McCulloch Eager Beaver 2.0 CID Chainsaw - Will No Start 

Wasn't anyone on the edge of their seat watching the handle of the vice dance and cheat disaster in front of the flywheel? Lucky man. Excellent video,very thorough. I'll be thinking twice before tearing mine apart. Thanks.

Someone gave me a Mac 140. Took one look at it & knew I'll be trading it away. So much easier to service the systems, including the carb, on my Echo

I thought for sure the handle from the vise was going to hit the flywheel while you were adjust the carb. Good job on the repair.

I grabbed a curbside year 1994 McCulloch weed wacker a few years ago. It was the largest 2-stroke cc engine made for a weed wacker. Total beast. Even after full carb work, it was always a total pain to get started. No compression release of course. So every pull was always hard and heavy. No matter what I did, it was always a challenge to get it started. Once started, it was a total beast. An absolute animal! It felt like it could cut down trees... Other than the novelty that I brought it back to life and had a bunch of hours of my labor into it, I hated it. lol Since it was so old and hard to start, nobody would want to buy it. So I fully disassembled it with my son helping, so he got quite an education on how a 2 stroke engine works. I kept the piston and head. I guess you could say that it gave it new life to science and education! :) Great video James! You are so calm and patient with everything you do. It's very easy to get frustrated, but you are always calm. (I'm sure there are plenty of moments that try your patience though) well done!

James, just ran across your channel. I’ve done small engine repair as a hobby all my 63 years. You’ve taught me more in the past few weeks than I’ve learned in my lifetime. Thank You!! I’m semi-retired and have always wanted to get into small engine repair. I’m a retired electrical engineer so the generator stuff is a Bonus! Thanks and God Bless.

OMG ,I threw one of these away for having the exact same problems , this was 25 years ago . James you are quickly becoming my go to guy , thanks again .

Hello James. For my sins I am a Sthil man and have done countless hours with my saw and find it a well made, sensibly designed and very reliable tool, and the carb is relatively easy to work on and does at times need a bit of TLC. I have used a McCulloch many years ago, but never worked on one - thank God! What a very stupid design I have to say. Thanks for for all your great demonstrations on the many different machines of all types you tackle and work on. You are a fascinating inspiration. Stay safe and well.

I picked up an ancient one of these maybe 35 years ago, at a yard-sale for $5. I had to clean the carb, then found out how it and the engine were entombed - what a pain! I got it working that weekend.Then it got put away for years, and by the time I needed it again.... well, I had other choices. That old Mac is probably still somewhere in my parent's garage! 🙂

I owned one of those , best beater chainsaw I ever owned dropped it in a frozen lake cutting ice , found it in the spring new fuel and oil 3 pulls started up

There is a knack to starting McCulloch's.. I love McCulloch, and have many chainsaws.. Prime fuel - Full choke - Pull till it splutters - Half choke - Pull to start :) No throttle.. They can be a pain to start if throttle is applied..

I was running this saw for about 2 hours at about a 30-50% duty cycle ru-vid.comUgkxfQm1wmg0ItKDLavxj1nXtQY9HP7EF504 and it did a great job. I used the lever for the built in sharpener to clear chip buildup out more than to actually sharpen the chain. It managed to cut some hardwood stumps much larger than it's size without bothering the neighbors with hours of 2 stroke noise.

Perfect example of why I have stopped working on other than my own chainsaws. At 74, I just don't have the patience any more to go through what it takes to get them apart just to be able to make the repairs.

Thanks James! I've owned the same saw since new. Still runs perfectly. I handed down my Mac 10 to my son as I'm nearing 80 and it's getting too heavy for me. The Eager Beaver is just right for me around the property. A bit of trivia, When McCulloch sold the chainsaw business he brought the London Bridge to Lake Havasu in Arizona. Thanks for all the very informative videos!

I like your approach and technique -- clean things up, work in a clean organized environment, wear gloves if needed, delicate touch in handling fragile parts, patience in getting things lined up, etc. Too many repair videos involve pigsty workshops, grease/dirt everywhere, and a heavy-handed, "slap'er together an git'er dun" attitude. I much prefer this.

