I was using the Craftsman two-stroke weed whacker and put it down to change
the cutting string and when I picked it up to pull the starter cord, it
would only move about five inches.

So I took out the torx screws holding the cover over the pull string, and
the whole unit came out easily.

But still the cord doesn't unwind.

I even removed the center torx bolt inside, but I don't know how that thing
comes apart - and - if it did - I might have a spring-loaded tension to
worry about.

Can you tell me, since I have no experience with this, what the problem
typically is?

What did I do wrong?
What can I do to get the string to wind again?

Note: The piston seems to move fine as I can twist the crankshaft without
any problem.

Jeff The Drunk wrote:
On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 05:24:41 +0000, Bill Horn wrote:

I was using the Craftsman two-stroke weed whacker and put it down to
change the cutting string and when I picked it up to pull the starter
cord, it would only move about five inches.

So I took out the torx screws holding the cover over the pull string,
and the whole unit came out easily.

But still the cord doesn't unwind.

I even removed the center torx bolt inside, but I don't know how that
thing comes apart - and - if it did - I might have a spring-loaded
tension to worry about.

Can you tell me, since I have no experience with this, what the
problem typically is?

What did I do wrong?
What can I do to get the string to wind again?

Note: The piston seems to move fine as I can twist the crankshaft
without any problem.

Take it to a small motor repair shop and let them show you what's
wrong. Most of the time they don't charge much if any for things of
this nature.

Seconded. That spring comes unwound very easily, and can bounce up a few
feet in a fraction of a second and take out an eye. Gloves, goggles, and a
face shield are pretty much the minimum for dealing with it, and that's when
you know what's in there.

If you're really insistent, locate a diagram for that specific model, or pay
a few bucks and have a shop fix it for you.

Jon

On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:01:12 -0700, Jon Danniken wrote:

If you're really insistent, locate a diagram for that specific model, or pay
a few bucks and have a shop fix it for you.

I called Sears at 800-235-5878 who located the part for me in stock at a
local store. They have diagrams and prices for all the Sears Craftsman
parts at http://searspartsdirect.com so I could have ordered it through the
web also.

Interestingly, I took it apart and found what happened.

Apparently you pull the string and that rotates the single-piston
crankshaft directly; then, when the crankshaft spins on its own, two
counterweights fling out, disengaging the starter rope coil from spinning
at the same speed as the engine.

Something caused this disengaging mechanism to stop working, which melted
the plastic on the engaging mechanism, which froze the spring up when it
finally cooled.

End result: Extremely bad design in Craftsman gas weed whackers! I'll never
buy them again!