Hi, My neighbour has brought me his Ryobi PLT 3043YW bent shaft whipper snipper. He had recently replaced the head on it. Apparently it worked OK for awhile but now the head turns but stops when it meets any resistance. I initially thought the clutch but with the shaft housing removed from the motor if you hold one end of the flexible shaft and try to turn the other end of the flexible shaft there is a clicking noise near the head end and the shaft turns.
I am guessing the flexible shaft is slipping where it is crimped on the end, but I don't know anything about them so it is only a guess. I cannot see any obvious or easy way to remove the shaft. Maybe it is necessary to take the trigger and other bits off from the shaft housing.
I could not find any diagrams or parts list on the Ryobi website couldn't even find the model number.
Does any one have any suggestions on how to remove the shaft ?
If I can get a large enough hammer it will run for awhile just trying to get away from me
If drive is slipping at the cutter head end then you would need replace the complete shaft assembly. You can just pull the flex cable out but once it is slipping at the cutter head end there is nothing you can do as the square drive and matching coupler are rounded.
Here most curve shaft trimmer are considered "Use it, Break it, and then get a new one." I don't even recommend anyone buying these units as parts can cost as much as a new unit.
Hi Byomarimba I was just using a 3043YE (split shaft) this afternoon. Have got another one in the shed (clutchless curved shaft originally bought for parts but started first go). 2 things that these machines have had:- 1 - check how hard the head is to turn without the drive end being attached to the engine - a issue I had was that it was very hard to turn, it would seem to go fine, then stop when it hit hard grass. I am not sure what the exact problem was, but taking the bump head off and giving the end a moderate tap on something wood (so you dont bend the end) pushed the end back in approx 3 mm, and it went fine after that. maybe someone had got it jammed in bushes and pulled it enough to pull the bearing out.
2 - at the motor end of the shaft, check the plastic outer that holds the flexible shaft in the middle is completely pushed down. It shouldn't be level with the metal external shaft, but a good inch down in. otherwise, the flexxible shaft wont slot in at the end
But I must agree with AVB - completely uneconomical fix if its rounded - they are plentiful at tip shops though.
Thanks AVB and Tyler, I had to take it apart to understand what you meant, the cable was in perfect condition but the slot inside the cutter head was clearly built to fail. I thought as long as I am here we have nothing to lose but time, I filled the cutter head up with Devcon (epoxy glue) and then welded the flexible shaft onto it. As I am a pretty poor welder it kinked the flexible shaft a little bit making it harder to turn. My neighbour said it worked for about 15 minutes until he shut it off, then he broke the starter rope trying to get it started again. He has gone and bought a new AEG electric one and is very happy with it. I guess we will never know for sure but in all honesty I am surprised my weld lasted for 15 minutes.
If I can get a large enough hammer it will run for awhile just trying to get away from me
Hi Byomarimba, It should have still started, as the clutch means the motor isn't strained by any problems in the cable. it should have at least idled, and revved up a bit as the clutch would slip.
My welding can be pretty interesting at times as well. For some reason I can oxy weld really well, but not MIG.
A mate of mine is a great MIG welder - just not very good with Occ health and safety or oxy welding. Now, I am no major fan of strict OHS, but it does help people without a great deal of common sense.
In the period of about 6 months, he set himself on fire twice with MIG (overall sleeves), a piece of wood he was welding on top of once, wore out a flint striker (already almost buggered) trying to get the oxy running, then left the acetylene running whilst finding another. The ensuing flame was quite a sight (and fright). Also forgot to lower his welding helmet before MIG welding, and ended up with a face full of arcs (bloodshot eyes).
And finally, couldn't find the angle grinder wrench tool, and was trying to use needle nosed pliers, while his fingers were 2mm from the on switch and it was still plugged in. He said he needs the bigger tool, I responded that if there is one thing this situation doesn't need it is a bigger tool.
He eventually found it, and used the angle grinder whilst wearing footy shorts.
