Wow, too late. I just replaced the starter recoil spring and pulled it about a dozen times. I had put some WD40 on the shaft underneath which holds the blade a couple of days ago. It turned with little effort both by hand and by pulling the cord.

My problem now is that the recoil does not pull the cord completely back; leaves about 4 inches out and I cannot figure it out. It recoils but seems to run out of steam before a complete retrieval. Never happened before.

Never dealt with a mower before so this is some fun.

Help.