Recoil Spring

[duckhunter55]

Alright I am replacing the recoil spring on my 1978 25 johnny. My question is do i put the the spring on the underneath of the top of recoil starter or what? And how are you supposed to align the 2 holes on spring with the 2 pegs on housing? And lastly how do you reattach rope? I tried it once by wrapping it around by hand, but i think it should rewind itself somehow? Please help with this, i have been using emergency pull starter for a while now!

 

[F_R]

Re: Recoil Spring

First you get some protective goggles, gloves, and hard-cup. Then you look at the recoil pulley and see the little hole in it? Find a pin or nail or something that will fit through the hole, you will need it in a minute.

Have the rope and center spindle out of the pulley. Put the outer end of the spring over the pin in the housing. Now wind the spring into the housing like coiling up a garden hose. When it is all in there, smear some grease on it. Now for the tricky part--getting the inner end of the spring on it's pin. You can kind of form it so that it is somewhere near the pin and look through the spindle hole as you attempt to line it up. Or, after you've done as many as I have, just stick your hand or a screwdriver in there and do it. Mind you, this is the dangerous method and not recommended.

Once it is hooked up, lube and install the spindle and bolt. Now with the housing laying on the bench, wind the pulley up all the way, then back it off one complete turn (or more as required by next step). Stick that nail in the hole--that will keep it from unwinding. BE CAREFUL..if the pulley gets away from you and goes flying back, it will ruin your new spring!!!

Now you have plenty of time to thread the rope into the pulley and out the snout. Note that there is a pin in the pulley that the first turn of the rope goes behind. Install handle on the rope. Now, holding onto the rope, remove the nail and let the rope recoil slowly.

Breath a deep sigh of relief.

 

[JB]

Re: Recoil Spring

Real serious error in even starting that without the OEM Service Manual, DH.

Recoil starters are more likely to bite than any other part of an outboard, and they don't just defend themselves, they attack.

F R's instructions are very good, but don't have any pictures.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Recoil Spring

I've never read the manual in my life about recoiling the springs and have never had a problem. Just go REAL slow and wear goggles. I've also never put a pin in, I just hold it and wind it up. Maybe I'll try a pin next time

It's the older 3 pawl ones that befuddle me!

 

[PW2]

Re: Recoil Spring

I just replaced one on my 75 25hp Johnson.

They are indeed a pain. Once you get the spring wound inside the housing, try to form the loop at the other end of the spring to get as close as possible to where it is supposed to go without damaging it. There should be a small access hole where you can use a small tool to sort of guide it in place (I used a small drift punch) It'll take some patience, as you are doing this somewhat blind and there is some guesswork and trial and error involved (at least there was for me as a non-pro)

As far as replacing the rope, on my model you pre-wound the rope on the spool, then when you got the spring hooked up correctly, you turned the whole assembly 3 turns (according to my manual) then feed the end of the rope thru where it is supposed to feed thru, and then stop the rope from retracting. (They indicated tying a knot in the rope, but I just used a vice grip) Of course then reattach the handle, carefully allow the rope to rewind in place, and you're done!

What I don't understand is why the replacement springs don't come from the factory in a small enough circle to fit inside the housing in the first place, so you don't have to go thru the hassle of rewinding the spring. I've had to do two of them recently- One on the 25, and the other on a 9.9. It seems to me we could have avoided a significant amount of blasphemy and blue language had they been packaged in a small enough loop to fit where they are supposed to go!

Oh, well!

 

[duckhunter55]

Re: Recoil Spring

Alright got everything back together and everything works fine now. That recoil spring end is a real pain to attach to the peg, but finally i got it. Almost ruined spring by winding spring and assembly the wrong way,(little too much overthinking). Thanks for the help guys!

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Recoil Spring

Recoil starter is the work of the

, At least I ain't the only one that agrees that they are a pain. Any recoil is a pain to work on off of any machine lol.

FR you are right about the safety factor. Now you can over tighten them springs just like I have done in the past, then you'll half to start all over again.

 

[JB]

Re: Recoil Spring

I think Samo Ott is confusing blind luck with skill.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Recoil Spring

Hey! Well maybe...

And I did wind one the wrong way once... but it still worked fine

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Recoil Spring

Recoils that scared me were old skimobiles back in the early and mid 70's.

Longer,wider,thicker.

DHP

 

[F_R]

Re: Recoil Spring

Nothing compares to the old mantle clock that I tore apart when I was a little kid. That spring came flying out of there and just about turned me into chopped liver. Believe me, I have had a healthy respect for springs ever since.