Tyler, as long as your mate stays in Perth that will be fine by me LOL. I'm not sure how somebody can get good at mig without getting experience with using oxy, they go pretty much hand in hand, you need to cut stuff before you can weld it. I know there are other methods of cutting like plasma, but oxy is the major type
His most major Oxy issue is that he can't work out how to get the thing lit - the concept of turning the oxygen on slowly. He just wacks the oxygen on and 9 times out of 10 it goes pop and extinguishes itself. If he manages to start it, he melts the metal or blows holes in it.
With MIG, its just point and shoot, as long as you have the wire speed, voltage, etc. Through practice, he has worked out how to adjust the settings.
Normally, he does a rough cut with the grinder, then shapes it with the grinding wheel. Only basic metal work, his attempt at rust repairs would be interesting. Good bloke, but sometimes varies from silly to dangerous.
It's like another mate who swears black and blue that a 2 stroke designed to run 25:1 will run happily on 100:1 without any effect on longevity - and he races 2 stroke motor bikes (motocross or enduro from memory). Everyone has their own viewpoints and ideas, but running 100:1 is just a bit lean for my liking. Although some oils say you can.
Boy I never had that much problems learning ACE/OX welding and cutting but of course I started out soldering for electronic repairs so it was easy to get my act together rather quickly as I went the welding tins and heavier metals. I can weld some very small parts using it. Now I do have Gas/Gasless wire welder that I use quite a bit too. It mainly because the welding rods for ACE/OX are nearly impossible to get now. Leaving the ACE on while hunting a sparker or lighter can be very dangerous plus ACE is nasty to breathe as it can take your breath away.
Even the gasless welding method requires getting the correct flux core wire. The welding store I brought the welder kept selling me poor quality flux core wire. I finally got a good spool that works great with my setup. Before that I was just about to throw out the welder and stick with the ACE/OX welding. I mean the welds looked horrible at the best. Now with the correct wire they nearly look as good as the machine welds. When welding rusted metals it is challenging even for the experience welder as you will get burn through quite easily.
I want to learn TIG welding so I can do aluminum welds. I just got the welder and the expensive CO2/Argon Tank before I can start teaching myself. Supposedly I can also use a gas type wire welder but I would need more amperage than my current welder has available.
As for the 2 cycles there are oils designed to allow up to 200:1 mix but they are expensive. Here I use a ProMix oil that is synthetic so it can be mixed at 50:1 and can be use in anything that needs from 16:1 to 50:1 but would not push past their recommend limits. A lot of the older 2 cycles can safely run 50:1 synthetic oils but I am not risking a customer machine by going beyond this. This is because the older oils were not as good at lubing things as the synthetics and they tend burn up quite rapidly too requiring to be present to keeps lubed. This summer I load out my gas leaf blower to a customer to only have it come back fried. I had used it for 5 years without problems; now it is in the recycle bin with a melted piston. The customer said he used the same fuel mix as he does for his Stihl blower that I was working on. Strange as they used the same mix ratios. To me he straight gassed it.
Hi Byomarimba, I have a 3043YW with exactly same problem...... My motor is new new..... Just thinking how it happened. The bump head knob in left hand thread, as I have discovered........ I think I'm right. I can't get if off yet. And I think someone has tried to undo it in wrong direction buggering the thing inside....... I will take it apart and try to make another fitting and squeese it in the shaft.....
Or put the motor on my pushbike...... somehow :-) cheers speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
Hi Speedy wish you were closer, I just put about 10 Ryobi whipper snippers back in the shed because I didn't have the heart to dump them. Has to be something there you could have used
Plt3043YW doesn't have a clutch. Only PLT3043E and PLT3043YE have the clutch. Plt3043YW is straight connection to the head through coil shaft or linkagage. The coil shaft is square on both ends and can pull out easily when the whole shaft assembly is disconnected from the motor with four bolts holding it. Inside the bend yellow pipe has a long clear plastic guide with the coil shaft in the middle. The end of the shaft towards the head is inserted into the head spindle. The head spindle has threaded female end for the head to mount and a square slot inside for the coil shaft. The spindle is force fit and crimp to the end of the bend pipe. If the end of the coil shaft is rounded, the linkage will slip and clicking can be heard. Pull the shaft and inspect both ends if rounded. If rounded, cut the rounded end and make a new square end with angle grinder. Doing so, you also need to cut the pipe accordingly. Dismantle the handle and make a new guide hole to line-up with handle guide. It's also easy to remove and replace the spindle or undo hard to remove bump knob. Hope it helps.
