Lawn Boy Recoil Spring Snapped? The $5 Stens 155-051 Fix
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Pricing note: the prices and availability in this article are accurate as of June 2026 and are subject to change. Always check the retailer’s current price before buying.
Vintage Lawn Boys are the mowers people refuse to give up. They get handed down, kept running for forty years, and treated like a member of the family. So when the Lawn Boy recoil spring on a C-12 snaps and the pull cord goes limp, the panic is real, and it gets worse the moment you find out the OEM spring is no longer available new from Toro or Lawn Boy. An owner worked through exactly this on My Tractor Forum and marked the thread FIXED after confirming that an inexpensive replacement spring, sold under OEM number 602610, dropped right in. The aftermarket cross that makes this part easy to buy today — Stens 155-051 — is confirmed separately by parts retailers, and the whole fix costs about five dollars.
Short Answer
The Lawn Boy C-12 recoil starter spring is OEM PN 602610, no longer available new from Toro or Lawn Boy. The aftermarket fills the gap cleanly: Stens 155-051 crosses to 602610 per parts retailers, with abundant new-old-stock supply on eBay starting around $5. If you would rather not wind a bare spring at all, a complete aftermarket starter assembly runs $20 to $40.
What the part actually is
The recoil spring is the flat, coiled steel ribbon inside the pull-start assembly. When you yank the cord, the spring winds up; when you let go, it rewinds the cord and pulls the starter pulley back to its rest position. It lives under tension its whole life, and on a forty-year-old mower it eventually fatigues and snaps. When it goes, the cord either will not retract or will not spin the engine, and the mower feels dead even though nothing else is wrong.
First, make sure it’s actually the spring
Before you buy anything, confirm the spring is the real culprit, because a few other failures look identical from the pull handle. Take thirty seconds. Pull the cord slowly: if it pulls out but does not snap back at all, the recoil spring is the prime suspect. If the cord retracts fine but feels loose, slips, or will not engage the engine, you may instead have a frayed or jumped cord, worn starter pawls (dogs), or a cracked pulley — none of which a new spring will fix. Then pop the starter cover and look. A snapped recoil spring is usually visible as a broken or unhooked flat steel ribbon, and the pulley will spin freely with no return tension. If the spring is intact and the cord or pawls are the problem, you are shopping for a different part. Confirming this first is the difference between a five-dollar fix and a returned package.
What it fits
Fits: the Lawn Boy C-12. If you have a related Lawn Boy C-series machine, it may use similar starter hardware, so the same Stens spring is worth checking against your own assembly — confirm the fit for your specific unit before buying rather than assuming it.
The OEM part number and its crosses
The OEM number is 602610. Because the OEM part is discontinued, the numbers that matter most are the crosses:
- Stens 155-051: the direct aftermarket equivalent to Lawn Boy 602610, confirmed by parts retailers. This is the part to search for.
- Lawn Boy 602613: a closely related C-series starter pin spring, sold on eBay as a near-equivalent two-pack. This is not the same as 602610, so verify it fits your specific starter before relying on it. Worth knowing the number exists, because it is cheap and shows up in searches for this repair.
The buying landscape
This is one of the rare parts where eBay is not the fallback tier, it is the main answer. New-old-stock supply is abundant, the Stens cross is confirmed by parts retailers (not just private sellers), and prices are well disciplined.
Tier 1: eBay, the Stens 155-051 spring
As of the June 2026 check there were around 30 listings, mostly new-old-stock, with the spring itself running about $3 to $9. Because most ship from individual sellers, budget closer to $10 delivered once shipping is added — the postage is often nearly as much as the part. The cleanest recommendation is a listing whose title spells out exactly what you want, “Stens Starter Spring, Part 155-051, Fits Lawn-Boy 602610,” from a high-feedback Stens-focused seller, at about $5 for the spring. A bare spring from a 99-plus-percent seller with the cross spelled out in the title is the safe buy.
Tier 2: Specialty small-engine retailers
If you would rather buy from a parts retailer than a private seller, Leon’s Chainsaw Parts and Lawnmower Pros both carry the Stens spring, and Repair Clinic is good for a quick fitment check. Pricing is similar, sometimes a dollar or two more once shipping is in.
Tier 3: Complete starter assembly
If winding a spring is not your idea of a good afternoon, a complete aftermarket recoil starter assembly runs $20 to $40 and skips the fiddly part entirely. The aftermarket replacement on Amazon is one option; check current price. This costs more but saves the spring-winding step.
| Option | Price | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay, Stens 155-051 | ~$5 (~$10 shipped) | The exact spring, NOS | You wind it yourself |
| Specialty retailer | ~$5-$15 | Same spring, from a shop | Slightly higher with shipping |
| Complete assembly | $20-$40 | Whole recoil starter | More money to skip the winding |
| eBay, 602613 two-pack | ~$3 (+ shipping) | Related pin springs | Different part; verify fit first |
Prices above are approximate and accurate as of June 2026, subject to change. Confirm the current price at the retailer before buying.
Where to buy it
- Stens 155-051 on eBay: the main buy. Look for the listing that names “Fits Lawn-Boy 602610” from a high-feedback seller, about $5.
- Lawn Boy 602610 recoil spring on eBay: search by the OEM number directly, including the related 602613 two-packs.
- Aftermarket replacement on Amazon: check current price.
Safety: a wound recoil spring is stored energy
This is the one part of the job that can actually hurt you. A recoil spring is under tension when it is wound, and a flat steel spring that escapes its housing will whip out fast and can cut a hand or catch an eye. Wear safety glasses and gloves. Keep the spring contained in its housing as you work, let it unwind in a controlled way rather than letting it fly, and keep your face out of the line of the coil while you seat the new one. If you are reusing the housing, seat the spring’s outer hook first and work it in calmly. One more thing before you pull the old spring: note which direction the coil winds, because the replacement seats and winds the same way — a recoil spring installed backwards will not retract the cord. Take your time here. The rest of the repair is easy; this is the step to respect.
Related on GetPartFound
- Lawn Boy and Toro traction cable (92-6518): another small-engine fix where the real failure is a spring inside the part.
- Stripped spark plug threads: Heli-Coil or Time-Sert?: the other “don’t buy the whole head” small-engine repair.
- The Lawn Boy M-series needle and seat: keeping the same beloved mowers fed, one tiny part at a time.
The takeaway
- The part is the recoil starter spring, OEM 602610, no longer available new from Toro or Lawn Boy.
- The cross to buy is Stens 155-051, about $5 on eBay with abundant new-old-stock supply.
- Don’t want to wind a spring? A complete starter assembly is $20 to $40.
- Respect the spring tension. Glasses, gloves, keep it contained.
A five dollar spring is what stands between a forty-year-old Lawn Boy and the scrap pile. That is a good trade.