How to Repair a Backyard Mower Pull Cord

Supersede a broken starter rope in a half hour.

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Introduction

Replace a broken starter rope on your lawnmower quickly and hands by following this simple footstep-by-step procedure.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • New pull rope

You tug one last time to go the lawnmower started, and suddenly the rope breaks and the terminate goes spinning into the hole. Don't blow a gasket. If y'all have even a tinge of mechanical aptitude, replacing a starter rope is pretty easy. If the spring breaks—a rare event, according to our repair expert—the fix is a lot harder, and we recommend you take the mower to a repair center.

Check out what to do if your lawn mower won't start.

Projection step-past-step (4)

Step 1

Remove the One-time Starter Rope

The showtime stride in repairing a pull cord is to remove the rewind assembly from the lawnmower. How you exercise this will vary depending on your lawnmower model, only it'south usually held on by three or more than screws.

Some mowers have a shroud covering the peak of the mower. On these, you lot'll accept to search for and remove the screws that concord the shroud in place. If your rewind unit is held on past rivets instead of screws, see "No Screws?" below.

  • After you remove the rewind unit, flip it over and look within to notice the knotted end of the broken rope.
  • Catch information technology with a pair of needle-olfactory organ pliers and pull it out. You'll thread the new replacement starter rope through this hole.

Remove

Stride 2

No Screws?

Sometimes, rivets concord the rewind unit to the metal shroud. To admission this kind of rewind unit of measurement, remove the bolts that agree the shroud to the engine. If the rivets are loose, drill them out and supersede them with bolts and locknuts.

Tips to Winterize Your Lawn Mower

Screws

Step three

Install a New Rope

Before you lot install the new rope, you accept to rewind the bound by twisting the rope caster in the same direction information technology goes when you pull on the rope. Y'all'll know when y'all're turning the caster in the right direction because it volition get harder to plough.

  • Go along turning the pulley until y'all experience resistance and it won't plough easily.
  • Then let it unwind almost half to ane revolution until the pigsty in the pulley lines up with the hole in the rewind housing.
  • Wedge a screwdriver against the pulley to keep the spring from unwinding while you thread the rope through the holes.
    • Pro Tip : With leather gloves on, cook the end of the rope with a lucifer. While the plastic is hot, give information technology a quick twist to create a pointed terminate so it's easier to thread in.
  • Push button the end of the rope through both holes and tie a knot.
  • Heat the knot a little scrap with a friction match and pull it tight to keep information technology from coming undone.
  • Remove the screwdriver while yous keep pressure level on the caster with your finger, and gradually allow the rope wind onto the cycle.
  • Y'all may accept some extra rope to cut off after everything's back together. Mount the rewind unit and reinstall any shrouding or other parts you had to remove.

Replace

Step 4

Tie a Knot

  • Put the handle on the rope and tie a knot. Position the knot so that there's a trivial tension on the rope when you lot release the handle.
  • If the rope on your lawn mower extends upwards the handle, make certain to place the rope handle in its final position before tensioning the rope slightly and tying the knot.
  • Allow the pulley wind the rope back into the rewind.
  • Reinstall the rewind unit and any other parts you've removed.

knot

Originally Published: June 04, 2022