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irjowo99

Very old weedeater runs-- barely

irjowo99
10 years ago

At my rental landlord left a beat up old weedeater in basement. "Needie 500," manual for similar model 507 is online and copyright 1976.

Electric, it runs but at about 2 mph. I opened it up to see if any dirt or grass stuck but nothing big visible although everything is covered with grime.

Curious if there might be a simple repair or at this point just give up.

Thanks!

Comments (7)

  • loger_gw
    10 years ago

    New brusher maybe if the armature is not too bad. Pull the brushes and look for the experience of worn brushed and clean armature. If anything looks bad, Go For A New Trimmer!

  • rcmoser
    10 years ago

    Found elect. weedwacker in the early 80's in the trash pile, looked fairly new. So being the resourceful cheap@## that I was (and probably still are). I lifted it out of the trash heap. Plugged it in and it wouldn't turn at all. SO I took it elect motor apart and found a broken spring steel retainer looking dumahockey that was locking the motor from turning. Didn't look like it needed it so I removed it, assembled it, plugged it in and it spun up to normal RPM... 6 years later I sold it in garage sale for $40 bucks. So you never know till you investigate. Maybe just corroded up, something locking it up or as suggested brushes worn out..

  • irjowo99
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the encouragement-- even I have the skills to throw away random parts :-)

    Trying to get into motor but there appear to be a couple screws I need to remove and they won't budge. Put some 3 in 1 oil on them but didn't seem to do much.

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    10 years ago

    3 in 1 won't loosen bolts or screws. You need some penetrating oil like WD-40 or Kroll oil. Kroll oil is expensive but well worth it in my and my coworkers opinion. A really cheap way to loosen them is soaking them in Coke.

    I'm not sure about an electric weed eater, since I have never owned or worked on one. But a lot of things like drills and stuff have access screws on the sides of the motor. They would be about 1/2" in diameter on a drill, not sure on a weed eater.

    If and/or when you find the brushes. They may just be stuck and a good cleaning will suffice. If worn a local repair shop may be able to match them up, about $6 the last time I bought some.

    Another thought on getting the screws out, are they screwdriver type like Phillips or straight? If so Harbor Freight has an Impact Screwdriver for about $8 and you will find other uses for it in the future.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Impact

  • loger_gw
    10 years ago

    You are referring to the Hand Impact Screw Driver Tool. The Hand Impact is great due to the fuller hand grip for good torque or smacking with a hammer to shock the screws loose or tight. The new look is not the Old School All Steel Look (attached). LOL.

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    10 years ago

    Correct loger !!

    I have the old school all steel, about 40 years old but it still works great!

    I bought it when I was about 18 or 19 to work on motorcycles.

    The aluminum motorcycle motor blocks and steel bolts didn't seem to get along very well!

    I keep it in my work truck now, which is always home since I'm on call 24/7/365, I use it at least once a month at work or home.

    It is probably the most useful tool that I have ever bought. And I have about $5,000 worth of tools, at the price I paid way back then.

  • irjowo99
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I tried coke and some cheap seven dollar rust remover without success. I tried plugging in again and of course it worked fine, so just gonna put back together.

    Thanks, guys!