My inner shaft is square on both ends. I want to split the end and repair it and clamp it back together with a utilux clip. That's the plan. Can anyone confirm the bump head knob is left hand thread? speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
Some of the Homelite and Ryobi straight shaft bump head can be identified if left or right hand thread with the colour of the bumb head. Red is a right hand thread and black is a left hand thread. Most or all straight shafts are right hand thread and most or all bend shafts are left hand thread. This is due to counter centrifugal force that tightening of the bumb/screw head is against the direction of the rotation of the head. This is opposite direction for the straight shaft because of the gear box that turns the head in opposite direction with the shaft/engine. I can confirm the bump head is a left hand thread. Turn CCW to undo it. Could be seized with rust in the thread.
I can confirm the bump head is a left hand thread. Turn CCW to undo it. Could be seized with rust in the thread.
Hi CM, Thanks Shouldn't that be turn clockwise to undo it. as it's a left hand thread.?
I was out at Bunnings and saw replacement head and knob in plastic bubble pack. It shows OFF and arrow pointing anticlockwise.... Meaning that the thread is right hand thread.. It's confusing........... I think this is why people overtighten them, AND as they are bump knobs, bumping on the ground wears away the arrow.... and confuses the matter. I couldn't find an answer on product descriptions. cheers.... I'll have a wine and think about it. speedy
Last edited by speedy; 20/05/1901:37 PM.
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My bad. You're right, to turn clockwise to undo is a left hand thread. The one you saw at Bunnings with black bump knob is a right hand thread. I just want to correct my previous comment and to make it clear, right hand thread is the most common thread commonly available and the left hand thread is a special thread or we called it safety thread.
It's also easy to remove and replace the spindle or undo hard to remove bump knob. Hope it helps. TheCarbyMaster
Hi CM, As my inner shaft has good squares. there must be a problem , I'd like to take off the bottom spindle , mainly to get the bump knob off. I was going to cut the pipe open and rejoin it with a utilux clamp.... Is there an easier way? thanks speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
You can do that as your last option. If you only want to remove the seized bump head, I just did a demonstration of one of my spare Homelite Shaft with seize and wornout bumb knob. See attached photos.
Hi CM, The bump knob is good, I can get a good grip of it but it turns inside. That's why I wanted to take the spindle out to see and repair.... speedy
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If you need to take the spindle out, cut the pipe past the crimp line. Before you install the spindle back, make a light drilling on opposite side of the spindle and make a dent punch when installed plus your clamp. I'm not sure about your clamp because it's very hard to crimp or compress the pipe unless with very strong crimp. Maybe clamp won't do anything. The spindle will force fit into the pipe and only needs to stop it from moving. A dent will do.
hi CM, I didn't want to take spindle ou as that would probably wreck it. I cut he knob off as you showed, and there was enough stem to get a narrow vice grip around and the nut came off..... I had another bump knod in the spares box. The whole problem started when someone put the spring in the wrong place. He put it between the pipe end and the body of the head. Instead of between the body of the head and the line carrier.... Anyway it all fitted back together, BUT the nut at the end of the pipe which fits into the head body was worn roundish.....and slips. It would be good to replace the nut. It's not a user part , I don't know if it's just a nut or connected to the end shaft... Got any ideas, have you ever cut one open? Could mig a few lumps on the nut to get a grip on the plastic head. At least I have a good motor.... left over cheers speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