I had a Mini Mac 10 years older than your saw that would go toe to toe with my Stihl Farm Boss. I loved that saw and I think I just plain wore it out. It handled a 24” bar a few times in its life too. Great video and I’m sure you are happy about not working on a generator for a change. Bravo Zulu sir.

I can't imagine how much it would cost to have a shop do everything you did to get that saw running decent. After owning several 2 stroke powered saws and weed whackers, I am so glad I now have a battery powered saw and weed whacker, never a problem using them as long as the batteries are charged.

Now he's the Chain Saw Whisperer too!

Everbody loves an eager beaver! Great video!!!

Very good video on MAC 120.. my late dad left us his old MAC 120, points & condenser model. I might revive that machine after watching this. Thank you so much!!!

My first saw was a Mcculloch Pro Mac 55 back in the early 70s. I liked watching you restore this one.

Excellent video James. You taught me that this carb cleaning project will be put to the side until I have more time LOL

From no run to snappy and clean! Great video as always James! I always learn something watching your videos!

this is better than any TV show: its educational, with drama, failure and success. its excellent for oscar night: at least one learns something without wasting time on bad acting. love it. erki

Great video and glad you got it running again for the owner. The design is absolutely wretched imo though if you have to disassemble it to get to the carb. I've not worked on one of these specific saws before, but will surely decline if given the opportunity!

I don't think I've ever seen an old saw that clean inside!

Who needs a service manual when you have one of James' videos to reference!!

I check the oiler whenever I tune up my saw. It's important to me to know that the saw is pumping oil onto the bar & chain. I just point the tip of the bar at a piece of cardboard and revv up the saw and I will see a line of oil appear on the cardboard if all is well. If it's a manual (thumb-pump) oiler, I have to pump the bulb in order see the line of oil, of course. That means the bar & chain are getting oiled. 👍🏻

That little guy sounds great,runs smoothly!

I certainly admire your patience and ability to handle the tiniest parts. Thank you.

Have a mini Mac 110 I picked up and rebuilt carb for no start..awesome little saws when they run good..

James the handle on the vice looking like it’s going to hit the flywheel

Geez! When you said the engine had to come out, you weren't kidding.

Loctite is your best friend on these little mini macs.....

I love the set of coasters you made with the test cut. You're wife will be happy! "Condon Custom Coasters" Every time I watch you work I want to go out and work on one of my small engines. I enjoy watching your patience as you work thru everything. Excellent!

Good morning everyone

Just to add Saw lives in my shed and starts at minus 30 A good go to saw that is ready for action ( after major rebuild every 2 years )

Interesting little saw. So much disassembly to get at the carb! You can see why taking this type of machine into a shop for repair would be pretty cost prohibitive. You are a very patient man, James!

I bet by the end of the video that saw is producing 6000 watts of power at 61.5 rpm at 121 volts.

What a truly appalling design! I thought the wife's Ryobi strimmer was bad, with the pull start at the FRONT of the motor, but this takes the biscuit. I am really in awe of your patience & even temperament.

Those things drove me crazy when I was younger. There is a good reason why they stopped making them!

Chain saws are a pain. The labor is intense, and it's like working on a jigsaw puzzle. That fuel tank screen, Was a good find. Probably, in a commercial shop, the cost of a new saw would be $30 more than repair of the old one. Good Job, Jim, as usual....++++

Thats a tough saw to work on. Great job

James I like your approach to fixing something. Another great video also the viewer is going to be happy you got his chainsaw working. I have learnt more about the inner workings of a chainsaw.

Nice. My dad taught me how to run a chainsaw on an older version of the same saw. I don't think we ever had any problems with it. Nice basic saw and not so heavy it kills your back.

I love working on these saws and the sound they make while cutting is music 😊❤

We had McCulloch chainsaws on the farm when I was a kid. They would NEVER start! We would spend more time getting them fixed than using them. I was a bit disappointed that you did not mention tensioning the chain and checking the chain oiler. I have been bitten by both of these quite recently. That was on a Stihl, though. Never had a problem starting those! Thanks for the great content, James. I wish you had been around in the 60's and 70's when we needed your expertise.

