OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Briggs & Stratton Engines Simple one - Briggs pull start cord length?

Whew - been a while since I've been here! Just a simple question for those that know...

I have a Briggs 98902 engine and the pull start cord has snapped. But before that it seemed a little short to me. I've always suspected someone retied it when it broke. Anyway... That means I can't judge the length by just piecing the two bits together. So, how long should the pull start cord be? (The pull grip is not mounted up on the handles, etc. It's tied right on the engine, just outside the recoil mechanism.)

Thanks for reading.

Never mind - problem solved...

It was for a mower I sold. Gave them 30 days warranty and ~9 weeks later they snap the pull cord. Claimed it was the first time they'd used it. (Possibly true. Still looked clean enough and it's been cold, so grass not growing.)

Then when I said the cord would probably cost them $10 or less but I'd fit it for free, they had a whine and repeated back to me what I'd said about warranty, like I was cheating them. (I was sure it was longer, so after they left I looked up the buy date and it was ~9 weeks ago!) I'd only charged them $70 for a nice clean red B&S on a Masport base with a full service, wheel kit, sharp blades, shiny catcher, looking 90% like new.

But I didn't know the date at that point. So I offered to go halves in the cost of the cord. Still whined about it and gave a sob story - so broke can't even afford $5 until next Centrelink pay day. So I decide overnight if it was about $10 I'd wear the entire cost. (It would be worth it to keep a good reputation in the area.) Oh - and I forgot before - they tried to talk me down to $50 when they bought it! I nearly choked at that offer. Were they serious!? Buy the $30 1970s B&S made with no primer bulb (many pulls to drag enough fuel through to start) bolted onto a rusty 1980s 2-stroke Victa base next to it, if you're that damn cheap.

So I set aside my entire day today and the things I had to do, to repair it for them - but after promising they'd be home all day they went shopping. I turn up and a relative who knows nothing about it gives me the mower anyway, and as I'm wheeling it home I realise it's already been fixed by someone by what looks like a trimmer pull cord!? Tells me he'll get them to come by and talk about it when they get home at 2pm. Nobody came (of course).

Far out. Can't wait to get out of this government housing area.

I do use an exact length, I fill the reel right up, if you take the starter cover off and flip it upside down, turn the starter reek clockwise until it starts getting stiff, use your third hand to feed the rope in from the outside of the starter into the center of the reel and tie it off, then use the spring tension to pull in as much rope as possible.

Putting a long rope into the starter will reduce wear on it as it is not hitting the end of the reel with a decent thud every time the rope is pulled.

This will work for most recoil starts if you dont know what the length is, especially zone starts up on the handle etc.
Feed cord through the knob (and or any fittings) first before you start if youve got a long roll. Wind it up till the spring binds then back it off (1/2 to a full turn) a bit, You dont want spring bind to be the thing that stops the cord pulling out. Hold the spring wound up and get the cord in and tie it off (awl or seal picks are handy). Relase it slowly and let it pull cord in until it binds up and reel is full. Then pull a little out so spring tension will hold the knob and the cord is not binding on something first leaving knob flopping. Then tie it off to the knob and cut cord.


The early side pull start Briggs motors are different. Pull them apart. Fill with cord etc. Then put it back together, pre load the spring enough to hold the cord in and put the bottom cover back on. Dont pop that cap off the bottom if its got tension on the spring.

The 3.5Hp side pull Quantums would almost have to be the worst things in the world.


I might like to also say that youre mad. $70 is way too cheap. Even $30 for that other one. Minimum $100. Ive got a couple here that i would let go for $80 but they aint right, old as the hills, bad bar blades and blow a bit of smoke.
Any primer or choke start 4 stroke. If i cant get $150+ ( i like $170 or more) i pull the motor off and put it on something i will get that money for.


With what you said you did. A mower shop would charge more than my asking price for a mower for that repair.


'But ive only got $50' you hear them say.
"Well if you head down the super market and lash out on few pairs of scissors you could get some friends over and make a day of it." That lets em know you mean business.

I dont do it for the money, I dont even make money really, I get em for next to nothing and just use it as an excuse to drink beer outside

Those side pull briggs motors can be painful especially if they have had salt air get into those little linkage thinys. I did work out that a quantum is left hand thread in one part of the starter, after I snapped the bolt off and cracked the block.

Yeah think its the bolt that holds the spring in tension. The tin cover thing has an arrow on it.