My son was using the leaf blower, and sucked some string into the intake. The string is now (apparently) wrapped around the motor. The screws come out easily, but the black plastic around the air outlet does not come off easily and prevents the unit from coming apart. How to I get the unit apart to be able to remove the string? The exact model is a Toro 550 TBX Rake-o-Vac model 51545.

puzzled DIY, July 2009

No tools required for the initial step other than for prying. The five sided housing with the air-flow adjustment twists off. From the bottom larger vent slot, I unsuccessfully attempted to loosen the two visible, but unreachable, screws with an Z shaped screwdriver. Then tried using a Z-shaped flat-blade to pry the pentagon shaped housing in a counter-clockwise direction. There is an obvious location to pry when looking from the bottom side with a decent light. It took a little persuasion the firs time.

Kirk MacLean, May 2011