Hi, James. I am always impressed by the research you do on your projects. I guess it is supposed to be an obvious thing to do, but I have often taken on a project not knowing critical parameters. Trial and error were my only salvation. Good work on that li'l guy. Thanks for sharing! Stay Healthy!

Ah the mini mac. Not many people want to fool with them. Hlad to see ya braught it back to life. Got 3 of those my self. Cool little top handles

its fun trying to adjust them when they are jumping around. need another hand. nice change of pace

Great video and nice work James! I have a Mcculloch Mini Mac 30 which is of similar design and doesn't have a chain brake, great lightweight little saws! I love vintage chainsaws and actually collect them, every saw in my collection runs, some already ran when I acquired them, the rest I repaired and got running.

I repaired that same Mcholluch with the 2.0 engine and it didn’t have spark due to the fact that when the red kill switch was in the up for starting, it turned out that it was still touching the kill terminal on the inside so I had to re-bend it to a correct position where it would be separated from the Kill switch so it wouldn’t ground out. I’m glad I watched this video though in case I have to take this chainsaw all the way apart.

It seems like the smaller these power tools get the more complicated they become and difficult to work on. Great video James 👍

That Beaver started out not very eager! Great job and a testimony to your patience.

I have an Echo about that size probably early 90’s which was my dad’s and it’s never been cracked open. Only replaced fuel line. I think it still has the original plug. Starts and runs every time. Made in Japan. Learned something though and I work on these also. Didn’t know the jet needle arm spec. I’ll file that one away. Cheers.

Another interesting video. Glad you got this working again. I am glad my chainsaw is corded electric. I do not use it often, mostly cutting up log sections for turning. I like knowing that I just need to plug it in and hit the switch and it runs after long periods without use. Not as powerful as a gas chainsaw, but works for my present needs. I got a smile from the test cuts. You are making what wood turners call cookies, cross sections of a branch or log. These can make nice rustic coasters. Dave.

Good chainsaw. Pity they need to be completely taken apart to access the carb. I love 2 stroke engines!! I learned by fixing them. First one was an old Victa 2 stroke mower.

Wow....a lot of work for sure. Excellent video.

Hello James. I wish I would have seen this video before I bought 0ne just like yours. That's too much peace s for me to take apart and remember how to get it back together. Thanks for sharing your experience. Carl

Love my McCullough. I have this same saw and a Mac 120. Super easy to use. Limb all day with them.

A welcome addition to your repertoire. Great fix.

How many times I've said "Don't wanna lose that spring", and then TING .Good job ,sounds pretty good .I have one,it works great .

Our dads favor chainsaw he owned and built from scratch Nielsen tree service in San Diego I spent hours sharpening chain as a teenager. Back then two-stroke engines

That saw really makes me appreciate my old stihl. Great video, thanks!

Always a good start to my morning to see that James has posted a new video, looks to be more complicated that stihl saw, good job

In some ways in this video, you showed why so many chainsaws get discarded, since not many people have the time patience or money to repair them.

James, You do have that golden touch. Michael.

I just took one completely apart yesterday before watching this video. Perfect timing and thank you!

I’ve got three chainsaws I’ve picked up out of the trash that one day I will restore. This should help I hope .

The handle on your vise was making me very nervous while you had the engine running! YIKES!

I have a MAC 3216. I call it One Pull Charlie. I run my standard 50:1 Red Armor mix in it. It runs great and is a good little chainsaw. I rebuilt the carb and all of the standard maintenance I do to all of my saws. Nothing spectacula, just routine PM - clean spark arrestor, lubricate sprocket bearing, clean sprocket. Replace gas filter and clean carb.

22:43 I think you dodged a bullet with that Vice's rod and that spinning flywheel! Love your videos!

IMO that filter is the correct one. It needs to be slightly compressed to properly seal against that "washer" you noted not to forget. That saw is tiny and cute but a major jigsaw puzzle! Nice job!

James you got more patient than me. I had one just like your's, but I just put it in the trash. I like working on echo equipment. But thanks for a good video.

GREAT JOB! THIS IS WHAT I WILL BE SENDING TO EVERYONE I KNOW HAVING CHAINSAW ISSUES SO THEY BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT GOES INTO KEEPNG THEM RUNNING CORRECTLY!😉😉😉😉

The McCulloch Mac 10 racing go cart engines were the best back in the 60's. They would run the twin Mac 10's faster than 100 MPH at tracks like Daytona. I worked for a shop that had several McCulloch's when I was a teen. Great engines, but don't know why the McCulloch engines lost popularity. Thanks for the video.

