My craftman ez fire is a pull to crank and now the line (rope) will not coil back into the housing area. Any way to fix this without breaking everything down?

take off any plastic covers, take off pull rope housing, take out old pull rope tie a knot at the end of new rope to be installed. wind rope housing counter clock ways to tighten the spring up. when it stops turning back of one turn. line up the hole on the plastic wheel with the hole on the side of housing and push new rope through. pull rope till the knot seats in the knot hole. put rope handle on and the covers. there are many videos that will show you how to do this on you tube. good luck.

You say Pull rope mechanism is ok, How do you know that? Ive's seen them get the rope a little off and gets caught being wedged into a small clearance. Is the rope wearing? I bet if you take it apart put a new nylon rope and some wd-40 in rubbing surfaces including the ratchet area it will be good as new. Crank bearing has to get really bad to effect pull. How is the spark?

Hi vanzedo, I will try to help you out. Because you don't specify the brand and model I will try to give you the Weed Eater brand that is manufactured by Poulan because it is the best known in my area and I hope it is well known in your area, but it is pretty well the same procedure for other brands.
To disassemble starter, detach starter housing from engine. Remove rope handle and allow rope to wind into starter. Unscrew pulley retainer or pulley retainer screw and remove rope pulley. Wear appropriate safety eye wear and gloves before detaching rewind spring from housing as spring may uncoil uncontrolled. Try to prevent spring from unwinding if possible, I use a flat piece of metal stiff enough not to bend, about 1" wide or less and try to put it between the spring and pulley, if I have the room to do it and prevent spring from uncoiling as it is quite a job to put it back in. (good luck with that one).
To assemble starter, lubricate center post of housing and spring side with light grease. Install rewind spring so coil windings are counterclockwise from outer end. Install proper size and length of rope. Assemble starter while passing rope through housing rope outlet and attach rope handle to rope. To place tension on starter rope, pull rope out of housing. Engage rope in notch on pulley and turn pulley counterclockwise to place tension on rewind spring. Hold pulley and disengage rope from pulley notch. Release pulley and allow rope to wind on pulley. Check starter operation. Rope handle should be held against housing by spring tension, but it must be possible to rotate pulley at least an additional 1/4 turn when rope is pulled out fully.
I hope this is helpful to you even if a little bit. Regards and good luck. Denis.

It's running!!!!!!!!!!!!Leave well enough alone. Or attach a longer rope if that makes you feel better!

O really, u have a easy task here. Remove that pull rope coil housing and get it on the bench. Don't take any thing apart from here, that coil spring inside is a whole different religion test. Cut the knot and remove the old rope if it already hasn't broke, but get the old rope in the trash. Mark the rope hole some how in the coil housing against the hole in the housing where the rope comes in from the outside to get a line back through it all. Use braided nylon the same size as the old rope. Twist the coil back up enough to take up all of the new rope and still have some tension, line up your marks and clamp with c-clamp or vise grips to hold your coil tension. Tie your new rope to the handle and thread the other end from the outside through the holes till u see the end of the rope in the knot hole in your coil. grab with some needle nose, pull r up through and tie your knot. Make sure with a tug she's going to hold and release the clamp. Your back in business pal.
Never give in to the repair shop buzzards. ballping

Hi

Please check the bellow link…

http://www.kichline.com/chuck/fixit/mowers/rope.html

Unscrew the coil housing for the rope using a socket set or screwdriver. Do not tip the mower over on its side when working on it because this can often cause oil and gas to leak out. Check out the coil wheel. Depending on where the rope broke, you might have some rope left on the coil wheel. You can feed the old rope back through its hole and retie the pull handle if you have enough rope to pull start the mower. Next, replace the housing and then screw it back in place. If you do not have enough rope, you will need to replace it with a new one. You can take a wrench and loosen the bolt that holds this in place. When you pull the wheel off, in most cases it will include the winding spring that coils the rope automatically.
Loosen the bolt that holds the coil pulley in place. When you take off the coil pulley, the coil spring will come off with it in most cases. Cut off the old rope using a knife. To remember which way the rope was coiled, make an arrow with a marker.Pull the new rope through the hole and tie a knot about the same size as the old rope because you do not want the new knot to catch on something when the coil pulley coils and uncoil. Wrap the new rope in the direction of the arrow you drew. Next, bolt the coil pulley back in place. To make sure it is working properly, unplug the spark plug- this allows you to pull on the rope to make sure it coils and uncoils correctly.
Pull the end of the rope through the hole in the housing. Tie the old pull handle to the end of the new rope. If the rope is too long, you might need to cut off the extra length and discard it. Place the house into its spot and screw or bolt it back on. Finally, put the spark plug wire back into place.

Let us know if you have something more to know else accept the suggestion.
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The recoil housing is held on by four screws around the housing on the corners, the pulley is held to the housing by one screw, all tension needs to relieved from the spring before removing the pulley. you can either cut the rope if you are replacing it, or you can pull some of the rope out, lining up the notch in the pulley with the outlet hole, catch the pulley and hold it from rewinding, and using the slack in the rope pull a section back in and up through the notch, the pulley can now unwind its tension without winding up the rope. Now remove the pulley, it should leave the spring in the housing. If the spring is very rusty it should be replaced, if you've sprung the spring out and have a mess, be prepared for a little fight, you can try hooking the outside of the spring in its tab in the housing and while forcibly holding that in place begin coiling the spring back in place, or try gathering the spring into a large coil and holding the coil with a pair of pliers begin shrinking the coil's diameter by winding it up from the center, last resort and the one I'd recommend if you're looking at a rusty spring, get a new one from an Echo dealer, it comes pre-wound and a nifty retaining clip, it simply slides into place in the housing, and as it goes into place the ring will pop loose. Now for the rope. Install the rope by putting the new piece in the spool and tying it off, thread the other end through the housing from the inside out, and put it into the handle and tie it off on that end, now place the spool into the housing being sure to engage the spring lightly, now install the screw so the spool doesn't come out, pull the slack rope up through the notch in the pulley and begin winding the pulley in the direction it turns when the rope is normally extended, after about 4 turns drop the rope out of the notch and let the pulley wind up the rope, if you have slack repeat a couple turns until there is no slack

how do you fix it when the pull rope breaks ? how do you take it a part to puted a new rope on ?

You have to remove the whole cover. Do not break rivets. Remove the rest of old rope, then wind pulley/spring the direction it would turn if the rope was being pulled. When it's wound tight, back off to align hole in cover and pulley. Insert end of about an 8' rope from the outside the cover through the pulley and tie a single knot/loop. Then let the rope be drawn in by the pulley/spring.

remove the starter housing, usually only 3 or 4 bolts or screws. on the inside should be a large white or black wheel, hold the outer case with one hand and rotate the wheel counter-clockwise with the other as many times as can without force. on the inside of the wheel should be a small hole, rotate the wheel to line it up with rope guide hole on the outer case/housing. use a nail or small screwdriver to help hold in place. feed the start rope through the 2 holes and tie a knot at the end, single or double depending on the size of the hole. if the end of the rope is frayed, use lighter to melt and twist to a point to make it easier to handle. when reassembling you may need to jiggle the handle for realignment. it works on an inner spring coil tensioner system, so if the cable has no tension when rotated or doesn't recoil back, the starter assembly will need to be replaced.