resistant rag. That will take care of the fraying and creat a tad stiffer end to feed through the eyelets when it is time. BTW, if the metal eyelet was worn and cutting the rope either a) buy a new starter or b) rotate the eye 90 degrees carefully w/ a pair of small vicegrips. Next you wind the pulley in the direction that the rope would pull to the point that it is neary tight- not forcing it. Ley the pulley recoil slightly and align the hole for the rope and the metal eyelet. Dropping a scredriver between the top fins and the pulley spokes will free your hand up the feed the rope through the two holes. Tie a single knot for in the pulley and pull the knot tight to the pulley. Either install your grip now or do a temporary knot up further on the rope and while you keep tension on the rope, remove the screwdriver and feed the rope back in.
    Or see the above post from Rusty... Good luck!

  • drafted72
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks for the help.

    For the RecordÂ

    It took about 20 minutes to repair my recoil spring. Here are some of my tips that I learned

    1) You-Tube has several videos on how to repair your recoil spring. Although, you may not be able to find your exact model, they do offer excellent information.

    2) B&S springs tighten in a counter clockwise fashion.

    3) I cut a piece of wood about ¾" wide by ¼" thick and about 12 inches long to use as a handle to tighten the spring. I laid the spring on the floor, place the wooden handle in the center and looped the inside hook of the spring around the wooden handle. I then started tightening the recoil spring flat on the floor using my feet as a guide to keep the spring flat as I was sitting in a chair. Once I fully tightened the recoil spring with the wooden handle it was easy to pick up and place it back into the housing and hook the outside end to the housing.

    4) I used a piece of tie wire about 6" long to get the string back into the housing. Once the spring was back in the recoil housing I twisted the recoil string housing all the way out and then aligned the string holes. I then jammed the end of the tie wire into the end of the rope and keeping the rope tight on the tie wire I guided the tie wire and rope through the holds and tied a knot at the end of the rope.

    Put it back on the mower and it works fine.

  • rustyj14
    13 years ago

    Congratulations! Glad you had the fortitude to try it. First one i did scared me a bit, but i soon got it fixed. My old manual had pictures and instructions in it, and that helped a lot. RJ