I had to service my recoil this week as I had a malfunction, and thought this would be a great opportunity to share the process with those who are unfamiliar with the process. It is not a hard project to do by any means and can be completed with simple hand tools.
Below is the expanded view of all the parts you will find in your recoil.
You must first start by removing the unit from the sled. You will find 10 bolts that hold the assembly to the motor. They will require a metric allen wrench to remove. If the recoil has never been removed from the sled before, you will notice that there will be 1 or 2 bolts (depending on year) that will be difficult to access. To get to these bolts you have 2 options: 1 - grind a small notch in the frame, OR 2 - loosening ALL the motor mounts to raise the engine slightly. DO NOT PRY UP ON THE MOTOR WITH ALL BOLTS TIGHT - YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR MOTOR MOUNTS. Once the housing is loose, cut the rope near the recoil handle and remove the handle... be sure to tie a loose knot so the rope does not rapidly retract into the housing at this point.
After the housing has been removed from the sled, the unit will look like this
The next step is to untie (or cut) the knot you just tied so the recoil may now gently retract and release all tension left in the recoil spring. Place one hand on the plastic wheel so that the wheel spins off its pre-load SLOWLY. Verify the unit is now at rest by turning the wheel gently back and forth observing only a small amount of free movement in each direction
You are now ready to dismantle the unit. Using a socket with a short extension, remove the cover bolt in the center, it is standard thread counter-clockwise to remove. Keep one hand on the cover so it does not fly loose, this cover is spring loaded at all times. Remove the bolt, lock-washer, cover plate, and "Ratchet Guide" (plastic piece #4 in top diagram). You may also remove the center friction spring (#5) so it does not get lost.
At this point, your recoil unit will look like this:
You will now remove the Pawl and Pawl spring (#6, #7) Noting their orientation on the wheel. Now that everything has been removed and all tension on the recoil spring has been verified to have been released, SLOWLY lift straight up on the plastic recoil wheel... It is very important to lift it up slowly to ensure the recoil spring is not catching it in any way, if it is, it will 'explode' under the wheel. Once the wheel has been removed, the housing will look like this.
Now is a great time to give the housing a good cleaning. BE SURE NOT TO TOUCH THE SPRING!!!!!!!!! Once the housing is cleaned and ready for re-assembly, it should look something like this. (With the spring in it as shown above.)
Now, thread your new rope onto the recoil and tie a knot (I prefer a double knot for safe measure) and ensure the knot will fit into the small molded box on the wheel, then coil the new rope around the wheel turning the wheel clockwise as the knot faces you. Once the rope has been coiled and there is adequate grease on the recoil spring (I put a few small dabs for good measure) GENTLY lower the wheel into the recoil housing and turn the wheel GENTLY counter-clockwise until the wheel has fully seated into the spring.
The next two steps are interchangeable, I will tell you the process I used when I did my re-assembly.
Step 1 OR 2 -- Next you will want to pre-load the recoil spring... With the loose end of the recoil rope secured in one hand (about a foot or so) turn the plastic reel counter-clockwise 2 revolutions. Once you have 2 turns on the wheel, feed the rope end through the hole in the housing and secure from it retracting by either tieing a loose knot, or using a pair of vise-grip pliers on the very end of the rope (I prefer using the vise-grips). Your recoil is now pre-loaded, be cautious not to bump the plastic wheel at this point.
Step 2 OR 1 -- Next you will want to re-assemble the starter pawl (ratchet) and spring, and the cover spring, plastic ratchet guide and cover. Replace the ratchet spring with the long leg going into the plastic wheel and place the ratchet back into position with the shorter spring leg to the outside of the ratchet acting to hold it in. Place the center friction spring into position, place the ratchet guide onto the cover piece and bolt into position (a dab of blue lock-tite would not be a bad idea)
Once those 2 steps are completed, check for proper operation of the starter pawl (ratchet) by pulling on the recoil rope... The ratchet should extend and retract freely with no binding as you pull and retract the cord. At this point re-assembly of the unit is almost complete. You will NEED to bed the knotted end of the rope with silicone. I prefer to use high temperature gasket maker to ensure that heat does not compromise the bedding. Once bedded, assembly of the recoil unit is complete and it will look like this.
After the silicone has had a chance to setup and you are happy that the knot is bedded below the surface of the 'box' you are now ready to re-mount the unit onto the sled. Be EXTRA CAREFUL not to hit either of your Crankshaft Position or Timing Sensors!!!! Line up the holes, and with a small dab of blue-lock-tite on each of the bolts, loosely fit all the bolts into place before tightening to ensure a good line-up. If you wish to leave out the bottom bolt rather than notch the frame, disregard that bolt(s). Tighten all bolts 'good and snug' and you are finished with the remounting.
Route the new rope over the guide pulley and through the console and re-tie the handle back on with a good knot (again, I prefer two to be safe).
You are now finished, Fire up your sled to ensure proper operation and have some fun!
I prefer to give the silicone a day to fully cure before running the sled extensively. Check the packaging on your product to see what the manufacturer recommends for cure time.
