How can I fix the pulley system on the Thomas and Friends Shipwreck rail set?

Thomas Shipwreck Rails Troubleshooting How to Fix it

That is what we call the draw string, there is a spring loaded pull that this string is. Wound around. The pulley has to be wound up and. Then the string fits in a. Little slot. Somme times the spring breaks in the pulley, the string fits in a slot by .a knot which sometimes breaks, sorry about the bad news, the string is fishing line and wears out as it gets old.

To start, you need a TA27 triangle driver bit to remove the handles. Then pull hard straight up on the top block with the face on it. It will separate from the tower. The rest is straight forward. I have some choice words for the person who designed this thing...

roller coaster mountain is one big piece with a small removable castle and removable flag. if you have all these, all you need is the various track. you can look up this set on trackmaster thomas wiki and it will give you a list of the pieces.

spare parts can be found on amazon, here: Amazon com Thomas the Tank Engine parts. I hope this was helpful. Cheers

sounds like the impeller on the underside of the starter mech is broken

For me the size 3/32" flat screwdriver did the unscrewing. I need to know where to reattach the string. Good luck Daddy ;)

Pardon the long winded answer. I have had a similar same issue on this trimmer TWICE in the first 3 months. What I found on my trimmer is that there is a spring buffer/assist built into the starter assy between the rope pulley and the plastic part that engages the cogs on the motor. The plastic part that engages the motor has a hole in it to retain one end of the spring and the other end of the spring fits in a slot in the rope pulley. The plastic part with the hole appears to be poorly designed and allows the spring assist spring to fall out of the hole and jam the entire assembly preventing the rope from returning. Pulling it apart allows the recoil spring to escape from under it's cover and prevents it from engaging. Yes, removing the spring can be a little exciting -- take your time and cover the housing opening with a towel before removng the spring to keep it from flying across the room. I rewound the spring by driving a nail into my workbench and using it to retain the center hole and wound the spring until it would fit inside the metal spring cover. There's a bump in the outer winding that fits in a hole in the spring cover and then it slides over a peg in the plastic housing. The cover will retain the spring as you put it back into the housing as long as you take your time. The circled inner end of the spring should show in the center hole and it engages the other part of the recoil assembly that engages the cogs on the motor. Check to see if the assist spring is engaged on both ends before tightening the 3 retainers. All-in-all a pretty poor design that has me looking for another trimmer and this one's going in the trash.

Sadly the solution is to either take it back or set the cheap thing on fire.

I had the exact same problem with mine and after taking it apart I found that a straight edge on the end of a spring through a plastic pulley assembly is what the good folks down at Home Lite consider enough to withstand the torque of pulling on the pull rope. What it does is widen the hole where the straight part of the spring goes through enough so there's give and since its PLASTIC the whole pulley assembly moves up just enough so it can slip out completely and jam the pulley so the string won't retract.

I wrote AND called them explaining the problem and the fact that I KNOW this has to be a problem because after looking at this pathetic trimmers construction I couldnt figure out how it wouldnt after only a few months use. After TWO DAYS they finally wrote me back and basically told me to either take it back to the store from where I purchased it (unless I took it apart, then the warranty was void) or buy a new (and equally DEFECTIVE) pulley assembly. Now, I have no problem repairing things myself, in fact I prefer it, but when their solution to fixing a DEFECTIVE product is to replace it with the exact same DEFECTIVE product well, that's where I draw the line. This is my first Home Lite purchase and my last after the rude response I got from them concerning a defective product THEY manufactured.

rotate the starter pulley by hand. You should feel the spring getting tight. Once the pulley is slightly tensioned, usually 5-10 turns, release the pulley and let is pull the string onto the pulley. You may have to add some tension to get all the rope to wind on the pulley.

sounds like to me it just didnt wind itself up properly but without inspecting the unit I can only make assumptions try that and see if she gets her spring back into her.