I have a Troy Built string trimmer TB32EC. The bump head quit turning after wrapping it in some tall grass. I unwrapped the grass. With the engine running, now the head will not turn, even with no load. Yet the head turns easy by hand. I figured the clutch had gone bad. So I removed the clutch to order a new one. However, after removing the engine fro the shaft. I noticed that when I turn the shaft by hand. The head will not move. When I turn the head by hand, the shaft does not move? Is this normal. Or is the shaft maybe broken or damaged? Is there something else I should check? This all new ground for me. Hate to order a new clutch I don't need. Thanks in advance.

 

The drive cable may be twisted off. Take the shaft off the engine. That should expose the cable. From there you can tell what is broken.

 

Good advice,
They have cheapened up all those Troy-Bilt products so much there not worth buying any more.
Wait until the dogs break in the pull starter, there cheap plastic pieces so small I had to lay them down on a piece of paper to even see them.
One of my customers broke 2 shafts, and a few recoils, and the rope broke several times in about a year.
The Pony tiller I had the pull cord string broke the first time I used it, replaced the whole recoil housing under warranty, broke again the second time it was used.
I talked him into spending a little more money and he bought a Stihl brand trimmer and never once has had an issue with it.

 

marbobj, Thanks for your reply, as mentioned in my first post. The engine has been removed. So they're driven by a cable not a shaft? Yes, I'm green as grass. Not a mechanic. I can clean a carb and that's about it.


So to be clear. With the engine removed. When I turn the cable by hand. The bump head should turn? Or turning the bump head should turn the Cable? All these years I had just assumed straight shaft weed eaters were shaft driven. Now that I think about it, the cable drive does make sense.

Edited to add. If the cable is twisted off. It's not a clean break. As I cannot pull any part of the cable out of the shaft. Thanks again

 

They are usually flex cables with square ends. They just slide into square sockets on either end and carry the drive from the engine to the head. With the tube shaft disconnected you can pull the cable out.

 

In looking at an image of your trimmer. it looks like there is a gear box on the lower end of the shaft. If so, the gear box could be damaged.

 

Thanks, yes it has the gear box. Anyway to test the gear box or flexible drive line without removing them? I don't know what I'm doing, so I'm trying to avoid unnecessary work as well as messing up something in the process.

 

OK, gear box seems fine. Cable also seems fine. The clutch seems fine to my untrained eyes. But don't have anything to compare it to. But here's the thing. With the shaft, and cable drive removed. I can crank the engine over by hand, Hold the cluch housing in the other hand.And it will spin in my hand. This is not normal? Is it? And yeas I have the clutch housing and clutch tightened down.