I went to pull start my gas trimmer and ended up yanking the string or rope right out of the spring puller. No problem I thought and felt that all i had to do was take the housing apart and restring it. WRONG-its not that easy. I have it all taken apart but I cant get pully off. I dont even know how it is attached. If I can get this thing off then I can get to the spring pully. Can someone out there tell me what I need to do?

Adam, August 2008

piece of sh#t.....get rid of as soon as possible.....go buy anything but a troy built

Chuck, May 2011

There is a retaining ring that holds the pulley on. I have a 90degree pick to get under the ring and work it off little by little moving around the ring. You can see an exploded diagram at the address below. You have to enter your model number then click on the product, then click on engine parts. The retainer is number 26. If you get stuck you can email me here, tnsparts at qis dot net.
https://www.troybilt.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category2_10001_14102_1211102_1211102_1211102_-1

Steve, February 2011

this thing is a piece of crap...i shouldnt have to work for NASA to change the pull string! what happened to just using phillips head screws? took long enough to get the main screws off but how the ____ do you remove the metal preventing me get to the wheel to rewrap the string...ridiculous!

keith, July 2010

I just fixed a problem with my son-in-law's TB70SS. To get to the starter system you have to remove the clutch. The clutch drum is held to the drive shaft with a T20 screw just like the housing. When you turn it the engine will rotate so you have to stick a small screwdriver under the loosened housing to lock the flywheel while you loosen the screw. Now remove the clutch rotor assembly by using channel locks on the inter portion of the assembly (don't damage the outside portion). Remember where the washers go and you now have access to the starter mechanism. Mine was simple. Corrosion had caused the spring starter catch levers to stick. Hope yours are easy as well.

47Cessna, October 2009

Here we are a year after the original post. I have the same problem. Is there any way to get a step by step guide on how to fix this issue? I have searched several sites and it seems this is a prominent issue with this model from Troy-Bilt.

Paul Reeves, August 2009

hey buddy seems like the clutch assembly is in your way the problem is that the clutch is connected to the drive and it moves when turned counter clock wise someone told me i needed a piston stop in order to losen it what i intend to use is a vice grip to hold the shaft in place and maybe be able to loosen the clutch assembly if u find a better solution please post

p.s. got to troybilt.com to find a parts blowup look for the parts link i found it helpfull

lowes OPE sales, June 2009

ahhhhh! me too... this thing is ridiculous! well i took mine apart as much as i could thinking it would be easy( which it was far from as you know). i , after hours of tedious work, got the string restrung on the spool with the help of a coathanger and tweeers, but that didnt fix it. the string now wont retract when pulled! yours may be different but i think the coil that retracts the string in mine is broken also. im gonna keep trying to fix it. if you find a way let me know. my e mail is bwelc107@yahoo.com if you email me il do the same if i have any luck.

bryan, September 2008