Stihl Backpack Blower Saved From Scrap Yard! How To Diagnose and Repair A Sheered Flywheel Key

[@robertbartolomie857]

I own a BR 400 that I purchased in 1984, shortly after graduating high school. It has been my favorite power tool ever since because I can always rely on it. Over the years, I’ve only had to replace the spark plug once and the backpack straps twice-everything else remains original. Remarkably, it always starts on the second or third pull, regardless of the type of gas I use, whether it’s California pump gas or ethanol-free fuel. I typically use it 40 to 60 hours per year, amounting to around 2,000 hours of total operation, and it still runs like a champ. This incredible piece of equipment has served me faithfully for decades, and I’m confident it will last for the rest of my life. I enjoy the channel. Thank you for the content. Robert.

[@ghimmy47]

I wonder how many people trying to sleep due to being sick or in pain have wished the human and that abomination were in Hell.

[@curtyung884]

Try saying something that makes sense ​@@ghimmy47

[@hanleyhough3327]

Love the husqvarna hoodie while working on a stihl. 😂

[@buydirectusa4954]

You make it look so easy.

[@securityranger773]

I love watching you work! Keep passing on your experience.

[@busyboy7635]

Man, you're good. I wish we had you where I live. I love a good honest mechanic.

[@curtyung884]

Thanks for letting us old folks that can tell lots of small engine stories still teaching this old dog new tricks Thanks again

[@Robert-f6o2h]

You have a lot of patience and knowledge to work on those 2-cycle blowers. Enjoy learning from you.

[@thesickhorseranch]

@9:45 I spit coffee all over everything!🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@kevinmetz4821]

Dirty mind. Me too.

[@sloth9669]

The internet comment section. Still undefeated 😂

[@iamweasel68]

I found my people! 😂😂😂

[@jiminsav]

After bath and a blow job, ...damn

[@Tom-Harpur-meditation76]

I thought my ears were letting me down when I heard it. 😂😂😂

[@badbob]

I had one of those and it developed carburetor issues. I sold and got the BR450. Enjoyed the video.

[@georgew.5639]

I’m using a stihl BR 700 from my golf course greenskeeping job. It’s lightweight and very reliable. I’m borrowing it to use at my parents house where I’m living to finish the leaf cleaning. When my job is finished owning it, I’m going to take possession of it. I’m now remembering that we have a blower that looks like the one you worked on. I’ll make sure that doesn’t get thrown away too. Great video! 😊⛳️

[@tgsgardenmaintenance4627]

Got given one a few months ago from a client. I used it in his garden for years, but not for last four. Still had the fuel I'd put in it. New spark plug, runs sweet as a nut!!

[@jimbrewer2893]

I didn't know those tools were there either. Nice video!

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Bre, Wish I had a blower like that a month ago when moving the leaves in my front yard to the curb. Was using an HF Bauer cordless blower to do the job and my low back is still complaining. Took me 45 minutes to finish the job. That blower would have cut the time by 30 minutes. Our Township comes around and collects the leaves. You, Ron, and the family stay safe.

[@c.a.robinson1993]

I purchased My BR 400 in 96 & is still running strong! A spark & a couple of air filters is all that I put on it. It was used commercially for the first 5 years & Residentially until now. Best backpack blower ever made hands down!

[@jimandnena4]

I worked on a Toro mower kicked to the curb for no start. Owner had hit something serious that stopped it. One year old, perfect condition. I made the mistake of blasting starter spray in it and giving it a yank. The key that is supposed to shear only deformed halfway changing the spark timing. The engine fired reverse rotation delocating my shoulder. After healing, I put a new key in it and sold it for 300 bucks. Lesson learned, look first.

[@JDG1958]

I’ve got that blower. I bought it used about 10 years ago. Starts on the 3rd pull. Runs like a champ!!

[@kernelbadness]

Good info. One thing you should do after a sheared woodruff key is lap the flywheel to the crank to repair mating surfaces which is how the flywheel stays secured to the crank. The woodruff key is for timing and is designed to shear if the flywheel spins.

[@garypritchard9787]

Wow! She cleaned up really well! It is disgusting how people don’t keep their tools clean. I have an old BR320, replaced carb a few years ago & coil a few months ago. She still runs great!

[@delseckora5327]

Excellent job yet again Bre.😃

[@rodneygreen9968]

Thanks Bre. You are a fantastic small engine repair person. You make routine maintenance look so very easy. Thanks for the great video & sharing your knowledge & experience.

