Old Jiffy model 30 recoil problem

[jigeye]

I have a 25+ year old Jiffy that still runs great but when the temp gets around 0 or below the recoil gets so stiff the rope won't recoil back in. I'm wondering if I should just replace the whole thing or can I fix it. Looks like I'll have to grind off the rivets to take it off the housing.

Thanks,

Jigeye

[Phred52]

jigeye, If you can pull the top cover off the motor, just put another wrap of the rope around the recoil pulley. That will be sufficient to recoil what you pull out. WARNING!! Be cautious...the pulley is under spring tension and those springs have a NASTY habit of jumping out and biting!! Hold the pulley in the housing, pull some of the rope out of the guide and (you'll need a small hook) pull a loop of rope back into the housing. That's the rope to wrap around the pulley. I hope that was explained clear enough. It takes longer to explain the task than to do it!! Phred52

[jigeye]

So this will just put more pull force back on the rope? I'll have to wait til I get it apart to know if I'm following you or not. Thanks.

[Phred52]

That's all it should do. At that age, the pull rope must've been replaced a couple times, by now and in the process may have not been properly 'tensioned'. I also like my pull rope to go back to the start position so I always put on the additional loop. Phred52

[Surface Tension]

Because it is an air cooled engine it pulls air up to the fly wheel to cool. That flywheel is directly under that the recoil assembly. It is a two stroke so there is oil in the fuel mixture. Being it is a carbed engine and that it is run in very cold temps the fuel is not atomized all that efficiently.

That oil/fuel mixture first gets drawn into the crankcase to lube the engine then makes its way to the into the combustion chamber. During that process there is a small amount of fuel that doesn't get drawn into the crankcase and it will flutter around the intake of the carb . As that flywheel is sucking in air and passing it through the cooling fins it picks up small amounts of that fuel that was fluttering around. It is also sucking in exhaust. Small amounts of exhaust and fuel get deposited into the recoil. The trips the auger takes back forth from the lake sitting in the back of a pickup truck gets more fine particles of road crud onto the recoil.

All that over the years will gum up the recoil spring, the dogs, and wear washers. Your recoil might work fine in warm temps but come cold temps the oils and crud become stiff.

Remove the recoil assembly and flush it out with a spray solvent. Use the straw that came with the spray can to get behind the spool and you won't need to take it apart.

Over the years the recoil spring can get weak as well.

Increase the spring preload.

Hang on the recoil spool. Untie the rope from the handle.

Pass that rope through the opening into the recoil assemble. Don't let the end of the rope get retracted into the spool.

You will see a notch on the rope spool. Get the rope into the notch with the loose end out of the spool and keep it there while you turn the spool against the spring to increase the preload tension. During this whole procedure your keep the spool in your control, if you should let go of it it'll spin.

Once you've gotten a full wrap on the spool get the notch on the spool to the opening in the recoil assembly. Keeping control of the spool pass the end of the rope through that opening and tie it back to the handle. Test, if one that turn on the spool wasn't enough then repeat.

[jigeye]

Yes ST, Your diagnosis sounds spot on and the explanation is nice and detailed. Thank you very much for the reply. I'll tear into it this weekend.

Jigeye

[rmk600]

Not sure on this auger but you might be able to leave the handle on the rope and be able to wind it up also. Leaving the handle on will help prevent the spring from coming unhooked from the spool if you happen to slip and let go of the spool. I have been able to do that on a number of other items (snowmobile, lawnmower, ect but never had to do it to my jiffy yet).

[Surface Tension]

Your welcome jigeye.

As rmk600 said, you can put more preload on the spring by not untiring the rope from the handle. In that case you just pull on the handle to get enough slack in the rope to feed rope through the hole in the assembly. Then you would turn the spool to get the rope to the notch, they turn the spool keeping the rope in the notch as you turn. I didn't mention doing that way because with the extra rope pulled out you also work against more spring tension. Either way you do not take the spool off.

While we are on the subject of recoils I'll add if you have broken the recoil rope and need to put a new one on and can understand the above procedure then you can see how you you get that preload back.

Once the rope has broke the coil spring will have lost all load and will sit in its tray. You can safely remove the spool if you remember that one end of the spring is attached to the spool.

How they attach to that spool can differ but all spools can be removed while leaving the spring lay.

With spool off you'll knot one end of the rope or use whatever type keeper that recoil uses to hold the rope to the spool. Once you have that in place and the rope wrapped onto the spool(yes the rope does get wrapped in a certain direction) check to see that that knot or keeper isn't going drag on the assembly body or fiction wear disc.

On the spool the spring keeper will be lined up with the end of the spring. Put the spool into place while mating the spring and keeper. Attach the retaining nut to keep the spool in place. Get the rope into that notch and put the preload back on the spring as described above.