Are you here because you're having problems starting your lawn mower? Had a hard time pulling the cord, heard a weird sound, and now the cord is stuck and not going back?
Don't fret; we got you.
While taking your machine to a professional mechanic or repair shop is an excellent idea for any lawn mower issues, this one can be handled through a DIY. All you need are a few tools and several minutes.
First,
Before we get into it, we first need to confirm if you indeed need to repair or replace your recoil spring. It'd be devastating to go through the whole process for nothing.
To test if the recoil spring is working properly, you need to pull it back and forth with the cord. If it doesn't move back and forth, then the spring is damaged.
Cleaning and oiling the recoil mechanism may help solve the problem.
If it doesn't work, you can follow the following steps to fix the recoil mechanism.
First, remove the recoil housing cap. Then untie the rope. Next, replace parts if needed. Finally, re-tension the spring. After you do this, attach the cap again. Then coil the cord.
Use safety equipment such as gloves, apron, and protective eyewear. When working with springs, always protect your eye as they can suddenly unwind and hit your eyes. You can avoid this by keeping your thumb above the spring while pulling it out.
Be careful of the spring's sharp edges.
Be careful when flipping the parts. Make sure you don't drop them while doing so.
Also, watch any moving parts and handle them carefully.
And, finally, make sure that you don't touch hot parts. Let the engine cool completely.
The starter must be removed before you start. You need to loosen the bolts holding the recoil housing cap. Then, remove the bolts holding the recoil assembly. Finally, lift off the recoil housing cover to gain access to the recoil assembly.
To remove the rope, we first need to find the end. Then we should use a screwdriver to pry it loose. Next, we should grab it with a pair of pliers. Once we've got the end, we should secure it to the pulleys using a screwdriver. Finally, we should cut the knot and pull the rest of the rope away from the pulley to free it.
You must pull the rope out slowly and carefully. As you pull the rope out, you are put tension on the pulley. That may cause the pulley to slip. If it does, it could potentially cause an injury.
If you're having problems handling the spring due to its tension, use some vise grips.
Housing, springs, and pulleys are essential parts of any machine. You should replace them when they break down.
You may think the parts are hard to find, but if you search the user manual, you'll most probably find the part numbers online. If you know the part numbers, you'll be able to find many replacements, even online.
By this time, your screwdriver should still be securing the pulleys. Now, we have to remove that. Be careful and avoid recoiling.
Then, turn it a couple of times, usually around six times, to re-tension the spring or until it is at the end.
After that, let go of the pulleys carefully. The pulley's hole for the rope should line up with the starter housing opening. Once they are, hold it in place by inserting a screwdriver in the hole.
Secure the assembly by reattaching the pulley cap. The pulley might still spin, so don't let go of the pulley.
The new cord should be fed through the recoil rope hole in the pulley, then tied and tucked into the little pocket in the pulley.
Then, you should pull out the previously inserted screwdriver. Do this while holding the pole with your finger.
After that, let some of the rope recoil back. Leave around 18 inches.
Reinsert the screwdriver in again to hold it in place, then tie a temporary knot in the line. Remove the screwdriver.
Remove any rope that may still be in the starter handle, insert the new cord through it, and secure with an overhand knot.
Pull the knot into the opening on the top of the handle.
Remove the temporary knot, thread the line back up through an eyelet on the handle, and control the rope speed as the rope winds back into place. To do this, apply pressure on the spring using your thumbs while rotating it in place.
Pull the cord a few times to make sure the pulley is working properly. If the engine doesn't start, check if the pull cord is too loosely wound. If so, repeat the previous step and tighten the cord before trying again.
If the engine starts, put the housing cap back, re-assemble it and tighten all the screws. Grease the recoil spring before you replace the housing cap with plastic-safe grease.
Done!
A recoil spring can fail due to many reasons. The spring slides out of its place, losing tension. The starter pulley wears out, and the spring doesn't sit in the housing correctly.
Just squeeze the spring with your hands and loop it around carefully, making sure it is tight enough. It will be harder to handle it once it's tighter, so use some needle-nose pliers to help you.
Another way is to grab the recoil spring, insert into the groove, and then walk it around the inside of the recoil housing by circling. This method is a little tricky because it wants to pop out but gets easier as you get it going.
You can melt a hole in the upper part of the housing. Put the rope in there and tighten up the spring.
You need to hold the spring with your fingers while pulling on the loose end of it. This method works because the spring is compressed when it is pulled tight. Pulling on the loose end of the spring causes it to become shorter and tighter and thus easier to wind up.
Recoil spring is a key component of lawn mowers. If a recoil spring doesn't work properly, starting your lawn mower becomes difficult and may even be impossible.
Fortunately, a broken recoil spring can be easily fixed and replaced just by using a screwdriver and in only several minutes of time.
