rope won't recoil back into the housing of my km55r Stihl trimmer

Jim Kasdorf, August 2010

sounds like the recoil spring in the housing is broken or displaced, or rope is jamming? It's a fun job that involves patience and can be very fiddly. If everything is working and the spring is ok but there is slack hanging out, you can wind the rope onto the wheel by pulling out slack in the usual way ie pulling the handle, and then holding the wheel and wrapping cord round it, some wheels have a cut out in the rim for this purpose

TreeSmith, November 2010

The spring may be snapped but if you can still feel it pulling a little then the cord has probably just wrapped itself badly round it's spool. This often happens when people just let go of the starter cord and it snaps back too quickly into the housing.

To sort the above problem out, just try pulling the cord all the way out (you may need to pull quite hard) and gently letting itself feed back in. If this doesn't work then remove the spool housing (it's usually held in place with 4 screws at the back) and you can visually inspect the mechanism.

Replacing springs is fiddly. Here's a hint for you. If the spring has come loose, fit the outside end first, then carefully wind each coil in making sure it all lays flat so it stays under control. when the last (inner) coil goes in, it won't need to be held in place any more and you can replace the spool.

javelin10, August 2010

You either need to re-tension the recoil spring or replace it and then re-tension.

pleasant, August 2010