So my daughter's '90 Trailblazer recoil seized up. Upon disassembly I noticed that the recoil cover has gasket sealer on it, and a fill hole for what appears to be a reservoir that I can only guess is for some sort of oil to lube the recoil assembly? Never seen this before. There is oil residue but there was no standing oil that ran out. Anyone familiar with this?

 

This is not a fill hole but a check hole for finding tdc on the flywheel.No oil in this cover! Clean out any oil residue with contact cleaner.Oil in the cover could be from water mixing with the grease from the bendix or a crank seal may be leaking a little.There also is a drain plug on the bottom of the recoil that a lot of people over look to help drain water buildup. Once you get the recoil repaired use some good rtv sealant on the cover to help keep moisture out. Same thing on the recoil starter. You can silicone it to the nipple to help keep out water if you still have the electric starter.Easy to break loose if you need to pull start it.