Re: 1973 Evinrude 6 hp starter

[frankr]

Lockout is missing, but as said that is not the cause of failure to rewind. The spring may be trashed from backlashing or over preload, or it simply may not be wound enough. Correct way to wind the spring is to remove the rope from the spool, wind the spool counter-clockwise 16-1/2 turns, stick the handles of a pair of ordinary pliers under the pinion to hold it engaged with the flywheel (so it doesn’t rewind), then thread the rope through the hole. Hang onto the rope and remove pliers and let it rewind. Note: too much preload will trash the spring.