My Toro #20107 Recoil Starter Rope broke at the Pulley End. I took off metal Housing containing Pulley Assmly, Cut rope & re-threaded & knotted remaining 2" shorter rope thru Housing & onto Pulley, But CANNOT get Return Rope Tension on Starter Rope Pulley. Is There a speceial TRICK, or is SPRING broken, & can I buy entire housing and just bolt back on W/4 screws w/o Tricky alignment Problem??

Although it looks like you simply un-bolt the recoil starter you need remove the whole blower (flywheel) housing as there are nuts on the back side.

• Once the housing is off, remove the broken rope and prepare a length of rope to replace it base upon the old ropes length. Probably close to 6 feet.Don't forget to put the pull handle on the new rope.
• Tighten the recoil pulley in the direction it normally turns as you pull the rope out until it stops.
• Slowly back of up to one turn to align the hole in the pulley with the housing hole and hold it in that position while you insert the rope and try a sturdy knot.
• Slowly let recoil assembly pull the rope back in and test that it is working properly before re-installing the housing.
• Once you are satisfied that the recoil is working properly re-install the remaining covers.

Most recoil assemblies are easy to fix...but not in an obvious way. Remove the recoil asembly from the small engine housing/flywheel cover. Usually three bolts hold it on. 10mm on Honda's. Pull the remaining rope thru the exit hole if possible. Otherwise, fish remaining rope thru the hole by turning rope winding pulley as if pulling handle was still attached, lining up any remaining rope end and pushing thru the exit hole in outer recoil housing or backing it out the inside pulley. Continue to wind rope winding pulley in a counterclockwise ( facing pulley...not outer metal) untill it will not tighten any further. Remove any more old rope. Line up pulley hole and exit hole. Melt end of new rope into a tapered shape..if not supplied that way. the pulley can be held in place by inserting a screwdriver thru the both the pulley and the metal housing spokes. Thread the new rope thru the exit and pulley hole. Tie the rope end sticking thru and draw tight. Cut 6 feet of rope...if not using a presized pull. Release screwdriver from spokes and rope should draw up onto the pulley. Tie off opposite end of the rope to keep from losing that end into the exit hole. put the handle on the rope and tie a knot in the end to retain the handle. Untie the tie-off and allow the handle to fully retract. If handle does not fully retract you may shorten the rope so that it does...as long as you have plenty of pull lenght.

Most recoil assemblies are easy to fix...but not in an obvious way. Remove the recoil asembly from the small engine housing/flywheel cover. Usually three bolts hold it on. 10mm on Honda's. Pull the remaining rope thru the exit hole if possible. Otherwise, fish remaining rope thru the hole by turning rope winding pulley as if pulling handle was still attached, lining up any remaining rope end and pushing thru the exit hole in outer recoil housing or backing it out the inside pulley. Continue to wind rope winding pulley in a counterclockwise ( facing pulley...not outer metal) untill it will not tighten any further. Remove any more old rope. Line up pulley hole and exit hole. Melt end of new rope into a tapered shape..if not supplied that way. the pulley can be held in place by inserting a screwdriver thru the both the pulley and the metal housing spokes. Thread the new rope thru the exit and pulley hole. Tie the rope end sticking thru and draw tight. Cut 6 feet of rope...if not using a presized pull. Release screwdriver from spokes and rope should draw up onto the pulley. Tie off opposite end of the rope to keep from losing that end into the exit hole. put the handle on the rope and tie a knot in the end to retain the handle. Untie the tie-off and allow the handle to fully retract. If handle does not fully retract you may shorten the rope so that it does...as long as you have plenty of pull lenght

Installed improperly or the rope is not the proper size.
Most recoil assemblies are easy to fix...but not in an obvious way. Remove the recoil asembly from the small engine housing/flywheel cover. Usually three bolts hold it on. 10mm on Honda's. Pull the remaining rope thru the exit hole if possible. Otherwise, fish remaining rope thru the hole by turning rope winding pulley as if pulling handle was still attached, lining up any remaining rope end and pushing thru the exit hole in outer recoil housing or backing it out the inside pulley. Continue to wind rope winding pulley in a counterclockwise ( facing pulley...not outer metal) untill it will not tighten any further. Remove any more old rope. Line up pulley hole and exit hole. Melt end of new rope into a tapered shape..if not supplied that way. the pulley can be held in place by inserting a screwdriver thru the both the pulley and the metal housing spokes. Thread the new rope thru the exit and pulley hole. Tie the rope end sticking thru and draw tight. Cut 6 feet of rope...if not using a presized pull. Release screwdriver from spokes and rope should draw up onto the pulley. Tie off opposite end of the rope to keep from losing that end into the exit hole. put the handle on the rope and tie a knot in the end to retain the handle. Untie the tie-off and allow the handle to fully retract. If handle does not fully retract you may shorten the rope so that it does...as long as you have plenty of pull lenght.

