Starting rope will not go back in by itself -took it apart and respun the tension- could have left something out when putting it back together, but I dont have the maunal and scamatic for lower half

The recoil starter can usually be unbolted from the engine for service. If you can retrieve the end of the broken rope, and you know how long the new rope should be, you can tape or stitch the new rope to the end of the old rope, then pull on the knotted end of the old rope to pull it out of the starter and draw the new one in. If this won't work (the old rope may be too rotted to hold together, or the pull force to wind the rope around in the starter is too much), you'll have to take the starter apart. This is nasty because you have to get the spring properly engaged with the frame and the starter plate when you put it back together, and there may be an element of personal hazard if there is tension on the spring. You may want to have the starter plate on the bottom when you lift off the cover, hopefully this will prevent everything from spilling out before you get a chance to see how it goes together. Wear safety glasses and leather gloves. Wearing a padded jacket or heavy-duty shop apron may also be a good idea.

Check whether the handle on the new rope requires the rope to be fed through its opening in the starter, and be sure it goes it is wound in the same direction as the original rope. Also, you want just enough tension on the spring to hold the rope handle up against the starter without flopping around, but not so much that the spring winds up too tight before you get to the stop with the rope pulled all the way out.

You may wish to take the starter unit to a small engine shop and pay them to wind on a new rope. :)

These are the considerations I've observed when looking over recoil starters - someone may have more detailed information on your model.

Finally, evaluate the storage conditions for the generator. A good rope should last a long time; perhaps excessive humidity, chemical fumes or exposure to UV radiation rotted out the rope. Did you put oil in the cylinder per the long-term storage instructions (Page 14 of the manual)? If not, that could result in excessive pull force. You may be able to free up the generator by removing the spark plug, putting a small amount of lightweight oil, turning over the generator using the starter spline shaft (be careful not to damage the shaft with tools, and observe which direction it's supposed to rotate when the recoil starter lets go), Change the oil if you have to use something lighter than recommended to get sticky parts loosened.

Here's a link for the manual (Page 14 is actually page 17 in the PDF viewer):
http://www.championpowerequipment.com/media/4663/100216_manual-english_12-10-16.pdf

I assume that you are speaking of a pull start mechanism.
I can not imagine how to put a put pull starter back on "wound tight". Your pulling on the cord tightens a spring which pulls the cord back in. They go back together with the cord fully wound onto the spool.
Usually, I only take these apart to replace the cord. Wind the new cord onto the spool without handle. Reassemble, then pull out on the cord a little when attaching the handle to the cord. This is the only way to get tension onto the spring at the fully retracted position because the catch for the spring is on the machine and the spring itself is on the underside what you are assembling.
If you do not wish to shorten the cord or replace it, then remove the handle, assemble enough to catch the spring, wind one turn tighter then feed rope through hole and reattach handle. Easier said than done.
If your spring is broken, then you will be needing a new one.
:o)

There should be a hole in the pulley that holds the starter rope in the starter/recoil unit. If you have taken the machine apart to that point, yes, there is only one way to reassemble it.
You will have to wind the starter recoil without the rope installed on itabout 5-6 complete revolutions to "pre-load" tension on the spring-steel starter spring, then lock the pulley in place, insert the pull rope and tie it off so it can come back out and then release the pulley, letting it draw in the new starter cord. Make sure you have the handle installed so it will stop when it gets to the body of the engine cover.

The pop rivets are irrelevant. if you look in the center of the nylon retract pulley inside, you'll see the screw that holds it all together. Take that screw out, and the pawl system will come out(make sure you remember how they came apart), then you can pull your retractor out, take the old rope out, put the retractor back in, wind it up all the way, then you can run the new rope in and tie the knot. Then let it draw the new rope in, put everything back together, and if you let it draw it in and had rope left over, pull it out about 4 inches before you put the handle on. Don't let go of the rope at this point, or you'l have to take it apart again. After this, make sure everything's back together the right way, and put the cover back on.

hello usually on any pull start, you have to wind the spring inside,the cover, on my atv i put the rope on the pulley burn the end of the rope and make a point on the end of the rope. put the pulley back in the case, turn the pulley backwards untill you get a lot of tension on pulley and turn the case up wright where you can see hole where rope comes out, turn pulley untill you see end of rope through hole. fish rope out with a pair of tweezers or a pair of themostats

Take the 4 bolts/screws loose that hold the shaft onto the weed-eater body, You will see the clutch drum, you need a long T20 TORX driver to loosen the screw in the center of the drum shaft. The screw probably won't come all the way out, so just pull the drum off as you loosen it.

Next you will see 3 flat clutch discs.

You may need to remove the spark plug and stuff some starter rope in the combustion chamber to keep the shaft from turning.

Unscrew these one at a time with a pair of large slip joint pliers. Be careful not to bend them and note which way they face. They unscrew clockwise I believe.

Once you have these out of the way, continue taking apart the plastic housing to gain access to the starter rope assembly. There is a spring under the rope reel, so remove the screw holding the reel in place and carefully remove the rope reel and spring.

Replace the rope, put the reel back in place and make sure the sping egages the little tab. Then wind it a few turns until there is moderate tension on the spring.

Feed the rope through the body and tie it to the T-handle. Replace the hold down screw that keeps the rope reel in place.

Test the pull tension before reassembly. It should retract the rope fully without too much tension and should not be loose. Lubricate the rope reel where it rubs against the housing with some light grade oil or lithium grease.

If everything functions, put it back together in reverse order.

Remove the rope from the combustion chamber and make sure there is no debris in it. Install the spark plug. You should be ready to go.

You shouldn't have to remove it. Just wide the disk up again to get tension on the recoil spring (lots of tension... enough to pull the rope all the way back in). poke the rope back out the hole ( the hardest part of the job) and put the handle back on. You should be back in action

as you put the side with the recoil starter back on the saw, ensure the rewind pack isn't binding. before tightening the screws, pull the rope out a few inches and let it rewind. if it won't, something is binding. keep moving the side panel till it will rewind. I have done this before myself. get it all put back together and it won't work.....

Yes, it is possible that the spring needs to be pre-tensioned. its also possible that something was put together a little out of alignment, or some part is too tight and its too hard for the spring to wind in the chord. try to reassemble the chainsaw with a couple more turns on the spring and see if that helps.
paul

it looks like when you took this apart you did not alignt the lenses properly, there should be a locating groove or stub which these lenses should fit to... it looks like they are pressing against the stub but are not located properly, hence the distortion. try taking it apart again....when you put it back together again the fault may have gone.