You can't find Thows anymore. Love them.

great little saw as long as you take 3 of them to the woods with you, complete pain in the back side to work on,hey but great for around the house work. you sure got lucky with the carb,that little knock out plug usally has junk under it, also you know it is right when it doesnt jump and walk across the ground,that how i set them in the field,great job mate i didnt even think they still made them

Looks like a topping saw- relatively modern because of the chain brake, I just bought one similar but zero safety measures. Having to remove the engine from the shrouding seems antique, but complicated due to the fuel setup…….glad you showed me how 😂. Sounds good, looks like new!

had 1 they run well for what they are but i took it apart and gave up on it more trouble than its worth at the time...stumped me...glad you got back it top shape

That saw was in very good condition, but I was wondering about it's age once I saw the flathead screws. I knew the saw must have been older than it appeared to be. The owner took very good care of it.

Compressor stahl is one of the first things I check. If it stay lit I will then tune it up a little more accurately. I then check it, again, for compressor stahl. I let it idle a minimum of 15 minutes.

Wow i just trashed about 8 of those, i could get them running, but mostly just complete shelf art, out on the west coast not common anymore, Yes, a complete tear apart is needed to do a carb service on, the older ones had its own unique carb, Great video

It's better to have an AC powered saw and a generator than a gas saw if you don't use the saw very often. There are many available for under $100. If used at home a cord will suffice. There are many good battery powered saws now too. Pull the trigger and they run. No drama.

My niece brought me a McCulloch that had been sitting outside barely protected from the rain for about 5 years. I put gas in it and pulled. It started right up and ran fine.

You helped me in the fact I will never own a McCulloch chainsaw even if someone tries to give one to me. From incredibly dumb design, fuel filter sucks, air filter sucks, to having to completely disassemble the saw to get to the carb. Totally unreal!

Hey James. Another great video. I like your common sense approach along with the technical information. I am sure you have inspired many people to repair these older saws that are probably sitting around not working.

I took one of those apart 10 years ago! ( still apart in a tote ). But a note, ive found the spark arrestor on some plug up, because of bad fuel mixtures causing poor performance.

Ultra sonic cleaner. I use Purple Power a equal part of white vinegar and another equal part of Dawn. It cleans carbs good without turning them black, as it would if I left the vinegar out of the mix. I usually cook them for about 30 minutes, rise them off with water and then blow them out with compressed air.

Yeah ,nothin like a "Cup-of -Fuel", in the morning, taste's like ,"VICTORY".

Another winner for you. Man that saw seemed rather complicated to me. I have one but I don't know if is going to be that difficult to take apart. Needs and oiler and carb I am sure. Maybe I will give it a try now that you have shown me how to do this one. Thanks for the video. The saw cut beautifully.

Perfect video, sound, pics and verbal descriptions! Thnanks!

I’m reminded of the Honda generators you take apart - extremely small form factor which reduces bulk and weight, but the compromise is more complexity and time to work on.

Two strokers may not be your "strength", but one would never know it watching your videos! Truly fine job done on the Mac James, thanks for sharing it with us. God bless. Rev. D.

The little homelite xl chainsaw i have is the same way. I have to remove the engine from the case to work on the carburetor. For the longest time i couldn't figure out why it wouldn't run then i found out i had the fuel lines hooked up wrong. The 1st chainsaw i used was a husqvarna 136 when i taught how to use one

Great share James .. If the guy had taken that to a shop down town , they would tell him it was not worth fixing and try to sell him a new Husky or Stihl .. Great save !!

Very interesting. More please! The approach to these engines and their adjustment seems more complex than the generators.

I had that little saw for many years and worked the heck out of it. Ran like a timed kept on ticking.

i have one i fixed for customer right now almost identical it's fairly easy to disassemble

Made me nervous watching the handle of the vice drift close to the flywheel...

Wow … very good explanation for that old leaker! I have my Mac 30 open because no fuel. Will look for a filter thanks