I'm not sure if this is an attempted repair or whether this just "happened" but here is my repair procedure. Jammed could be worn or dirty rope or rope improperly sized for the machine...or crushed housing. A broken or slipped spring can seem jammed. Sometimes a spring can be re-bent on the inner most winding tab to catch on the housing.

Most recoil assemblies are easy to fix...but not in an obvious way. Remove the recoil asembly from the small engine housing/flywheel cover. Usually three bolts hold it on. 10mm on Honda's. Pull the remaining rope thru the exit hole if possible. Otherwise, fish remaining rope thru the hole by turning rope winding pulley as if pulling handle was still attached, lining up any remaining rope end and pushing thru the exit hole in outer recoil housing or backing it out the inside pulley. Continue to wind rope winding pulley in a counterclockwise ( facing pulley...not outer metal) untill it will not tighten any further. Remove any more old rope. Line up pulley hole and exit hole. Melt end of new rope into a tapered shape..if not supplied that way. the pulley can be held in place by inserting a screwdriver thru the both the pulley and the metal housing spokes. Thread the new rope thru the exit and pulley hole. Tie the rope end sticking thru and draw tight. Cut 6 feet of rope...if not using a presized pull. Release screwdriver from spokes and rope should draw up onto the pulley. Tie off opposite end of the rope to keep from losing that end into the exit hole. put the handle on the rope and tie a knot in the end to retain the handle. Untie the tie-off and allow the handle to fully retract. If handle does not fully retract you may shorten the rope so that it does...as long as you have plenty of pull lenght

Remove nuts mounting recoil assembly. Observe how rope is wound around pulley. Find end knot in pulley wheel. Cutoff end knot and remove old rope. Find end knot in handle, use needle nose pliers pull thru old rope. Rope is sold by the foot at mower repair shops. Replace rope as observed before removal. Cut to size after wrapping recoil assembly and attaching thru handle at proper length if at recoil assembly or on mower handle. Ensure good knot in hole of recoil assembly and handle.

Remove the recoil assembly from the machine, there are 3 machine screws.
Remove the old rope and get matching cord, make sure you get the correct diameter, usually 3/16 or 1/4 inch, and type, I believe it should be nylon braided. Do not cut the new cord.
Use a match to light the end of the cord and once it ignites, use an old rag to pull and form the end into a point.
Notice which way the pulley in the starter assembly rotates and hand spin it in that direction until it is fairly tight. Once it is tight, rotate it into a position such that you can push the pointed end of the cord from the outside into the hole in the housing of the starter and directly into the hole on the inner pulley. Tie a tight knot in the end of the rope inside the pulley.
Remove the clamp and let the rope get rewound on the pulley. Cut the cord, point this end and run it into the handle and knot it.

Gary

OK, this is a pretty simple fix, if you have 3 hands. What happened when the rope broke is that it allowed the recoil spring to unwind. You need to take the housing off again, put the rope back inside the housing. You then need to turn the big pulley that the rope wraps onto in the same direction as it would turn when you pull the rope. You probably need to turn it 6-8 times at least. Once you get this done, you need to hold the pulley secure and feed the rope thru the housing again, put the handle back on the rope. This last step is where the 3rd hand comes in very handy! This should get you back in business.

Easiest way is to remove the complete blower housing assembly, remove the old rope, then twist the rope pulley around and around until the spring is tight, ease it back until the hole in the pulley for the rope lines up with the hole in the recoil housing and stick a small screwdriver through the pulley and the housing to hold tension on the spring. Next, take your new rope and feed it first through the recoil housing, then through the hole in the pulley, tie a good solid knot right at the end of the rope and pull it back out until you feel it pulling on the pulley. Now holding tension on the rope, remove the screwdriver and let the spring tension slowly pull the rope back into the the pulley until it is full, pull it back out about a half turn on the pulley and tie a slip knot against the outside of the housing to hold it in place and reassemble everything. Hook the end of your rope through the rope guide on your handle if it has one, slip the handle on and tie a knot to hold it. Cut off the excess, pop out the slip knot and it will pull up tight and you are ready to go

if you have not replaced cord you will need to do this,when you fit the cord turn the pulley 4 or 5 times full circle the same way as if it was pulling cord,then feed cord through pulley and out of housing to fit handle when this is done you can let pulley recoil and you should have correct tension,hope this helps