My starter cord will only pull out about 6 inches and then it's stuck...

Had this happen to me. The problem turned out to be a mouse nest inside the gaps around the flywheel(?) assembly that is behind the starter pull cord.

I pulled off the starter and saw some mouse crud. I cleared that out and reassembled. Pulled the cord again and heard clunk, snap, and breaking pieces bouncing around. Everything was stuck again.

Disassembled again to see some of the plastic blades of the fan snapped and there was a lot more mouse nest jammed in. Spent 2 hours digging out what must have been at least a basketball sized cloud of mouse nest. I had to dig, spin a little by hand, keep digging.

Eventually I got it all out and the engine fired up nicely.

It seems this design a a lot of wide open spaces that suit mice nicely. Combine that with years of storage with no use and you get an epic mouse nest.

If you are going to be repairing B&S air cooled engines, may I suggest that you make a handy tool for repairing the pull cord starter. To access the pull cord assembly, remove the blower housing to expose the backside of the pull starter. All of the B&S pull start engines have a starter clutch that secures the flywheel to the crankshaft. These clutches go bad after a while. Go to a local repair shop and ask if you can have an old B&S starter clutch. Take it apart and keep the spindle. Have someone weld a T bar handle to the spindle. You will use this to reload the spring in the recoil starter, winding backwards to load the spring. Use a C clamp to hold it in place after loading the spring. Insert the new nylon pull rope through the grommet and out through the hole in the rope spool. Tie a figure 8 knot in the end of the new rope. Slowly release the C clamp to allow the spool to rewind, loading itself with new pull cord. You need about +/- 20 inches of pull cord. Replace the rubber handle on the pull cord and you are ready to mount to blower housing back on the engine. I hope this helps. PS. See the attached url for the Operator's Manual for the 9000 horizontal. http://www.tranzsporter.com/tpdf/Briggs%20&%20Stratton%209000.pdf

Hi James:
Replacing any starter cord is usually a matter of removing the pull start assembly, pulling the cord until it is completely unwound, block the reel so it cannot retract, remove the old cord, (remember EXACTLY how it was connected), install a new cord, unblock the reel so it can retract, re-install the assembly.
It may be necessary to remove covers or engine shrouds to get to the pull start assembly. That's part of the fun of "do-it-yourself".
Cheers..

Hi Rick:
Most starter cords rely on a recoil spring to make them retract.
Sometimes when the cord is replaced it is longer than the original so just needs to be shortened. Pull the cord all the way out and if you have way more than you use for a pull start, then shortening it is a fast fix.
To do that, pull out the cord a couple of feet. flip a slip knot in it to keep it from retracting, then take the start handle apart and shorten the cord about 6 inches. Should work fine.
If the cord is talready too short to make it shorter, you'll need to put another wind on the spring.
Reply as a COMMENT to this post af you need coaching through that.
Hint. Don't dismantle the spring assembly so it can get out. They are related to rattlesnakes.
Cheers.

How to Fix a Weedeater's Stuck Rope ' Home Guides ' SF ...

homeguides.sfgate.com > ... > Mortgage & Loan Payment Basics

A gasoline-powered string trimmer has cords on both sides. Most people ... In order to troubleshoot and fix a stuck cord, you have to remove the starter housing. ... Swivel each plate until it locks into position and then tighten the screw to hold it.

WeedEater string pull repair STRING WON'T RECOIL ...

? 6:35
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIcj4KFmp4A
Aug 8, 2013 - Uploaded by AdamDIY
WeedEater string pull repair STRING WON'T RECOIL - FeatherLite XT260 ... How To Properly Replace Fuel Lines On a Weed Eater Trimmer

-Need to rewind little more on the pull rope assembly.


Good luck

Mai

remove the starter assembly and see if it is the recoil or engine. if by removing the recoil it recoils the cord then it is most likely a seized engine but pull the rope a few times with the assembly in your hand to check it then try turning the flywheel by hand and see what happens

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/kelly_69a0cf1b13789df1

It sounds like the starter drive may be jammed. It should not be engaged unless you are using the starter motor. Take the spark plug wire off, put on heavy leather gloves, and try turning the blade by hand to dislodge the starter drive. If it does dislodge, plug the spark plug wire back up and try the pull start again.

To manually unlock the door lock system:

1. Unplug the power cord from the outlet.
2. Remove the front lower kick panel.
3. Reach up along the inside of the front panel and locate the bottom of the door latch assembly.
4. Located on the bottom of the door latch assembly is a tear-drop shaped tab.
5. Gently pull the tab down about quarter inch or until a click is heard.
6. The door may now be opened

Or pull out your dispenser tray, along the rear edge you will find a cord, pull this like above. Depends on your model.

To manually unlock the door lock system:

1. Unplug the power cord from the outlet.
2. Remove the front lower kick panel.
3. Reach up along the inside of the front panel and locate the bottom of the door latch assembly.
4. Located on the bottom of the door latch assembly is a tear-drop shaped tab.
5. Gently pull the tab down about quarter inch or until a click is heard.
6. The door may now be opened

Or pull out your dispenser tray, along the rear edge you will find a cord, pull this like above. Depends on your model.