Now, you can even do it yourself and save some bucks!
Lawn mowers are very useful tools for homeowners who want to keep their grass neat. They come in various sizes and shapes, and some even include attachments such as edgers and trimmers.
That said, different lawn mowers work differently, so there's no one answer to the question, "can you start a lawn mower without the pull string." It will depend on the mower you have.
Although, there are some ways that you can start a lawn mower even when you have starter rope or pull string issues.
For us to be able to get around this issue, we first need to understand what we're dealing with.
So, we need to learn,
The pull string is wound around the recoil spring, which engages with the engine flywheel.
Once the pull string is pulled, the flywheel rotates, and that, in turn, will rotate the crankshaft and move the piston.
The flywheel has two magnets on its outer ring. These magnets build up magnetic energy as the flywheel spins. Once they do, they cause the spark plug to fire off a high voltage spark that ignites the fuel in the combustion chamber.
The combustion of fuel is what keeps the lawnmower engine running so you can use your lawn mower.
You may be in a situation where you can't have your lawn mower fixed or replaced, but the grass won't grow on your schedule.
But don't panic; there are things you can do as a temporary fix to start your lawn mower.
The first thing to do is to unscrew the recoil housing with a socket set or screwdriver to expose the pull string and the starter mechanism.
If you still have some lawnmower pull cord or string attached that you can pull wound around the recoil spring, then try that.
If the string is still long enough but not attached anymore, put the old rope back through its hole and retire to reattach it, then try pulling it.
It would be great if any of those work, but if the problem is that your string is frayed and is falling apart so much, or if it's too short that it can't rotate the wheel, we should look for another way to rotate the wheel.
From the previous topic, we learned that, basically, the pull cord starter work by setting off the flywheel, which in turn triggers the power of your mower.
So, we can bypass pulling the string if we have another way to initiate rotation on the flywheel.
To do this, we can use a hand drill.
Safety first - Place the lawn mower on a level surface. The mower needs to be stable for your and the machine's safety. Do not tip the mower over on its side while working on it, as that may cause oil and fuel leakage.
Access the recoil starter mechanism - We need to remove the recoil starter housing to access the engine flywheel. To do this, use a socket set or screwdriver to unscrew the recoil housing.
Remove the pulley system - The pulley system or recoil starter assembly is basically where the pull string is attached. When the pull string is broken, the whole pulley system loses its purpose. Remove any parts attached to the flywheel.
Access the flywheel - The pulley system is attached to the flywheel. Once you remove the pulley system, you should see the flywheel. Make sure that there is a bolt exposed in the flywheel. That's what we need to be able to start the lawnmower engine.
Rotate the flywheel - Again, the rotation of the flywheel is what triggers the start of the lawn mower engine. To rotate the flywheel, we need a hand drill and an appropriately sized socket. Place the socket on your hand drill and set it to clockwise rotation. Place the socket firmly in the exposed bolt and rotate.
By then, it should only take a few seconds for your lawnmower engine to start. Safely remove your hand drill.
That's it! You can now use your mower.
However, fixing or replacing your pull string is still the best thing to do. It could be frustrating if your lawn mower shuts off while you're far away from your hand drill, especially if your hand drill is not wireless. You'll have to push your mower back to your house to start it again.
So, here's
First, you need to remove the cover or the recoil housing.
Do not let the mower fall over on its side because this can cause oil and gas to spill out.
Check out the motor coil wheel. Depending on how the rope broke, you may have some rope left on it. You can reattach the pull handle by feeding the old rope back through the hole and tying it again.
If you don't have enough rope, you'll need to replace it with another one.
Take a wrench and loosen the nut that holds the coil housing in place. When you remove the wheel, you should be able to get the winding spring that coils up the rope.
Loosen the bolt holding the coil pulley in position. Remove the coil spring by cutting it off. Mark the correct direction by making an arrow pointing to the direction the rope was coiled.
Then, wrap the new rope around the coil pulley in the opposite direction of the arrow you marked.
Next, bolt the coil pulleys back into place.
Unplug the spark plug and test if the string coils and uncoils properly.
Pull the end of the string through the hole in the housing, tie the old pull handle to it. Cut some of the pull string if it's too long.
Then, place the housing back into its spot.
Finally, put the spark plug wire back into place and start your mower as normal.
Starting a lawn mower can be difficult work if something goes wrong with the pull string, but that doesn't make your lawnmower unusable.
That said, there are still things you can do to be able to use your mower. Even with a broken pull string, you can still use your mower for months.
You can either fix the problem by replacing the part or start it using another method.
To avoid the hassle, lawn mowers should be serviced regularly.
Lawn mowers are generally made to be easy to use and maintain.
As they say, "prevention is better than cure."