How to Put a New Starter Rope on a Homelite Weed Eater

Remove the starter cover plate retaining screws on top of the starter housing with a T-25 Torx wrench. Remove the cover plate, jiggle the starter pulley free from the starter housing and lift it off the pulley post.

Grasp the inner spring hook with a pair of needle-nose pliers and move it sideways out of its slot. Carefully lift the rewind spring and its container out of the starter housing. If the spring jumps out of the container, rewind it in a counterclockwise direction and slip the coils neatly back inside the container.

Remove the old rope and thread a new starter rope through the hole in the upper pulley flange from inside the pulley groove. Tie an overhand knot on the end of the rope protruding from the top of the pulley. Trim off the end of the rope about an inch from the knot with a pair of side cutters.

Wind the rope clockwise around the pulley, but leave 10 inches unwound for later tensioning.

Feed the other end of the rope through the eyelet on the side of the starter housing and then through the center of the starter handle from the bottom.

Tie a figure-eight knot on the end of the rope protruding through the handle. Pull the knot tight and trim off the end about 3/8 inch from the knot. Pull the knot into the handle and give the rope a couple of sharp tugs to ensure that the knot is secure.

Smear a thin layer on multipurpose grease onto the starter housing post. Slide the pulley over the post. Apply slight downward pressure to the top of the pulley while turning it back and forth to engage the recoil spring hook back into its slot.

Pull the 10 inches of unwound rope back into the starter housing to form a loop. Slot the end of the loop into the notch on the side of the pulley. Wind the pulley two full turns in a clockwise direction to pre-tension the spring.

Continue winding the pulley until the notch holding the loop passes the eyelet on the side of the housing. Hold the pulley in place with your thumb and give the starter handle a tug to free the loop from the notch. Ease the pressure on your thumb to allow the tensioned pulley to wind back, and pull the remaining 10 inches of rope back into the starter housing.

Replace the starter cover plate and secure it with the Torx-headed screws removed earlier.