Re: 4 HP Evinrude 1974 Recoil rope question
If you want to disassemble the mechanism, one safe way is to (of course, take the rubber handle off the end of the cord & pull it back through the hole) before removing the winder from the motor, tie another small cord/string to the winder cord, and slowly allow the spring to unwind as far as possible. When you re-assemble, after cleaning, in order to tighten the spring: put it all together, put it on the motor, and then pull the cord all the way out (hold the arm down/forward so it won't engage the flywheel), jam the winder (maybe 2 small c-clamps around the outside) so it won't wind back up, and then wrap the cord you've pulled out back around in the track (thread it through the restrictions). (If you need to restrain the re-winding temporarily, without using a jamming method (c-clamps, etc), you can just put vice-grips (gently) on the cord so it will stop at the mechanism.) Wrap the cord back on a couple of more turns if needed. You should be able to tell how much to tighten it so that when you thread the cord through the front hole and attach the handle, it will have a good pull inward.