[@RichAndrews-o8e]

Only wish equipment went back together that fast😵‍💫 Thanks always for the great videos👍

[@stihl0256]

We bought one of those blowers maybe ten years ago - used. We use it every day in the tree business, and it just won't die. I have replaced suspension springs, rewind assemblies, and have fussed with the throttle cable and especially the shutoff wiring, but so far nothing that cost any real money. Wish some of our other equipment was as reliable.

[@CharlesHice-e3l]

I worked with tree companies, right-of-way clearance companies, storm work, ran the forestry department for a city. I’ve tinkered with tons of saws, trimmers, mowers, pressure washers and blowers. Always got them going again but since I found your channel thanks to a dirt dobber I’m starting to understand why . Thanks

[@dgeoffreyfitton2836]

thanks for the heads up on this blower. At least 20 years ago I gave my son one of these blowers for Christmas and to best of my knowledge it's "stihl" (no pun intended) hanging in there. I'll make sure he knows about this flywheel key and doesn't deep six it if it shows any of those symptoms you mentioned. Nice video

[@danieldominguez7146]

Just watched your video an couldn’t help but notice. How cool you wearing a Husqvarna hoody to repair a Stihl unit. Haha!!! DLCR El Paso, Tx

[@100vg]

Great repair video and you cleaned it up nicely! Pretty fine for a blower that old. I know the owner will love everything you did!

[@jerrywilder9403]

BR400 I’ve owned for ever replaced carb and coil but still blowes like new 👍👍👍

[@jerrydespaltro4023]

Great information! I have 2 of that identical machine, Both have been flawless since new! I will definitely store this i for in the memory banks! THANKS!

[@keithmonarch447]

Here's a quick response. It's really nice to have the experience, good job....

[@michaelweatherhead9470]

Well done Bre take care of yourself and family and friends and be Blessed ❤️.

[@shannonwhitaker9630]

If you use or work on old 400-420’s you’ll get good at flywheel key replacement. These models also don’t have a purge “primer” bulb obviously so they can be hard to start and/or flood out on occasion if you don’t follow a certain routine. If you flood the unit you can hold the throttle wide open with the cruise control lever and start a’ pullin’. It’ll start eventually. I find them to be really thirsty units so mix plenty of fuel for big jobs. They do have good air flow for old school units.

[@haroldrogers8711]

Awesome work Bree, I learn something new every program.

[@CerebralAilment]

I just picked one of those up this past fall $40 - Guy said it stopped running and bought a new one. Just drained it and blew out the carb & ports and it starts first pull all the time. Now I need to check if the Scrench and Carb Flat head are there lol

[@lonhoschar1943]

Another piece of very useful information!! I'm going to keep a look out for one of those for cheap!!

[@fatherofmimes4236]

So Bre, I simply love the fact that your uploads are always the most consistence in showing every, and I do mean every single step. Many content creators simply think, if a person is watching a complex video they must know what is what. Not the case, a noob or challenged DYIer needs this type of example. You not only show us, you EXPLAIN why you are showing the real problem. Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving! Wishing you all blessings for the rest of the Holidays! Thank you, and as always... You keepa Teachin' and we'll keepa Watchin' anda Learnin'!!♥

[@edb7549]

Another great video keep them coming

[@SullivanHooper]

Time, money and frustration and on top of that what to look for! Love your channel! Keep it up!

[@heathboeddeker5401]

Today instead of the Mad scientist Bre we get the Speedy Gonzales Bre 😂. Both do a fantastic job Thank ya Mrs. Chickanic

[@PatrickFaricy]

Hey Bree, on the fan housing, there is a hole that is covered by a white plastic cap; when wearing the blower on the upper left hand side. I have always wondered what the hole and cap are for. It would be interesting to hear what it is: you replaced the cap at 13:08.

[@aarongrabowski3775]

Great job Bri. Thats great that Stihl puts that spark plug and t 20 tool in there too. Gonna see if my Husqvarna has it now.

[@richardwernst]

Great info, thanks. Not sure how/why the crank nut came/was off though. And while quite a number of steps, pretty straightforward to replace the key. What's the outlet with the cap at the top of the blower/fan housing for?

[@bryanproctor2983]

Man, a really complicated part to get to. She makes it look so easy. This would have taken me all day, that’s if I could have remembered how to put it all back together. Very impressive. I’m guessing the labor and parts repair wasn’t cheap. And for good reason.

