I think you are right the spring needs wound up more. Can one end of the spring retainer slip pass causing it to loose it's tension??? I would think two or three more winds would do it. I usually can pull the rope out all the way, clamp the winder, remove the rope, release the winder while holding it with my hands. Then, I just wind it up some more, clamp the winder down, install the rope and tie the knot and release it. This would also and easy way to replace a frayed or stiff rope also.

I had a craftman 25cc trimmer that the end of the spring would slip pass the molded plastic hump. I staked it with a drill bit that I cut off and made a window to make sure it was hooked beings it was a blind installation down in molded bowl shaped housing.

That's an excellent question. The center of the spring may be dis-engaging from the recoil pulley and losing it's preload. There is a loop at the center of the spring, but I'm not sure if there is a way to secure it to the recoil pulley. The other end of the spring is definitely staying secured at the bottom of the housing

Thanks for the thought. It's definitely something else to check.

-Chris

To answer your first question, I usually wrap the recoil pulley two additional turns past neutral (meaning no slack on rope, yet no tension either).

I agree with above that the rope-pulley may be disengaging the spring, particularly if you jerk the rope aggressively when starting. The design Homelite uses to engage the spring to the pulley is not a very good one. Poulan/Weedeater does the same thing and it is a source of trouble.

You may have to replace both the pulley and the spring to get them to work together properly. If the pulley is in good shape, you might be able to gently bend the mating end of the spring with needlenose pliers to get it to better engage the pully. I have done that before with mixed success.