Johnson 25HP Recoil problem.

Lads this boating Craic sure keeps you busy with one thing or another, My problem this time is the pull start rope snapped right at the end knot,

I put up a couple of pictures of the recoil head in case one of you lads have sorted this problem before and would be able to explain to me where I went wrong “Again”

Its off a 1978 25HP Johnson…. didn’t run it for over a month so decided to give it a blast in the yard
I smiled “as u do” when it started on the 4th pull but the smile went when I seen the cord hanging limply in my hand,

I let the engine run for 20mins or so before I attempted to repair the cord, I have replaced a cord on a 4hp so didn’t think I would have any problem with this,

But I did, I started by winding the wheel in what I thought was the right direction to put tension on it to recoil the rope then held it there treaded the cord in and on release of the wheel it took the cord back on to it,” again I smiled”

Put everything back on the engine and pulled… the cord didn’t recoil so off it came again to find the spring inside the casing seems to have become unconnected and the cord housing just rotates freely “no recoil or tension”

There is one nut / bolt that holds the wheel onto the casing and I was worried that I may cause more problem by undoing it to get at the spring,

Is there anything I should watch out for if I do have to take this apart or is there another way of reattaching the spring without taking it apart,

Another thing I would like to know about is “ when I had the head off I noticed a notch in the flywheel that looks like I could hook a cord onto to start the engine in case the cord breaks “Again” is this the idea of the notch,

Again I must say in anticipation of your kind help I thank you,

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if i were you id give it in to a marine mechcanic he l put it back for you in minutes the reason i say this i done the same with my auxcillary during the summer and tryed to re attach the cord but opened the wrong screw and pop the spring just flew all over the place it might be worth a tenner to let one look at it

Hi Twinkle,

Good advice,

But I would like to see it done or preferably do it myself for the simple reason that I have no doubt that these type of things happen when your in the middle of nowhere as has happened to me with a couple of other minor things that would have ruined my day but for the fact that I had taken the time to get familiar with the engine before I went out and so was able to sort the problem there and then,

If all else fails I will have to do as u say that’s if I can find someone that will do it on the spot while I take it all in,

I have just emailed a friend who is fair handy with engines in the hope he can sort this for me, I know a thing like this would be hard to sort without being there but I said I would chance it on here as
“like yourself” I’m sure a few guys here went threw this problem and sorted it,

Thanks for the reply twinkle and ya its worth a few bob to see it done so I might sort it that way.

Cheers

Mike

looking at it from that point your right see how to fix it would be the job as im sure this happens to every one once in a while and its easy to see why my own engine is rarley used as its an auxcillery i used it a few times just to give it a run and
it was on the way back from the mooring it snapped i could have been in serious trouble if it happened out at sea. so i definetly see where your coming from. just an after thought if you had the service manual for the engine this might give the
info needed to replace the cord must look out for 1 for my engine its an old evinrude 4 hp lets know how you get on

Hi Twinkle,

Had a chat with my mate and he reckoned if the wheel was moving freely I should have a problem with anything flying out of place as there would be no tension between the spring and the inner wheel,

So I have just taken it apart to find I did more damage then I first thought when I was turning the wheel to see what way it had to be turned to put tension on for the cord for it to recoil,

Me being me turned it way too far the wrong way at first then turned it the right way but I must have bent the spring first time so that when I pulled for a start I snapped it at the kink that had formed with my first try,

So ya I will take your advice and bring it to someone that knows about these things,

I found that its attached by 2 pins “ 1 on the housing and one on the wheel “ I sat here for 20min’s trying to figure out how they put it together but couldn’t work it out,

The pin on the wheel is pointed out with the tooth pick….

As I wrote this the answer as to how I might get it on has just popped into my head so I may still have a go at fixing it,

Will keep u posted on how much more damage I do to myself or the poor engine

Oh man this could be dangerous

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id still think your mad to even try. you could end up f---ing it up completly give it to someone that knows about them and let them show you. what started out as a 10 euro job could end up costing a couple of hundred im the same with engines
i start opening screws and suddenly some thing falls on the ground and you go where did that go? pay the man it will cost you if you dont

I know exactly what u mean but I love to tinker with things and as far as I can see I have already mucked it up and the only other damage I could possibly do is snap the pin that holds the spring
“me thinks “

The only thing I have to find out now is… is it possible to drill a 3mm hole in spring steel without weakening it,

