Just fixed my 1980s Montgomery Ward's tiller this morning.

Nothing too major, halfway through tilling the garden it died (out of gas). So in trying to re-start it, the pull rope broke. So I took the front housing off of this old Montgomery Ward's tiller (late 70s/early 80s vintage) to replace the rope. Unfortunately, the front piece that actually holds the recoil starter is like riveted on (plenty of youtube videos showing how to fix this seem to have more take-apart assemblies than my old one does). Or else I just didn't pay enough attention to what I was doing in my rush to fix it and I could've made life easier for myself, haha.





So at any rate, I had to unbend the tabs and pull the disc out, and then the recoil spring came out with it. So fixing the rope was a 5 minute deal. However, the tedious part is that it took me at least 8 tries to get the recoil spring wrapped up tightly and back into the housing since it was so deep of a spot to get it back into and there didn't seem to be any sort of ring to hold it for putting it back together -- so it wound up being a 45 minute job by the time I was done.

(quoted from post at 20:12:15 04/06/13) It's been a many a year since I installed a pull rope on a Briggs but if I remember correctly you have to wind the spring up 7 rounds before installing the rope.

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Interesting. Did not know there was an amount of times for it. I got her wound at least around that point, if not a bit past, and she works good now. Good to know for future reference.

It's been a many a year since I installed a pull rope on a Briggs but if I remember correctly you have to wind the spring up 7 rounds before installing the rope.

I never take the spring out. Just wind it up with my fingers or a little help from a screwdriver and then hold it with a vise grip while I atrach rope, works good.

(quoted from post at 20:55:45 04/06/13) I never take the spring out. Just wind it up with my fingers or a little help from a screwdriver and then hold it with a vise grip while I atrach rope, works good.

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Unfortunately I've never done this before, otherwise I'd have tried leaving the mechanism alone and to feed a new rope in with it all in place. I needed about 4 hands to pull it off successfully the way I did it this morning. Though if I wind up ever having to do it again, I know better.

However in this one, the spring doesn't seem to have anything that "holds it", so to speak. It just clips to the case at one end, and the plastic piece that the pull rope goes around on the other. Nothing to "hold it in" or anything like that. The second you pull the plastic disc up out of the shroud, pop goes the spring!

Replace the rope without taking the spool out. Just wind the spool 5 turns, line up the hole and feed the rope thru.

I used to have a T-handle that fit the plastic spool. To install the spring, you hook one end in the plastic spool while the other end of the spring feeds out through the recoil body via the slot that the spring hooks to.Just turn the T-handle while the spring feeds itself through the slot,hook the end of the spring where it is arrowed on both sides in the housing. About a 2 minute job. You can have your rope wrapped around your spool and held in place with a small tab of masking tape also.

Done many many of them and have almost never had to bend the tabs. The trick to doing it is fishing the rope back into the hole and doing so with the spring as tight as it should be. I rerope many with 1/8 inch nylon rope which seems to hold up a very long time

(quoted from post at 21:27:46 04/06/13) I used to have a T-handle that fit the plastic spool. To install the spring, you hook one end in the plastic spool while the other end of the spring feeds out through the recoil body via the slot that the spring hooks to.Just turn the T-handle while the spring feeds itself through the slot,hook the end of the spring where it is arrowed on both sides in the housing. About a 2 minute job. You can have your rope wrapped around your spool and held in place with a small tab of masking tape also.

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(quoted from post at 22:10:02 04/06/13) Done many many of them and have almost never had to bend the tabs. The trick to doing it is fishing the rope back into the hole and doing so with the spring as tight as it should be. I rerope many with 1/8 inch nylon rope which seems to hold up a very long time

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(quoted from post at 21:00:52 04/06/13) Replace the rope without taking the spool out. Just wind the spool 5 turns, line up the hole and feed the rope thru.

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Well darn, I see exactly what you guys are saying. Dang, wish I had just posted on here this morning before trying to tear into this without checking first. Definitely could have done it without bending the tabs, and I see on the frame where you can feed the spring through for easy winding.

I will let you in on a secret tip. When you tie the not on those ropes, you need to shrink the not with a match or a propane torch or they will come undone. Just a little flame is all you need.

(quoted from post at 05:06:13 04/07/13) I will let you in on a secret tip. When you tie the not on those ropes, you need to shrink the not with a match or a propane torch or they will come undone. Just a little flame is all you need.

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Well, I did not do this... I imagine I am going to be disappointed one of the next times I go to use it. But seeing the broken pieces that came out of it, you can tell that it was done this way originally. Darn it.