hard to pull recoil starter

[werty]

My 71' Ted Williams, 7 hp outboard recoil starter does not pull smoothly. It is "jerky", hard to pull and doesn't allow me to start the motor cause of this problem. The motor is in great shape and I have run it before when I first acquired it but now it has gotten worse on starting.
Any suggestions, thanks.

 

[F_R]

Re: hard to pull recoil starter

That would be hard to diagnose from a distance. So you are saying it is more than the normal jerky pull from the compression strokes, right? I guess you would have to remove the recoil starter and see if the flywheel turns freely between compression strokes. Warning, pull the spark plug wire off the plug first so you don't tear up your hand if it should fire. Better yet, remove the spark plug. Double warning---I don't know if yours has solid state ignition, but if it does, ground that removed plug wire so you don't destroy the ignition system.