I have a 22 inch craftsman mulcher lawn mower model 917.387240. the starting pull rope broke and now I cannot rewind the rope to get it to recoil after the pull. Is there a trick to this or is the recoil mechanism broken? Any help appreciated. Please send a reply to baybridgespirits@yahoo.com. Thanks a lot.

Paul R, May 2007

hi i had the same problem with an old briggs and stratton engine mower, the cord stayed out on trying to get it started and no amount of sweet talk would get it to go back in. great advice, which works, is to turn the mower on its side and manually turn the cutter blade which in turn winds the cord back in. i suppose if the engine is going, don't try this, but i assume that once the motor is going and the blade spinning, the cord should automatically be coiled back in.

sarah, April 2011