I have an old Montgomery Ward rototiller with a Briggs & Stratton motor that will start and run fine for a few minutes but then will screech and spit out the pull cord. It was working fine the last few weeks and just started this out of the blue. Any ideas on what is causing this and how to fix it?

Kirk J, September 2009

You need a new starter clutch. This is the device that has the square end that goes into the recoil assembly.

It unscrews from the crankshaft end. New cost - about £10.

phil_saunders(a)bigfoot.com

Phil Saunders, September 2009

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rod, September 2009

When you pull the recoil starter, two spring loaded dogs fly out of the central hub and engage with the drive dog bolted to the engine crankshaft. As the engine speed increases, the spring dogs retract into their housing out of the way. If you take the recoil housing off, you'll see that the dogs have lost their spring, more than likely.

John, September 2009