The Starter Rope, Pulley And Springs - MTD AC3 Professional Shop Manual

AC3 Series of Engines

The starter rope, pulley and springs

The AC3 series of engines are equipped with the Assist Spring Technology (AST) starters.The AST system
allows the customer to pull the recoil rope at any pace they please, yet still generate enough force to start the engine.
The system is simple, and adds a grand total of two parts to the trimmer: a recoil pulley assembly, which includes
an accumulator spring. As the rope is pulled, the accumulator spring winds-up. When the force on the accumulator
spring over-comes the engine compression, it releases it's accumulated energy, spinning the crankshaft rapidly.
To service the rope, pulley and springs:
Eye protection should be worn
! CAUTION ! CAUTION
when working on these starters.
There are 2 clock springs inside
that can come out of the starters at a great
velocity.
1. Remove the starter housing assembly by following
the procedures described in the previous section of
this chapter.
2. Remove the three screws securing the pressure
plate to the housing using a T-20 torx driver.
3. If the recoil rope has not already been de-tensioned
by breakage, remove the starter handle and relieve
tension from the rope.
4. Cut off the starter pulley retaining ring.
5. Carefully remove the pulley and starter assist (accu-
mulator) spring. See Figure 6.4.
44
Pressure plate
Retaining ring
Figure 6.3
pulley and starter
spring
Figure 6.4