I love RU-vid so much! I bought a new (to me) Yard Machines 5 horse snowblower a few months ago. Went to start it for the first time a couple days ago and the cord broke! Ordered a new one from Amazon, found this video and installed the cord today and we’re good to go! Thank you!!
I pulled the starter rope out of my snowblower recently and, after a few choice words, thought I was in line for a costly repair at the shop. After watching this video I purchased a length of cord (I believe the total was $1.83?) and was able to follow the instructions despite the fact that I have never worked on gas powered tools before. It was quite easy dare I say and my snowblower is up and running. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise.
Dude! This morning we got 16 inches of snow. I shovel for 40 minutes to get to the snowblower. I try to start the snowblower, the cord breaks. I am not handy. I start panicking. I don't want to depend on anyone. I am thinking I have to call a client so he can come by and plow the driveway. No, I don't' want to do that. Instead, I watch your video. I struggle to find the right wrench. With the snow and the cold, it was a struggle, but I ended up fixing the cord, and now it's better than it was before. That's amazing! But, not as amazing as the feeling I got of taking action, and accomplishing something. The help you provided with this video goes way beyond just fixing the broken pull cord. Thank you!
Excellent video! I followed your lead and replaced my cord, perfectly. It’s guys like you making useful videos like this worthwhile for the rest of us. Thanks for taking the time to share your insights. BTW, I loved the math!
we got a foot of snow last night, and the cord broke about 3/4 of the way through my shoveling this morning. after watching your video, i thought, "even i can do this." and thanks to your video, i was right. i'm back in business. thank you so much for sharing your expertise with everyone.
Thanks. I was dreading this repair when my pullcord broke last night. After watching this the hardest part of the actual repair was getting to that little tiny screw.
I broke my rope toward the end of the winter and had to use the electric start. I have been hesitant about attempting the repair since I've never had to do it before. Your screwdriver tip made it slick. It took no time at all and is ready for the coming winter. Thank you SO much for the very easy to do repair tips!
Your video saved me a problem. Current situation is a snow storm. I did everything minus the whole math thing, I just wound the rope around like you said. Worked like a charm! Thank you !
Thank you for posting. Your way appeared to be so much easier than what other people have suggested, although it may work for them. The only thing I had to do was drill the hole in the plastic wheel a tiny bit bigger to get the original cord back in. It broke right at the knot and the rest of the cord was in great shape . I would like to see how they load it in the factory. Zero tolerance! Thanks again.
Great video, thank you for posting! Cord broke on first pull for my husband during this January blizzard. I showed him this video and he fixed it! We had trouble stringing the cord through the holes tho, it would bend before it would go out far enough to grab. We opened up a metal paper clip, pushed it into the end of the cord and taped it with a small piece of scotch tape. We put it through with the metal tip and grabbed it on the other side with the pliers and pulled it through. Then took off the piece of paper clip and tape and tied the knot. This was the worst storm for this to happen during but thanks to you, we got through it ! :)
This was the exact video I needed. I followed everything you said and my snow blower started right up and the cord wound itself to exactly where it needed to be. Thank you for making this video, you saved me the $50 the snow repair shop wanted to charge me!
I had a chipper/shredder with the same problem. Other videos had you cut a notch in the spool and it seemed to me that there had to be a better way. Thanks for showing the better way, as well as showing how to calculate the number of turns of the spool.
It worked EXACTLY like you said. Of course these break right in the middle of doing the job. But you made it real easy. And the part about melting the end of the cord... priceless. Thanks for the help.
You saved my life, well actually my back. Thanks so much for this. Here in Mass. we just got through a nor'easter of 25 inches and on the last use of my MTD 10 year old snow blower the cord broke. Finished what I needed for that storm but have another 12 to 14 inches coming in two days and no way a small engine repair shop would have fixed this in time for Monday. Watched your video and had it fixed in 30 minutes, wow!! Now I'm ready for the next round, bring it on Mother Nature. Thanks again for a great, simple but informative video. P.S. I also had the shroud covering the line hole like the other guy, I was able to bend it out of the way with a screw driver, thread the line and push it back without snapping it or removing it.
You're welcome. I'm glad to hear it helped. This video was never so popular as it was during your storm. I'm not going to complain next time we get a six inches here in WI.
Thanks for your helpful video and mechanical expertise...Great simple video...getting a few inches in Northeast tomorrow into Monday...gotta replace my pull cord this weekend.
THANK YOU so much for making this video. I have a nearly identical model that snapped the starter rope today (at 15 years as well!). Your instructions were exactly what I needed to get it back in service in no time. Greatly appreciate it!
Thanks, it worked like a charm. The other day we had a huge storm and my chord broke when I tried to start. Fortunately, my good neighbors helped. I was worried about how to get the thing fixed while searching found your very useful video. Appreciate all your help.
Had the cord break on me yesterday, found this video and had it fixed that night. Like others had some trouble feeding cord through, but got it through and snowblower started first pull. Thanks!
Great Clip. I just got a valve job done on the exact same blower. shop said its a little frayed. Now I know how to fix it. oh u pumped it 7 times, wow. I go 1 or 2, 1/2 choke. it use to be 3 pumps and pull 20 times. Now i have to get use to 1 pump 1 pull. and hope the cord don't pull me arm out. Easy clip, thanks!!
