How to rewind the starter spring on this old edger? Maybe 50 years old

Well after trying to get creative and trying different ways to get the spring wound tight enough to fit AND get it to snag correctly in the cover, I got frustrated and figured I'd try and do it by hand again. After getting it wound tight enough to fit, I was able to fit enough slack through the slot in the cover and still have the diameter of the coiled spring small enough to get in its cavity. I made sure to have a pair of pliers handy to hold the middle of the pulley to keep it from undoing it's tension, but ended up letting it go at the wrong time so it let go and the pulley unhooked and fell off. But the spring stayed put in it's little cavity, so I was able to pull the middle coil out, hook it back on the pulley and wind it back up.

Then it promptly did it again after I'd run the string through! I'm taking a break, I'll do it again later. This time I know I can get it. Other than that, she could probably use another belt and an oil change. I just replaced the spark plug for what it's worth; someone had installed an incorrect one that was way too tall, making it impossible to kill the damn thing without unhooking the spark plug wire.

You need to put one end of the uncoiled spring into the opening toward the inside of the housing, and set it in the notch on the pulley. Then position the pulley into it's postion in the housing and then wind the spring in, until it pulls all of the way in, and the other end of the spring sets in the notch in the housing.

Then bend the tabs partly back down to hold the pulley in place, try not to bend the tabs too much or they will break off.

Now that you can set the thing down for a minute, get your rope ready, melt the ends with a lighter, and form a solid pointed tip, so it will easily go into the hole, and into the hole in the pulley.

Next, wind/turn the pulley as far as you can go, until the spring won't compress any more, then let it turn back until both holes are lined up, and insert your rope, until you can see and grab the rope when it appears in the pulley's opening, and grab it with some tweezers or pliers, and pull it through and knot it.

Then you just let the pulley rotate with the spring slowly and pull the rope in.

Before you put the starter back on, look at the starter clutch, it may need to be taken apart and cleaned. Just take off the cover and lift off the square center, and clean everything real good, a squirt of wd40 and a clean rag.

Just don't lose the ball bearings.

Fish said:

Before you put the starter back on, look at the starter clutch, it may need to be taken apart and cleaned. Just take off the cover and lift off the square center, and clean everything real good, a squirt of wd40 and a clean rag.

Just don't lose the ball bearings.

Click to expand...

At the end of one of the other linked videos, the Canadian guy recommends using ATF instead of motor oil or WD40. That stuff is so thin, I can't imagine it would hold up very well, especially here in hot-*** Texas.

The ball bearings are supposed to be installed dry. If there is oil on them they get sticky and not work correctly. The only place there should be any oil is three drops inside the square part on the internal sponge to lube the crankshaft extension that goes inside it.

I just spray something light and wipe it out with a clean cloth., and might buff/polish the shaft.