Starter Recoil Assembly

[bthompson224]

Ok, finally got the 388 up and running. Had it idling in the yard, running some SeaFoam through it. I then noticed the starter rope slowly snaking out, right on top of the sprocket. Great. Prior to this sometimes the pull would not engage at all if you yanked it too quickly. If you pulled slow and felt it grab, then you could pull it hard with no issue. Looking at the exploded view there are a ton of parts. Any idea what components would contribute to the rope coming out and also would cause the pull start to not engage?

 

[Karttekk]

Pretty sure that has a sprag type setup or a one way only mechanism. Check the spring tension or rust on the shaft. Hopefully cleaning up the shaft where the pulley rides or rewinding the rope will help. They crud up after a while and need maintenance. You may need new spring but try taking it apart and cleaning things up. My 2 cycle leaf blower does that. Sometimes the rope will pull back in real slowly, I'll have to take the assembly off and de-crud it.

---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 AM ----------

This might be helpful. You have a Briggs engine, correct?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adnDwQGzcZo

 

[bthompson224]

Thanks. Recoil pulley is brittle and chipped, so I think while I have it apart I'll replace it and the rope. The spring looks fine, no rust or crud in there. Should I replace the spring ($7)as well while apart, or do they really wear out? Seems to be, well, pretty springy.

Would the clutch be the reason for the rope snaking out? Could it be sticking somehow? I'm thinking a clean and lube on the inside at this point. I'm less worried about the intermittent issue of not engaging, but the pull rope coming out is a BIG issue since it will wrap around the axle or tangle in the sprockets/chain.

 

[Karttekk]

Start cheap. Clean everything up and see what happens before you spend any money or any more money. The clutch shouldn't cause the rope to back out, sounds like a tension problem in the recoil start assembly. If the spring is "springy" like you said, it's probably okay.

 

[BigWes]

Check eBay, you can sometimes find overhaul kits for real cheap. As cheap as I am, and as much as I prefer to repair things as I am a mechanic and it's what I do, some things are better left just to be replaced. Case in point, worn out recoil start mechanisms. After you've fixed the same one half a dozen times and it finally sh!ts the bed anyway you'll understand. I've bent and cut springs and retied ropes to no end.

I do keep a few spare pull cords around, and some generic clone pull starters, they just bolt right on. For a Briggs you can get a kit with the spring the rope and the pulley. And I think you can buy a starter clutch too. I just haven't bought one in years. I can take it apart and clean it up and put it pack in service without issue.

 

[bthompson224]

Yeah, not sure of you can tell in the pic, but the inside of the housing is pretty pitted, balls are shot for sure.

 

[Karttekk]

That does look pretty tired. Your call. Try to refurbish what you have unless the time it will take to straighten it out won't be worth it. Call a few local mower shops & see if they have one laying around for $20.00.

 

[bthompson224]

I can get the pulley and rope for $10, spring for $7, and the clutch for $22. All are Briggs OEM, all include delivery.

 

[Karttekk]

Are new balls included with the clutch? Sorry for the dumb question, I've never purchased any parts for those. Check Craigslist for a mower with a blown engine, pull the starter off of it.

 

[bthompson224]

Yeah, it's the entire assembly. Nothing around here like that for sale cheap right now. And I don't want a broken kart lying around while I keep looking. The plan is have everything working then sell it. I never meant to keep this one.

 

[Hellion]

It’s not gonna be the balls or the locking interface (where the balls engage the pockets and make the whole thing turn) that’s really at fault.

It’s gonna be the crankshaft extension that fits inside the hole in the ratchet (the thing with the square profile). The crankshaft extension needs to be polished clean (steel wool and emery cloth, etc) and the inside of the ratchet knob as well. Dang, what are the proper names, anyone know?

If the whole thing hangs up and drags while the engines running, it’ll spit the guts and the rope out.

The ratchet itself is sintered metal so it’s porous and has a degree of lubricity on its own.
Use several drops of 30 weight motor oil squirted in the small hole on the end to keep everything in there copacetic.

You could salvage the balls by polishing them and cleaning the rust out of everything...
The whole recoil assembly is fun to put back together.

---------- Post added at 04:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 PM ----------

That video is on point...but only his description of the issue is good. His idea to put the spring in first and then the pulley is so difficult that it’ll probably have you pulling your hair out after a few tries.

I’ve got the factory instructions somewhere, plus they’re in the Briggs L head manual that’s out there in cyberspace and probably still in the site FAQ or links section.

 

[bthompson224]

The shaft is a little crusty and will get a wire wheel and a few drops of oil before putting it back together.

Yeah, really looking forward to putting the spring and pulley back in.

 

[bthompson224]

Ok, the recoil spring was an absolute *****, but it's on. I can tell you springy is relative, the new string was much, much stiffer and was probably most of the issue. I did find in a mower forum people talking about the clutch could be part of the rope snaking out on the flatheads. Solution was to replace the corroded clutch and recoil spring. I replaced the pulley as well because the old one was chipped and brittle with the chips being around the edge, which is how the rope got out and wrapped around the shaft.

 

[Hellion]

There's a right way to do it, that demystifies the whole process and I think it begins with putting in the pulley (minus the rope), then feeding the unwound spring through the slot in the blower housing and connecting it to the pulley.

Then you rotate the pulley to wind in the spring until you can lock the end of it into that same tab/slot on the blower housing. Then bend the metal tabs down to hold the pulley in.

Then you rotate the pulley slightly to line up the rope hole in the pulley to the hole in blower housing....blah blah blah.

I'll see if I can find the paper instructions that came with the B&S OEM spring. The springs can be reused and coiled up again if they're bent and tangled, which is part of the simplistic beauty of the whole thing.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

That video is on point...but only his description of the issue is good. His idea to put the spring in first and then the pulley is so difficult that it’ll probably have you pulling your hair out after a few tries.

I’ve got the factory instructions somewhere, plus they’re in the Briggs L head manual that’s out there in cyberspace and probably still in the site FAQ or links section.

I did the method exactly as the video, and it was actually not very hard. Didn't even know there was another way!
bthompson - I had a similar problem a while back where my starter assembly flew apart! I know what a durn pain in the butt it is to fix these Briggs starters!

 

[bthompson224]

The old spring actually was in good shape, but not a lot of the spring part left. I did a few practice runs on the install using it, that's how I noticed a significant difference in how much they old one didn't have. After reinstalling and trying it, it would not pull the rope all the way in, it was just shot.

I just coiled it around the pulley, leaving enough out the end to get it hooked into the housing, then dropped it in. Then I wound it up and ran the rope through the hole and tied it off. It was simple, but keeping it coiled while dropping it took a few tries since the housing end would pop out sometime. Nothing a little day drinking won't solve. I didn't think to try to coil it through the hole in the housing. Oh well, next time.

 

[Hellion]

Well, the one I tried to do using the method in the video wasn't a nice and roomy 5 HP engine blower, it was a 4 HP with the smaller pulley and smaller pulley recess. Plus it was after I sanded and painted the inside all nice and smooth. I was trying not to booger it up.

First time doing it too.