Old Briggs recoil spring issue

[JHZR2]

Went to do some mowing this evening, and my old Snapper 3.5 Max fired right up. Maybe two minutes in, I heard a shreaking sound. Horrible noise. I stopped the mower, tried to start it, and found that the recoil wasn’t working.

Pulled it apart and…

How does that happen?!?

Pulled the shroud, seemed ok, maybe the recoil unit jammed?

Spring was not working right. Not sure why. Wasted way more time than I care to admit tonight figuring out how to rewind a clock spring and set it up…

I put a little HPL on the oil pad hole in the ratchet start assembly. Didn’t lube up the ball bearings but they alll looked clean and fine.

So, what caused this, and how do I prevent it? Definitely wasted my evening…

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Could be some debris in there or the spring came undone. The bearing would probably make noise. Not sure what's so hard about winding the spring. It's simple and no tools required. Make sure the ends of the spring are hooked up into their notches, wind it up without the rope, you'll feel it when it's done. Hold it by hand or vise grips, feed the rope in, tie a knot and let it suck the rope in and wind itself. Tie the handle on where you want and you're done.

 

[JHZR2]

Could be some debris in there or the spring came undone. The bearing would probably make noise. Not sure what's so hard about winding the spring. It's simple and no tools required. Make sure the ends of the spring are hooked up into their notches, wind it up without the rope, you'll feel it when it's done. Hold it by hand or vise grips, feed the rope in, tie a knot and let it suck the rope in and wind itself. Tie the handle on where you want and you're done.

Yeah it wasn’t so hard once I figured that out. It wasn’t the end of the world to do, just a bit unwieldy.

I also pre-sprung it only four turns the first time, so had to do it again.

Should I have put some silicone or something on/under the spring, where the wheel contacts the shroud?

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

If the mower has been left out in the rain for an extended period of time water will seep in around the seal on the top of the clutch and gunk up the oil inside the clutch and possibly rust the end of the crankshaft inside the clutch. I would at a minimum remove the clutch and clean and reoil as best you can and make sure it spins freely off the mower. The little hole in the top just oils a felt pad under the hole and depends on seepage and prayer to get the oil to the rest of the insides. Best practice would be to just replace the clutch and scotchbrite the end of the crankshaft and reassemble with liberal oiling. Clutches are about $20 on Amazon.

 

[mk378]

Grease the end of the shaft where it runs in the bearing. Do not get grease on the ball bearings though as that may prevent them from dropping back to the center to re-engage the starter after the engine stops.

Also grease on the coil spring especially if the machine is kept outside.

 

[JHZR2]

If the mower has been left out in the rain for an extended period of time water will seep in around the seal on the top of the clutch and gunk up the oil inside the clutch and possibly rust the end of the crankshaft inside the clutch. I would at a minimum remove the clutch and clean and reoil as best you can and make sure it spins freely off the mower. The little hole in the top just oils a felt pad under the hole and depends on seepage and prayer to get the oil to the rest of the insides. Best practice would be to just replace the clutch and scotchbrite the end of the crankshaft and reassemble with liberal oiling. Clutches are about $20 on Amazon.

Clutch was very clean, not much of any fouling, rust, or dirt in there.

It was dry. I used a tiny bit of HPL to have a robust oil that won’t gunk up. I figured I’d redo it when I learned more.

I was curious if some grease or oil should be on the shaft… and how much oil went through that little hole when I flooded it.

 

[nwjones18]

I have that same mower!

I'd suspect that your clutch failed. Sometimes they will work fine then not and cause that screeching sound and the damage you have. Really the only thing that could have caused that IMO.

https://www.amazon.com/Oregon-43-404-Starter-Replacement-Stratton/dp/B0018U49UI

 

[JHZR2]

I have that same mower!

I'd suspect that your clutch failed. Sometimes they will work fine then not and cause that screeching sound and the damage you have. Really the only thing that could have caused that IMO.

https://www.amazon.com/Oregon-43-404-Starter-Replacement-Stratton/dp/B0018U49UI

I have a hard time grasping how the clutch failed. Balls were loose, everything spins nicely, all seems ok.

Not arguing, just scratching my head.

And how did the cord get wrapped around like that??!?

After I took it apart and put it back together, it started right up and I used it for 15 mins or so. All good it seems.

Perhaps the key is just to drop some oil on that little hole routinely?

 

[nwjones18]

I have a hard time grasping how the clutch failed. Balls were loose, everything spins nicely, all seems ok.

Not arguing, just scratching my head.

And how did the cord get wrapped around like that??!?

After I took it apart and put it back together, it started right up and I used it for 15 mins or so. All good it seems.

Perhaps the key is just to drop some oil on that little hole routinely?

I don't know how they fail, but they do... I've got a lot of old OPE and when one gets to where it takes a few pulls to 'catch' when trying to start or will squeal and shoot out the pull cord while running that's the only culprit. They momentarily engage while the motor is running and when they do they will twist up that spring and make a racket.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

1. Some part of the center post had a dry bearing moment and momentarily locked the center post to the crankshaft.

2. When the clutch rotated the reel without the rope being pulled on, it spit the rope out through the space between the reel and housing and then rewrapped the rope around reel stub in the opposite direction. When you ran out of rope, the clutch finally broke loose and that was the shriek you heard.

3. Any time you remove the shroud to clean the cooling fins you have an excellent opportunity to put a few drops of oil into that little hole. The main thing is to avoid letting water get in the clutch. I've had mowers run for years without adding oil, but leaving one outside over the winter will kill a clutch. Likewise, pressure washing that area is a no no.

4. You didn't ask but I would recommend leaving the clock spring clean and dry. The air currents around the inlet screen do pull dirt and dust through the spring area and if you put oil or grease in there you will find a huge mess if you ever have to go back in there. They seem to do fine running dry.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Gyro nailed it. If the starter drive dog doesn't turn freely, it will do exactly as OP described. Hopefully there's no rust between it and the crankshaft, but a few drops of oil in the hole will soak into the felt pad that's inside.

 

[JHZR2]

1. Some part of the center post had a dry bearing moment and momentarily locked the center post to the crankshaft.

2. When the clutch rotated the reel without the rope being pulled on, it spit the rope out through the space between the reel and housing and then rewrapped the rope around reel stub in the opposite direction. When you ran out of rope, the clutch finally broke loose and that was the shriek you heard.

3. Any time you remove the shroud to clean the cooling fins you have an excellent opportunity to put a few drops of oil into that little hole. The main thing is to avoid letting water get in the clutch. I've had mowers run for years without adding oil, but leaving one outside over the winter will kill a clutch. Likewise, pressure washing that area is a no no.

4. You didn't ask but I would recommend leaving the clock spring clean and dry. The air currents around the inlet screen do pull dirt and dust through the spring area and if you put oil or grease in there you will find a huge mess if you ever have to go back in there. They seem to do fine running dry.

Thank you! That makes sense. All of it.

I was wondering if it was smart to put some dry silicone or dry lube under the cover where the spring sits. Oil or grease didn’t make sense to me!