Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Briggs & Stratton Gen Power 305 Rope Start, briggs and stratton starter

Question
Hi -
I have a Briggs & Stratton Gen Power 305 motor on my Coleman Powermate 6250 portable generator. The generator has been outside in the California mild climate and generally out of the elements (under cover). I had a need to use it recently and found the rope start would pull fine, but not recoil on it's own. I can reach in the slots and get it back in using a screwdriver, but it won't recoil on its own.

It moves smoothly, but obviously something is wrong. The cover appears to be attached with rivets, not screws, so I'm not sure how to take it apart to investigate.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. The generator has very low usage, but I do need it to start now and then.

Thanks

Answer
You'll need to take the entire flywheel housing off to access the starter.  There's 3-4 bolts that hold it on, one on each side and one or two on the head.  It sounds like you may have a broken recoil spring.  It'll have to come apart to see for sure.  If you have the model and type number of the engine, you can look it up on my parts list at,
http://www.grandjunctionsmallengines.com/pages/parts/viewbybrand/default.aspx

This will let you see how it's put together and what's involved.  It's a fairly simple fix if the spring is broken and not very expensive.  If you have any questions about it, just let me know.  Thanks, PK.