Worked on Grass Trimmers

I picked up a couple of gas powered grass trimmers that someone was throwing out a few months back.  One of them is a 15" Homelite Textron Model ST-155 20539a.  The other is a 17" Craftsman 25cc  model 358.796260.  Both trimmers need work.

The Homelite has the following problems:

• Needs a new fuel line hose
• The weed guard is broken
• The primer button is missing.

One other weird problem with the Homelite is that there is only one hole on the gas tank.  It is for the gas line.  There is no hole for the primer line in the tank.  I don't know if there are other parts missing or if the gas tank on the Homelite is the wrong one.  I tried researching the parts on the internet but it is not clear how the primer line connects to the tank.  After watching a bunch of YouTube videos about fixing grass trimmers and doing other research without finding out anything helpful, I decided to move on to the Craftsman.

The Craftsman has the following problems:

• Needs a new fuel line hose and fuel filter
• Primer hose
• New gas gap
• Cover for spool

I bought the parts at the local Sears parts store and swapped out the bad parts on the Craftsman.  I mixed some gas and oil at a 40:1 ratio in a small gas container that I got and filled up the tank.  When I used the primer button to prime the tank, the button broke.  There is now a hole right in the middle of the button.  The trimmer will not start.  It might simply be because of the broken primer button but I am not sure.

Sears will not sell only the primer button.  You have to buy the entire carburetor kit.  That, with shipping, costs $25; hardly worth the cost.  I can't proceed until I get a new primer button.  I'm going to try to find one that might fit based on the diameter.  Maybe I can fix it.