Broken Rope

Broken Rope

Or

Rope a’Dope

The rope broke on my string trimmer Sunday, which set into motion an interesting story.

I ended up taking the trimmer over to John’s Mower Service on Plantation Rd.  John, an older gentleman with engine wisdom written across his wrinkled brow, explained to me the deal…

John showed me an Echo trimmer that was hanging on the shelf and pointed out the starter housing assembly on the back of the engine. This assembly contains the tension spring, pulley and rope.  To replace/repair it, all you have to do, he pointed out, is remove three or four easily accessible screws and then proceed with the simple repair/replacement.

My Poulan Pro, he said, would have to be completely disassembled.  With the tank and shields removed, the clutch assembly comes into view. The final step to accessing the starter assembly is removing a small screw inside a 3” shaft in the center of clutch assembly.  This screw, he said is sealed with Lock-tite and is extremely difficult to remove.  In fact, he said that successfully removing it is a 50/50 proposition.  If  you make it that far, you lift out the clutch assembly and are finally able to attack the repair.  In the end, he suggested that I might as well invest in a new trimmer as the cost of disassembling would cost about $70 before the repair was even attempted, and that’s IF he could get the small screw.

As John was telling me this, I found myself filling in his statements, because I knew exactly what he was about to say.  I had spent a couple of hours wrestling with the trimmer the other day.  I had disassembled the tank and shields only to encounter the clutch and shaft with the tiny screw.  I tried and tried, but I could not get that screw to budge.  That’s why I quit and decided to offer it to a professional. Failure was an option. I thought that I must be inept; that there must be some sort of mechanic’s trick to access that housing.  So, John’s words were a vindication of sorts.

That’s sort of how my day has gone.  The Blue Party Van (BPV) had difficulty starting on my way over to John’s.  She’s been a bit “cranky” of late, and as soon as she fired, the “check engine” light popped on.  I usually don’t worry much about that light as it is usually related to an emission issue; but, to be on the safe side, I didn’t turn her off on my errands.  I stopped by Sheetz to get a Diet Dr. Pepper fountain drink, but it was out of order, so I had to pay full price at a 7-11. I eventually made it home after my John consultation without further disappointment.  In the driveway, I decided to put up my windows in case the rains come this evening.  That’s when I heard a grinding crunch in the driver’s side door, and the window crashed down almost inside the door.  It’s definitely stripped a cog or something inside there and will never work again unless repaired. You probably have to disassemble the door and then remove a screw in the window’s clutch shaft.  This is unfortunate because I was about to trade in the BPV for a shiny new pick-up truck, but this and the check engine light will certainly negatively affect the trade value.

Overall though, these problems are insignificant compared to the big picture of a full and joyous life.