My cord to the recoil starter on my snowblower broke at the base. I have unbolted the starter from the engine and brought it inside. It is looking like I have to take apart the unit just to push the cord into its slot as there is very little finger room to work with.

The starter is on an 11 year old tecumseh snow king hmsk80 engine for Ariens 824e snowblower.

What seemed like an easy job at first now looks difficult. Does anyone have insight on this?

Thanks,
Kevin

I have the same problem with my chain saw. I'll be wacthing your post for a little self help to. Sory but good luck. I took mine apart and fought with it on and off for 3 hours. There is a flat piece of metal that pulls the coil back in. if that works well then do what you can not to take it apart because it is a &%&$ to get it back in, AND SHARP!!

Lucky for me I have an electric starter but mostly I get by with the recoil one. I get the feeling that tecumseh did not want to make it easy for us when replacing the one common thing that can can go wrong, which is the cord.

It's a royal pain and has the potential to be frustrating and cause eye injuries if not wearing eye protection.

Just drop the starter off at a lawnmower shop and pick it up the next day. It will be the best $20 you ever spent.

Sounds like good advice. Thanks, Kevin

I think I will do the same. Thanks!

Wayne:

Package it it a zipper plastic bag or bags. One with the larger parts and one with the smaller parts. Put name and phone number in the bag.

I took the starter unit to my local outdoor power store and watched in astonishment how he replaced the cord without taking anything apart. The man said he had done this 100s of times and it took him 10 minutes to do mine.

First he wound the starter wheel counter clockwise putting tension on the springs and locked it in place by wedging a small bolt between a wheel spoke and outer starter housing. Then took the new cord and cauterized the end to remove the fray so it could be snaked into place. Using a small awl, he expanded the 2 holes left by the staple, which had previously held the old cord in place. The awl was also used to pull the new cord through. He then tied a knot and flanged the cord tip to improve the knot's intgerity. The flange is created by cauterizing the cord tip and pressing it against a flat surface. Another knot was tied about 10 inches further up the cord to prevent the entire cord from accidentally being recoiled and lost in the starter's wheel.

Next, he attached the handle to the other end of the cord also flanging the tip past the knot.

Finally, he undid the safety knot and removed the temporary wedge. The cord recoiled. He tested the recoiling action a few times and handed it back free of charge. Note, I had previously paid for a new cord the week before.

I reinstalled the starter just in time for the upcoming 2 snow storms. It worked like a champ!

This works very well. I found if you drill a 5/16 hole on the outer rim of the housing where the rope winds. Align the clamp point (where the rope gets held with the staple) with the location of the hole you drilled. Wind the ratchet 3 turns counter clockwise, holding it in place with a small bolt, nail or screw. You can feed the rope as you would normally, pull the rope out of the hole you drilled and loop it right back in the hole straight into the clamp hole. Pin the rope with the stape and pull the rope back into the hole you drilled. Done. Takes 3 minites to drill the hole and 30 seconds to feed and fasten the rope.

Alloverlajolla solution worked. When the tension was on the spring and the wheel locked, I unwound the inner wheel until I could see the end of the cord. Then a piece of cardboard placed between the inner and outer wheel helped to guide the end of the cord to the hole. The cord has to have some stiffness, or you could put superglue or nail polish on the end to provide it.

Thank you all overlajolla. This helped out a ton.

Line up the hole on the inner wheel with the outer housing, use a thin wire I used a plant tie) a thin picture wire may work as well. Insert the wire from the inner wheel and pull from the outside, wrap the plant tie about 3 inches on to the pull rope and pull back through (you will want to melt the rope so it is not flailed) then just rewind the rope.
I did not tighten the spring by rewinding so I had about 12 inches of extra rope but it worked just the same.
Took about 2 minutes and done.
Good Luck