Weed Eater PE550 - How do you change the spring that operates the cord pull. Cord not rewinding. Spring broken

homelite easy reach weed eater starter rope YouTube

The one way clutch could be broken or jammed. Take off the starter for a closer look.

first off what model of trimmer is it? an fs what? second, if you are talking about the recoil spring you will need to go to a STIHL dealer and order a new one. If it came off one end then that means it broke and needs to be replaced and if it isn't broken but now uncoiled replacing it will be easier then trying to rewind it and put it back together

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

Hi vanzedo, I will try to help you out. Because you don't specify the brand and model I will try to give you the Weed Eater brand that is manufactured by Poulan because it is the best known in my area and I hope it is well known in your area, but it is pretty well the same procedure for other brands.
To disassemble starter, detach starter housing from engine. Remove rope handle and allow rope to wind into starter. Unscrew pulley retainer or pulley retainer screw and remove rope pulley. Wear appropriate safety eye wear and gloves before detaching rewind spring from housing as spring may uncoil uncontrolled. Try to prevent spring from unwinding if possible, I use a flat piece of metal stiff enough not to bend, about 1" wide or less and try to put it between the spring and pulley, if I have the room to do it and prevent spring from uncoiling as it is quite a job to put it back in. (good luck with that one).
To assemble starter, lubricate center post of housing and spring side with light grease. Install rewind spring so coil windings are counterclockwise from outer end. Install proper size and length of rope. Assemble starter while passing rope through housing rope outlet and attach rope handle to rope. To place tension on starter rope, pull rope out of housing. Engage rope in notch on pulley and turn pulley counterclockwise to place tension on rewind spring. Hold pulley and disengage rope from pulley notch. Release pulley and allow rope to wind on pulley. Check starter operation. Rope handle should be held against housing by spring tension, but it must be possible to rotate pulley at least an additional 1/4 turn when rope is pulled out fully.
I hope this is helpful to you even if a little bit. Regards and good luck. Denis.

Ouch. It sounds like the cord rewind spring has gotten out of position. These things can be holy terrors to get back in the cavity in which they rest.

Check on a new rewind spring assembly. This might be more cost effective than trying to get a service person to put the spring back into place.

there is another t20 screw in the neck of the drum. once removed you will expose the drive clutch. soak it good with WD40 then unscrew it from the shaft. if you have all the housing screws out, you should be able to simply remove the housing to expose the pull cord assembly, screwed to housing.

remove the cover and the screw holding the recoil down, turning the pulley ccw should release the spring then wind rope around pulley and (hopefully yours has the slot in it) wind in the direction of the pulley teeth then, holding rope in slot put back on spring and wind cw till almost tight, and install screw. Usually you can do this without taking rope handle off. sometimes you have to remove handle. look at spring end in the middle and make sure its not broke as long as you have it apart. Its a easy fix.
Thanks for using fixya

Poulan.com Look your saw over carefully and maybe you'll find a model number that matches one of these.
http://www.ordertree.com/modelinfo/POULAN-WEED-EATER/75.59.html

A new spring comes wound tight enough to be dropped into place in the starter housing (Easiest).

I invert and secure the housing and rewind the spring large coil to small (need eye protection, both hands and no women around work area!). I'm right handed so i tension the spring enough to insert it inside the previous coil while holding what has already been installed with my left about 180° from my right hand. The tension will hold the spring in the housing once completely inserted. Then bend slightly the inner most part to engage the starter spool. It will require about 2 turns of pretension to retract properly.
If you're lucky you can pull the cord out enough for a pretension then slightly raise and add the withdrawn cord to the spool.

Both methods require about 2 turns of pretension to rewind the cord when pulled.
Lou

A new spring can be found here:
Poulan.com
http://www.ordertree.com/modelinfo/POULAN-WEED-EATER/75.59.html

A new spring comes wound tight enough to be dropped into place in the starter housing (Easiest).

I invert and secure the housing and rewind the spring large coil to small (need eye protection, both hands and no women around work area!). I'm right handed so i tension the spring enough to insert it inside the previous coil while holding what has already been installed with my left about 180° from my right hand. The tension will hold the spring in the housing once completely inserted. Then bend slightly the inner most part to engage the starter spool when inserted. It will require about 2 turns of pretension to retract properly.
If you're lucky you can pull the cord out enough for a pretension then slightly raise and wind the withdrawn cord onto the spool. GL
Lou

sounds like the spring is broken itself.there should be a hook at one end and a loop at the other end.the hook usualy breaks off but the spring looks good.replace the spring with part number..4140 190 0600 ....that is the stihl part number.let me know if this helped you...if not give me a quick mail and i'll try to help some more......