Hi Tyler, I don't know how you can go wrong on those star screws, provided you use the correct tool. They give a very positive grip. I had to remove the clutch on one of these for the first time, after my dad borrowed it and part of his shirt got sucked into the fan which sits behind the clutch, and bent the starter pawls, makng the starter unable to turn the engine over effectively.
I had to purchase a T20 (I think it was T20) screwdriver for about $8.00 in order to undo that screw in the centre of he clutch. One modest yank of the wrist, and it cracked with ease and undid.
I found pieces of blue shirt material in the fan blades and the force had bent the pawls, or whatever you call them, so It was just a matter of undoing another similar unit and swapping over it's pawls and it was back to work. These Ryan/Ryobis are rugged and easy, if a bit fiddly (like all small engine powered garden implements), to pull apart and fix up. They seem to place emphasis on torque , rather than power, as they are made to operate some pretty heavily loaded machinery, such as the garden tiller and blower vacs, as well as weed wacking.