I hope this helps you... RIDE ON!!!
Below is the expanded view of all the parts you will find in your recoil.
You must first start by removing the unit from the sled. You will find 10 bolts that hold the assembly to the motor. They will require a metric allen wrench to remove. If the recoil has never been removed from the sled before, you will notice that there will be 1 or 2 bolts (depending on year) that will be difficult to access. To get to these bolts you have 2 options: 1 - grind a small notch in the frame, OR 2 - loosening ALL the motor mounts to raise the engine slightly. DO NOT PRY UP ON THE MOTOR WITH ALL BOLTS TIGHT - YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR MOTOR MOUNTS. Once the housing is loose, cut the rope near the recoil handle and remove the handle... be sure to tie a loose knot so the rope does not rapidly retract into the housing at this point.
After the housing has been removed from the sled, the unit will look like this
The next step is to untie (or cut) the knot you just tied so the recoil may now gently retract and release all tension left in the recoil spring. Place one hand on the plastic wheel so that the wheel spins off its pre-load SLOWLY. Verify the unit is now at rest by turning the wheel gently back and forth observing only a small amount of free movement in each direction
You are now ready to dismantle the unit. Using a socket with a short extension, remove the cover bolt in the center, it is standard thread counter-clockwise to remove. Keep one hand on the cover so it does not fly loose, this cover is spring loaded at all times. Remove the bolt, lock-washer, cover plate, and "Ratchet Guide" (plastic piece #4 in top diagram). You may also remove the center friction spring (#5) so it does not get lost.
At this point, your recoil unit will look like this:
You will now remove the Pawl and Pawl spring (#6, #7) Noting their orientation on the wheel. Now that everything has been removed and all tension on the recoil spring has been verified to have been released, SLOWLY lift straight up on the plastic recoil wheel... It is very important to lift it up slowly to ensure the recoil spring is not catching it in any way, if it is, it will 'explode' under the wheel. Once the wheel has been removed, the housing will look like this.
Now is a great time to give the housing a good cleaning. BE SURE NOT TO TOUCH THE SPRING!!!!!!!!! Once the housing is cleaned and ready for re-assembly, it should look something like this. (With the spring in it as shown above.)
Now, thread your new rope onto the recoil and tie a knot (I prefer a double knot for safe measure) and ensure the knot will fit into the small molded box on the wheel, then coil the new rope around the wheel turning the wheel clockwise as the knot faces you. Once the rope has been coiled and there is adequate grease on the recoil spring (I put a few small dabs for good measure) GENTLY lower the wheel into the recoil housing and turn the wheel GENTLY counter-clockwise until the wheel has fully seated into the spring.
The next two steps are interchangeable, I will tell you the process I used when I did my re-assembly.
Step 1 OR 2 -- Next you will want to pre-load the recoil spring... With the loose end of the recoil rope secured in one hand (about a foot or so) turn the plastic reel counter-clockwise 2 revolutions. Once you have 2 turns on the wheel, feed the rope end through the hole in the housing and secure from it retracting by either tieing a loose knot, or using a pair of vise-grip pliers on the very end of the rope (I prefer using the vise-grips). Your recoil is now pre-loaded, be cautious not to bump the plastic wheel at this point.
Step 2 OR 1 -- Next you will want to re-assemble the starter pawl (ratchet) and spring, and the cover spring, plastic ratchet guide and cover. Replace the ratchet spring with the long leg going into the plastic wheel and place the ratchet back into position with the shorter spring leg to the outside of the ratchet acting to hold it in. Place the center friction spring into position, place the ratchet guide onto the cover piece and bolt into position (a dab of blue lock-tite would not be a bad idea)
Once those 2 steps are completed, check for proper operation of the starter pawl (ratchet) by pulling on the recoil rope... The ratchet should extend and retract freely with no binding as you pull and retract the cord. At this point re-assembly of the unit is almost complete. You will NEED to bed the knotted end of the rope with silicone. I prefer to use high temperature gasket maker to ensure that heat does not compromise the bedding. Once bedded, assembly of the recoil unit is complete and it will look like this.
After the silicone has had a chance to setup and you are happy that the knot is bedded below the surface of the 'box' you are now ready to re-mount the unit onto the sled. Be EXTRA CAREFUL not to hit either of your Crankshaft Position or Timing Sensors!!!! Line up the holes, and with a small dab of blue-lock-tite on each of the bolts, loosely fit all the bolts into place before tightening to ensure a good line-up. If you wish to leave out the bottom bolt rather than notch the frame, disregard that bolt(s). Tighten all bolts 'good and snug' and you are finished with the remounting.
Route the new rope over the guide pulley and through the console and re-tie the handle back on with a good knot (again, I prefer two to be safe).
You are now finished, Fire up your sled to ensure proper operation and have some fun!
I prefer to give the silicone a day to fully cure before running the sled extensively. Check the packaging on your product to see what the manufacturer recommends for cure time.
I hope this helps you... RIDE ON!!!
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