How to get the starter cord off the motor the silver free wheeling clutch won't come off

Sounds like the starter drive is jammed. Look for a large cog azt the back of the starter cord on the motor, manually push it in the opposite direction to the spin created when the cord is pulled.

must be an old briggs engine ? i'll bet

you need to remove the cover from the engine ,7-16th wrench there are three bolts , lift cover straight up from engine , turn cover over and using compressed air blow out grass and other dirt in there (cover ur eyes) back on engine there is a small silver cover just below center of flywheel (round thing) , using a lite grade oil spray liberally around the edges of cover , rotate four sided nut backwards a few times with hand , till you hear balls inside come free , reinstall cover , reinstall three bolts , start engine normally

Check cord, esp at entry point. Otherwise it may be switch, motor windings burnt out, broken wire, carbon brushes worn. Some appliances also have a thermal fuse, which is a silver tube shape.

It's called the clutch start switch. Yes, it could be bad or needs adjustment.

Push the clutch in and the switch closes contact, so power flows from the ignition switch start position to the clutch switch and on to the starter motor-well, actually to the starter solenoid on the starter motor. If you have a voltmeter or test light, you can test the clutch switch . A red and white wire to it and a red wire from the switch to the starter solenoid. When this wire gets to the solenoid, it is a black wire with red stripe. It should have voltage when key is held in start position and the clutch pedal is depressed.

Remove the back cover that covers the muffler area and 1,2,3 switch and disconnect the throttle cable. Now remove the 3 screws that hold the engine assembly, they are forward of the red cover (towards the weedeater end). Slide the entire engine assembly out. Now you will see a silver piece that looks like a flat funnel, this is part of the clutch assembly, use the same allen wrench to remove the screw in the center of the hole. You will see the clutch plates. Now remove the spark plug, fold a 1/4 diameter or smaller piece of nylon rope in half making a loop, feed this inside the spark plug hole stuffing it in, you can grab the clutch and turn in clockwise until you feel resistance. (this is the piston smashing against the rope, you may have to repeat the process until it does not spin). remove the clutch springs with needlenose pliers and slide the clutch plates out. Now take some channel lock pliers and grab the shaft and turn it clockwise. Once it breaks free you can unscrew it completely. (Keep in mind there are washers, along the way) Now you can slide the unit away from the red cover, but ensure you disconnect the red and black kill switch wires. There is a silver cover, that shields the rope reel, remove those screws to expose the reel. The replacement cord needs to be the same diameter. You will see where the knot and broken end is. The reel has a hole in it where you feed it from out to in, pull the rope through where you can tie an overhand knot, and push it back in, take your time and dont fray the rope. You will see a slot on the edge of the wheel, you can hook the rope inside this slot and use it to spin the wheel clockwise until it stops. Do not feed the rope around the reel! While maintaing the tension, feed the free end of the robe through the cover through the silver bushing, now feed the end through the handle and tie a knot. Slowly guide the rope out of the slot and let the spring tension feed the rope on the reel. Now put it all back together...

on my trimmer I took the motor off and there was a cable trans. with a silver-colored plate with 3 screws. I took them off and there was the starter cable and the spring (Caution it my pop out on you).