Parts Question
I have a year old 223L trimmer, and I experienced the...
Parts Question posted June 1, 2016 by Duane Herr
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Question:
I have a year old 223L trimmer, and I experienced the "failure to retract starter cord" issue. What happens is that the balancing spring (not the retraction coil spring, the other one which serves no real purpose in my eyes) jumps up out of the pulley upon starting, then digs into the plastic pulley as it rotates (which it shouldn't). Now that the end of this spring is stuck on TOP of the pulley, rather than being seated down into its hole in the pulley, it forces the pawl wheel on the other side up tight against the bolt/washer and binds the whole gizmo up so it won't retract the cord.
After fighting this for a few days (disassembly, reassembly, prayer, attempted start, trim grass if lucky) I decided to fix it by using a strong 2-part epoxy to lock the wheel, balancing spring, and pulley all together into a single pulley to pawl wheel assembly, and that works great. Quick starts every time! I used the epoxy because I couldn't find a good place to run a bolt through to lock it all together that wouldn't interfere with the operation of the retraction coil spring underneath or the slot where the cord needs to wind up inside the pulley. Now I know that as soon as my glue job fails, the spring will bounce out, the starter cord will fail to retract, and profanity will ensue once again. I don't want to buy a new pulley (part 544038601) because that won't solve the inevitable issue...it only took a year to happen with a new one to begin with. I would LOVE to buy a big fat pulley with no spring like I basically made with the help of epoxy...something that would be a solid part but replace the current pulley (544038601), the balancing spring (544038801), and the pawl wheel (544038701). Is there any chance Husqvarna makes a part like this for those of us who suffer the consequences of this crappy design?
I see that there's a "standard starter" (part 503852804) which is a whole different housing/pulley/pawl/plate/handle/rope starter unit with no balancing spring, which is great and all, but since my machine came with the "spring assist starter", could I just bolt this starter on instead? Also, I hate to go spend $50-$60 on a starter for a whole trimmer that I bought new for $175, and only failed because of poor engineering. Help me out here, Husky!
P.S. I love everything else about this machine...it's a workhorse! (when it starts).
After fighting this for a few days (disassembly, reassembly, prayer, attempted start, trim grass if lucky) I decided to fix it by using a strong 2-part epoxy to lock the wheel, balancing spring, and pulley all together into a single pulley to pawl wheel assembly, and that works great. Quick starts every time! I used the epoxy because I couldn't find a good place to run a bolt through to lock it all together that wouldn't interfere with the operation of the retraction coil spring underneath or the slot where the cord needs to wind up inside the pulley. Now I know that as soon as my glue job fails, the spring will bounce out, the starter cord will fail to retract, and profanity will ensue once again. I don't want to buy a new pulley (part 544038601) because that won't solve the inevitable issue...it only took a year to happen with a new one to begin with. I would LOVE to buy a big fat pulley with no spring like I basically made with the help of epoxy...something that would be a solid part but replace the current pulley (544038601), the balancing spring (544038801), and the pawl wheel (544038701). Is there any chance Husqvarna makes a part like this for those of us who suffer the consequences of this crappy design?
I see that there's a "standard starter" (part 503852804) which is a whole different housing/pulley/pawl/plate/handle/rope starter unit with no balancing spring, which is great and all, but since my machine came with the "spring assist starter", could I just bolt this starter on instead? Also, I hate to go spend $50-$60 on a starter for a whole trimmer that I bought new for $175, and only failed because of poor engineering. Help me out here, Husky!
P.S. I love everything else about this machine...it's a workhorse! (when it starts).