[@shannonwhitaker9630]

I’ve run these units extensively for many years. The repair is a PITA but they are good machines !!! In my opinion the keyways were/are soft, undersized and they can fail simply from high hour usage fatigue.

[@bryanproctor2983]

@@shannonwhitaker9630 thanks for the info. I’ll be looking for a used one

[@marioep18]

I'm in Colombia, South America, and you can still buy this blower brand new. It's made in Brazil, but it's a solid purchase imo.

[@dave-uf8ir]

Excellent bre cheers 🥂 😊

[@swayme67]

You make it look so easy! Thank you for sharing your mad skills and deep knowledge with us mere mortals. Happy holidays!

[@PeterTheMowerGuy]

These are great blowers, hopefully I can find one at some point.

[@garychaiken808]

Great job. You’re a genius. Thank you 😊

[@stevepelino5986]

Great video. I see these units around from time to time. They are work horses for sure. Thank you for sharing this video 😉

[@dingokidneys]

Lady, you know your business. First pull and she's off. Great stuff.

[@victormarinelli5660]

Purchased one of the original BR600 blowers new. Except for the issue with the fuel line setup in the tank (which I fixed), it ran flawless for many years.....until it didn't....blew a crank bearing. Piston, rings, cylinder and valves all looked perfect. Installed a new crank (had nothing better to do lol) and years later, it still runs like new. Have no idea why that one bearing failed, the other one was perfect. Still running strong to date.

[@kubotajordan9502]

Great video, I actually have one of these over 20 years old still runs like a top it cost me 400.00 buck brand new.Thank you for showing how to fix are noisy tools.

[@peterouellette3874]

Nice going, Chick

[@jamescaron6465]

Those squared up Stihl blowers were definitely worth fixing. But that was a really good job you made it look easy.

[@gregritter5883]

Nice job Bree

[@davidschliebe246]

My 30 yr old blower still looks like new...I keep it clean . It's a great time to preform a vacuum- pressure test while your blower is so torn down.

[@jimmyking8206]

Awesome job.😊

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

I think it's fair that if most repairs can be accessed without much trouble that's great. Even if you have to disassemble a lot to get to that one thing that happens rarely, I don't consider that unfair. Some things require a fair bit of disassembly. It's far preferable to having something not accessible and having to replace an entire system because a section is made with unserviceable parts. All too many companies are trying to make entire products unserviceable, and to even go so far as to make it illegal to do so in some cases. To see a company make a product that can be - if rarely necessary - completely able to be serviced is refreshing.

[@stevengamsby8376]

I have a TanakaTBS 300. I’ve owned since 1980 that still works better than any of my echo steel or Husqvarna.

[@markwray3905]

Saved another one 😊

[@guytaniguchi]

Nice job, thanks for the lesson!!

[@jeffclark2725]

Thumbs up great video, agreed, the BR 400 blowers are great machines, like better than the BR 600,worked on them for years, ran great,very durable

[@davidmcduffie1398]

Great job Bre !

[@BruceHowe-v8d]

I have one of those and I use use it residentially a couple times a year and it is a trouper! Had a carb kit put in it a couple years ago a hopefully won’t run into this but if I do I know how to fix it now. I was just cleaning it and found those tools on the bottom after about 10 years of owning it 😂

[@tedfelsberg5322]

It’ll be just like that Valentine-Day, when I bought her that bathroom scale. I’ll be in the TALL cotton.

[@rarnette73]

Great tutorial, and you cleaned it before putting it back together. I so talk to KZbin all the time saying why didn’t you clean that part before putting it back together. 😊

[@scottdavidson5816]

Another chickanic magic touch

[@bobmeyer7009]

Love this channel! Informative, fun to watch.

[@MichaelofYurtBees]

She understands that men are simple creatures and she is a master at double entendré.

[@TheGonzedd]

Hi. Thanks for your videos. Do you have one on replacing the primer bubble on a Black Max small chain saw?

[@dannylinc6247]

Long T-27 is uncommon. I had to make one, then search stores and bought several sets. Stihl was being difficult in design. But I helped the person to get their yard cut. I made one from cutting a gang-set.

[@spelunkerd]

I'm a little surprised it is hard to diagnose a sheared key, but I guess you can't see the fan with all the plastic in the way. Also the fan will probably still spin a little. This has to be the best repair video I've seen all week, and I don't even own a Stihl.

