If you have never taken it apart for anything....! Bad dog!
Whew - you should take the saw apart for cleaning at least once a month, if you are using it regularly, then st least the air filter, spark plug, bar and chain should be checked and cleaned every 6hrs or daily!
Now, for you starter cord...
Take the starter cord side cover off...clean everything
Pull the cord all the way out, check for wear and tear, then detension it completely
Pop off the clip and washer, remove the black pawl (check it for wear) then carefully pull off the pulley and visually check the condition of the spring underneath.
Check the pulley itself for cracks
If the spring is ok, not broken, replace the pulley, turn it back and forth until it seats back down into place. If the spring is broken, get a new one!
Put the pawl back in, replace the washer and clip
To retension, grab a bit of the cord and use it to turn the pulley five complete turns, don't let the cord wrap back on the pulley.
It will get tight, hang on!
Once you have tension on the spring, hold the pulley, unravel the cord, and feed it back in slowly. Control the pulley as it will want to fly out of control!!!
once the cord is wound back onto the pulley...to test, hold the cover upright and flop the pull handle down, it should spring back upright quite smartly, if it is floppy or slow, then add another turn of cord onto the pulley.
To check you haven't wound it too tight, hold the cover, pull the cord out till it stops, hold the pulley and turn it, there should be at least a quarter to a half turn left in the spring with the cord fully extended, if not, take off one wrap of cord from the pulley.
I hope this made some sense!!! Its hard to describe this operation in words without being able to show you!