Reason being on both ends of the spring there is a fitting riveted on and this end piece fits onto the pins on both the wheel and casing,

Now to me this looks like a simple job and should save me having to wait for a new spring to be delivered,

I know what your thinking “ I also thought that replacing the cord in the first place was an easy job “ and your right,

But as I said the damage is done now and I would be as happy as a pig in s*** if I somehow managed to sort this myself,

The remaining spring that can be seen in the casing looks like its ready to fly out if I pull at it so I will have to be careful with that part but other then that the only other problem is can I drill the hole in the spring,

And yes my mate said the grove in the fly wheel is as I thought for use in case I break the cord again so at least I now know I can start the engine with or without the spring / cord
Nice to know about that in case I need to go out anytime soon.

dont mean to pressure you or anything but the forcast for the next 5 days is very good and settled lol

Oh have no fear Twinkle I been checking things weather wise for a couple of weeks and there seems to be a small window around Wednesday that would suit me fine for Galway bay,

The chap that I want to take out wont go if he see’s any swell within 20 miles off the coast,

I made the mistake of showing him a site that shows the swells so now he’s telling me when its best to go out,

But it alls boils down to me finishing of a tiling / painting job before then, if I cant finish it in time I will just take him rock fishing for whiting he will enjoy that as he much prefers terra firma,

I was thinking of taking him to a mark for big conger but after seeing his reaction when I asked him to pick up his first ever dog fish so I could take a picture of him holding it, he kinda looked at me as if I had asked him to slash his wrist’s

I suppose it could have been because I said to him earlier that “they bite like a bull terrier and can take the skin off your hand as fast as a grinder “ that made him think twice before gingerly picking it up and promptly dropping it when it wriggled,

He’s ok with them now but I think a fat conger might put him off fishing for life, especially after he hooks into one and I start telling him about the chap who lost his toes to one of these monsters

Just to let u know that I sorted it and it turned out a lot easier then I thought, got myself a 3mm cobalt/cobolt ?? drill bit “used for drilling stainless steel” that sliced into the spring like butter,

Had a look around and found that there is a tool that can be bought that holds the spring in place on the wheel while locating the pin on the head… but I found a steel nail that fitted the hole perfect

Got it all back together at the first attempt and again I smiled and again the smile went when I seen that I had replaced the spring facing the wrong direction so went and had a cuppa to chill out before having another go,

It took a little more time then my first attempt but got it sorted, found that the arrow and mark on the ease amatic wheel wouldn’t line up using the original cord because I had lost about an inch or so when it broke “ these marks have to line up when the rope is at rest “ so I seen the child’s skipping rope was the same diameter and in good condition

Total cost €4

Sense of achievement “Priceless,”

I will be getting a new spring and cord in the near future and at least now I know how to put it on right,
so yes it was worth the effort and I learned a little more while doing it.

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good man mann
fair play to you for getting your hands dirty and fixing your problem

excellent fix..... That steel nail might need a look at next year. It might be rusted a bit by then and could go again on you. Stainlees would be ideal

Kev

well done mann on a job that im sure wrecked your head but as you say you know how to do it now good luck with the trip dont forget to put up a report

good man mann
fair play to you for getting your hands dirty and fixing your problem

Hi John,

I enjoy taking things apart and have done from an early age… Putting things back together was a different story Hence the new grandfather clock in the hall that is a replacement for one I broke when I was a nipper.

excellent fix..... That steel nail might need a look at next year. It might be rusted a bit by then and could go again on you. Stainlees would be ideal

Kev

Thanks Kev,

The nail was only used to hold the spring to the inner wheel “under tension” while I placed it into the outer case,
when the nail sat on top of the outer case pin I pushed the inner wheel down so the pin pushed the nail out and slotted home in the spring, I used a 3mm brass nut & bolt to fix the fitting to the spring, also cut the side’s of the nut so it sat against the fitting and wouldn’t vibrate lose then split the bolt down the middle and spread the ends open as an extra precaution against the bolt coming lose,

well done mann on a job that im sure wrecked your head but as you say you know how to do it now good luck with the trip dont forget to put up a report

Hi Twinkle,

I only started to worry about this problem when I found I had put the spring in “wrong way around” as I knew it may have had enough force to break one of the housing pins but I’m happy to say all went well
don’t know how long it will last but it really does need a new spring and cord so I will have them standing by if or when the worst happens,

Thanks for the interest gents and I look forward to seeing you’s out there some day,

Best of luck

Mike,