[@BudTheDrummer]

I picked up many lawn mowers with sheared keys. I paid 25 cents for a key and give away the mower. Sold a few for under $20. I just saw in Home Depot 4cycle MTD Trimmer-Husquvarna 6XF key $8!

[@russellwiddows8892]

I have that very machine, I was having an awful job starting it, I eventually work out reducing the plug gap from standard gap by 25%. And it now starts on about the 3rd or 4th pull every time.

[@philliphall5198]

Hope the weather is good there it’s really dry in West Texas but rain is heading your way 😊

[@larrybeussink7737]

Thanks for the great video! We have one and it gets overlooked so often because it looks so old. Hahaha it still runs great.

[@aintworking1]

Great video. Would that carb kit fit a stihl fs56rc trimmer bought in 2017? Thanks for all that you do.

[@philmaryamoore9251]

You are a genuine genius!!!

[@JimRoscosky-hv5kd]

Good video I never saw one torn Completely apart Lots of work but we'll worth it.

[@True70woodsman]

I thought I had the same problem. Also replaced the jug gasket thinking it was an air leak. Turned out being a corroded plug wire. I was getting a spark but not strong enough. She’s old, from the late 90’s

[@ronevans852]

Wonderful job very impressive.

[@Z7d3nR4]

Good machine. By the way, how is the Dudekanic?

[@garyalford9394]

What do you do with the stihl FS45 string trimer with the keyway broached into the flywheel when they strip out!

[@cuznclive2236]

Thank you.

[@ricksaint2000]

Thank you Bre

[@jeremyclayton283]

lol. Maybe an unfortunate description of blowing out the carburetor with shop air. Looked up pretty quick when I heard that and had to laugh a little. Sorry….🙂

[@haneyoakie14]

lol

[@MikePagenkopf]

Awesome job

[@josemanrique9860]

Love your videos I have a goped with a 29cc I would like to add a second fuel tank.... can I T from from the Main tank?? And do I have to T the return??? Or only the supply

[@SteveGoldbach-i3g]

Thanks for another great video!

[@Super4speed]

I have a 340 runs great, 26 years old

[@ThierryC2373]

LoL $1 part and $500 labor to tear it apart and put it back together 😆

[@ronstrong9560]

Thinking the same thing. How much real time did it take? $100.+ per hour for many shops. If they need to dig deeper & figure the problem, more than it's worth? How much do those cost new?

[@talesfromthebottle6314]

Is that not why we're here?? My labour is free and I'm learning how to fix it myself

[@robertheinkel6225]

The starter clutch went out on my Goldwing motorcycle. The part was $12, but the labor was $700.

[@owenst.edward3412]

Great work

[@virgilcollins4925]

I've never seen that done before but it works good😎😎😎🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸😎😎😎

[@TCHamilton56]

Amazing Brie, just amazing

[@aBigMeanie]

i'm not on other social sites. just thought you might like to get and test one of these gas containers for the youtube channel. they work. Stens 2 1/2 Gallon Fuel Can 765-102 For No-Spill 1405, 765-102, 11.75" x 8" x 10"", Red. i'd post the amazon link but i'm sure you can find it. i've been using the 1.25 gal, 2.5 gal, and 5 gal stens fuel can versions for several years and am very happy with them. especially the 1.25 gal for use with chainsaws. 🙂

[@errolpoxleitner9586]

Good job Bre.

[@joeclark9042]

Hey hey how you doing beautiful did you have a nice turkey day hope you did keep up the good work I rebuilt like four of those blowers I love them

[@snyper069]

Geeez! I've got a BR420 and never knew the tools were under the frame 🤣🤣🤣

[@MarkAnderhalt]

Thanks for a great class, lov'in it

[@batman607]

You are the coolest Repair person on the Tube for sure. How About telling us what things cost like how much did it cost to repair that blower . thank you , keep up the good work.

[@Chickanic]

I got lucky with this one that the flywheel was already unattached from the shaft. Usually, I have to also remove the other plastic fan shroud side from the entire engine so I can get leverage on the flywheel to get it off. If that is the case and EVERYTHING is tore apart, I charge an hour labor of $80 and $2 for the flywheel key. 😆

[@BG-vq9fd]

I have a 400 and a 420, I'll have check for the screwdriver.

[@jdprice3043]

thank you for your help