I can't get the red screw cap off of the ryobi ss26 trimmer to change the line. It is hard to get a good grip and I can't get the thing to budge. Is there a solution?

What is the compression reading. You have to check it with a compression gauge before you can say it has good compression. Check compression with a short hose 2 cycle compression checker. Don't use one for automotive, the reading could be off by as much as 35 psi.

It appears that the recoil spring has broken and you will have to pull it apart to replace it

Are you using a new plug,sometimes a used plug look's good,but doesn't work.

the bolt that keeps the head on has left hand threads not the normal right hand

two cycle oil you can purchase from ACE, Menards,Home Depot.... the list goes on. Good Luck...

use a square line or a star line. make sure you have the right gauge line . go to ace hardware and ask them what is the best preforming line for your trimmer..

Hello, W/D here.
I wrote this tip a while back to explain how to wind the line on a trimmer. It should be helpful.
http://www.fixya.com/support/r2827867-winding_line_trimmers
Best regards, --W/D--

The knob is definitely a LEFT handed thread....try this...take a shop rag and double it. Wrap it around the red knob and with a pair of channel locks or large pliers...carefully turn it in a CLOCKWISE direction it should break loose...some crud or water may have gotten in the threads of the cap and are binding it....good maintenance tip....when you get it loose clean the threads and lubricate them with a small amount of grease on the threads....won't stick again...hope this helps...;-D

The fuel filter in the tank could be plugged, a fuel line gone bad, or the primer bulb has cracked, gotten hard, or otherwise rendered useless. It's possible that the lower chamber diaphragm in the carburetor is bad--hardened or cracked. The primer is supposed to pull fuel from the filter in the tank, into and through the carburetor, then out to the primer bulb, then back into the tank through another line. Go to: http://www.drystacked.com for a 12 page article on Walbro brand carburetors--very helpful. Hope this helps!

My solution is to stop buying lawn and garden equipment from the local home centers. I too made the same fatal mistake you folks made. I bought the SS26 model Ryobi weedeater used it about 3 or 4 times and it has turned to ****. I am so pissed off I will never buy any power landscape tools from home centers again. I even bought a Troybuilt gas powered hedger and I have to work on it for 3 hours in order to use it for 1 hour. I will start buying commercially available professional gas powered landscape equipment from now on. I learned my lesson the hard way, just like you. The gas was bad??!!??!... I have used oil mixed gasoline in a lot of my two stroke eqiupment for 12 months without additives and it always burns just fine. The last Ryobi weedeater I had was 15 years old before it gave up the ghost. Thats why I bought this new one. I never had to use fresh gas everytime I used it...What a joke....I say we little people ban toghether and pass the word along to everyone we know about how junky their equipment is and how unreliable the companies are in supporting thier product. The problem with the SS26 Weedeater is the carbureator (spelling) it is an inferior piece of junk...period. After 4 uses, it will only start up, as soon as I pull the gas trigger, it dies because it leans out. I checked the spark plug (another piece of ****) and it looks like the machine was running hot, The electrode was a whiteish color indicateing a lean burn condition, nt the chocolate brown I was hoping to see. I hope this helps everyone who reads this... Spend a couple hundred extra dollars and go buy something real. Stop playing with the kids toys. This is what I am going to do to resolve the problem. They don't care about us, why should we care about them....Down to the firey pits with them....
OVER.............