It's easier to do this job before the rope breaks because you can easily find out the correct length you need assuming that your recoil has the factory rope or hasn't been messed up by someone else. It sounds like your arm would benefit from the use of an electric starter. I now have a machine that has one after using a recoil on an old one for many years and it is a nice convenience even on a 5hp machine. On a 8-10 hp machine it is almost a must. Also keep bad gas out of your machine that is much easier on the starter and keeps it out of the shop.
Thank you so much for this, you just saved me a couple hours of shoveling! My snowblower is a Honda, but the pulley housing was similar enough that this worked just fine.
Woohoo! Thank you for this video!! It was very helpful and very much needed today! I fixed mine, no prob...except my rope did NOT go in that easy...lol I had to repeatedly melt the tip of the rope and make it into a narrowed point to get it through enough to pull it the rest of the way with the pliers. Good tips on the tiny wrench, using the screw driver to prop it while rethreading, and for counting the twists. Thank you!!
This happened to me the other day and I tried not to let it ruin the weekend. Your video was so easy to understand, I was able to fix my pull cord in 20 minutes. Thanks! Side note: Why do they always put the screws in hardest to reach places?! ;-)
Great video, but let me tell you, I had the hardest time trying to thread the new cord through that hole. I could not get everything lined up correctly. After an hour of trying, went and bought a thinner cord. Before opening the package of it, I decided to try one more time, after 20 seconds got it to feed through correctly. I will say this though, an hour of my time plus 10 bucks for the new handle and cord was still less than I would have paid someone to do it for me I bet. Thanks for the amazing video.
Awesome video, thanks for sharing! Only adjustment I made was cutting chord at an angle to make it easier to re-feed, then cauterized and tied the knot (sewing and threading needles was never my strong suit). Saved me $, shoveling and frustration. Sending a little something for the support. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for this video. My cord wasn't broken but the piece that engages the starter was not opening. I removed the cord and cleaned a few pine needles from the area that goes around and now it is working. If you wouldn't have shown those little mechanisms that poke out when you pull the cord I wouldn't have known what to look for on mine. It was a single metal tooth.
This worked for me....a big thanks. One comment: my MTD is about 10 years old...but looks like yours. The rope entry point into the inner part of that assembly has a shroud that really makes getting the rope through the two holes very difficult. Yours is missing that spot welded shroud on your model. I had to rip mine out to have a chance of passing the rope through the two holes to eventually then make the knot. Thanks again.
This also works perfectly on a Craftsman 5/22 blower. THANK YOU! Pro tip - If your length to circumference is more than .1 more than an integer (say 4.1 rotations) you need to shorten the length a little bit for a snug fit.
FYI cloths line rope is to big u need a thinner rope to feed it into the hole slot on coil wheel. Once I used the thinner rope it feed through hole fast. Use needle nose pliers to help guide rope down the hole like this fella did. Had new rope though tied knot through coil wheel then at end of handle and cover was ready to attach onto motor. It was slick fixing
Outstanding job! Went through a couple videos before I found yours. Excellent job showing the entire process from beginning to end. Great job. My MTD blower looks identical to yours. Only complaint....that engine noise at the beginning is a little overwhelming when the video first starts. Thanks for showin' the way.....
This was a great help. I watched two other demonstrations before this one and they were much more difficult. Did have to use needle nose pliers to pull rope through but otherwise it worked just as demonstrated.
Great job on the video, David. You're a good teacher- that was a smart idea to figure out the cord length at the start of the project. Thank you for taking the time!
Thanks for this helpful video. My first inclination was to start prying open the center winding mechanism to get the cord wound back into the housing. I'm glad I looked here first and saved some money, some skin from my knuckles and some inevitable yelling at inanimate objects.
I have a newer version and couldn't find a video for the model i have but thanks to this video I was able to fix the problem. Thank you so much for posting this video.
Oh and the nail through the slits to lock wheel in place until new pull rope is attached does work slicker than oil. I use these RU-vid video for alot of stuff to fix things. Saves me alot of money doung it myself and not paying another person tondo it for me. But there are somethings ill just paybto have it fixed as its too streasful to deal with. My snow blower is a 8/24 MTD yard machine 2 stage. Its old cant get many parts for it anymore. Im thinking im gonna have to buy a new model at some point so i can still get parts for it. Or hope I find someone with a model like my old MTD to keep it going
This is a great video. It worked perfectly for my Ariens snow blower with a Tecumseh engine (identical pull cord housing). I was able to fix it in minutes instead of hours. Thanks!
Instructions are perfect! Thanks for your advice. Worked like a charm. I especially liked the part about cleaning up the rope with a match...made life a lot easier.
31/2 weeks ago no snow, now we've had like 87". last storm started my Deere, pulled the cord right out, made sure she kept running fueling on the way, made it though, thought i'd have some time to fix it, but Oh NO !! ( %#&>
Have different machine (Toro SnoThrow 724), similar pull mechanism. Took off the housing and had no idea how to restring. Watch video ONCE and did it almost as fast as The Original Mechanic! GREAT VIDEO
Great video! The engineer nerd in me can't resit the desire to make this equation more complex to include the diameter of the cable and the increasing circumference of the wheel as you wrap around it.
This video was great since it showed me how to thread the cord back into the reel without disassembling the entire take-up wheel assembly. However, after I performed the calculations provided (length=145 cm, dia.=11.5 cm) and wound the take-up wheel 4 times also before tying the cord, I had to redo everything and wind the wheel 5 times to make the handle remain snugly in its holder. So I recommend winding the wheel 1 additional turn before tying the knot in the cord.
