Poulan Pro Chainsaw - Not Running or Cutting Well 

Has saved me a ton of money in the backyard , feels good to save a buck

Agreed, been sitting that long yea, those lines work today, dissolve tomarrow along with the primer bubble

A mixture adjustment tool should come with every saw. Better yet, if manufacturers simply understand differences in fuel and altitude and breaking in of saws absolutely requires individual tuning and just put standard screws of some type on carburetors, revealing something called common sense. Improperly tuned saws won't run efficiently and it isn't mysterious how to correct that issue does not require a master mechanic or repair shop. On vintage equipment the mixture screws are just conventional screws. It really was not progress to make mixture screws a proprietary design to cause people difficulty needing a special tool. You are right about tweaking the mixture on the saw in use by making small adjustments to find the sweet spot. The saw operator can hear and see the result of small adjustments to find what works best. The fuel line issue has always been there. There is an immersion rated fluoropolymer fuel line I have retrofitted on a similar Poulan, that came with a similar version fuel line. LP=1200 Tygon is a clear fuel immersion rated fuel line that has I think an ETFE teflon lining coaxially laminated with a jacket polymer of unknown composition, and the line is not as flexible and soft as usual fuel line. So it does not stretch and squeeze easily to pull through the same size opening in a hard plastic tank as the softer and more flexible regular Tygon yellow fuel line. LP-1200 goes through the rubber grommet fuel tank bushings with no problem because the bushing stretches. But the smaller opening like for the purge bulb return line that goes through a bare hole in the hard plastic tank, I had to burnish carefully to a larger size to accept the larger LP-1200 line used there also, where the OEM Poulan used a smaller purge return line. I wanted just one size and type line used for both the fuel pickup and the purge return line so I made this a custom modification that just makes sense to me, to use one size and one type of fuel line both places. I used numbered drill bit shanks incrementally burnishing the opening larger until I could forcibly pull the taper cut end of fuel line to squeeze through the opening when pulled by a hemostat or needle nose pliers from inside the fuel tank. To do this upgrade on a couple of other saws I have a #2 taper pin reamer and precision 3/16" set collar to use as a depth stop for the reamer to leave a reamed opening slightly under 3/16" so the LP-1200 line will be a firm leak free squeeze fit. There is also available from Walbro a purge bulb that is heavier duty and longer service life made of a different type material that is black and I have not yet tried that upgrade, but that is next as a retrofit that should be better than new compared to the OEM purge bulb. Those purge bulbs do crack with age and are a routine replace usually done same time as fuel lines and carburetor rebuild. That shiny material fuel pump diaphragm is ethanol fuel rated. Some carb kits come also with the rubberized fabric diaphragm that holds up better in non-ethanol straight gasoline. The shiny material is good for either fuel, so the extra one is a spare for future use but better not used with ethanol blended fuel. I never run that blended fuel in any small engines because of guaranteed issues with corrosion and water contamination. Ethanol blended fuel is engineered for causing trouble. Corn is for feeding chickens not fueling chainsaws.

@@artpatronforever They frown on the consumers having those adjuster tools,, Its an emissions thing, but agree the first couple of times using any of the small 2 cycle stuff , sometimes an adjustment is needed, altitude wether you are in Denver Co, or Portland Or, and fuel quality affect performance also,winter and summer has its effects to,

@@jeffclark2725 I have 3 of these Poulan Pro chainsaws. All 3 saws had mixtures factory set rich for the break in run. All 3 saws had to be gradually leaned out during the first 10 hours. It really can't be an emissions issue when new saws come set rich from the factory. Emissions go down as the saws get broken in and the mixture leaned out. But if an interference is done there it causes more emissions. I have encountered the same scenario with a blower so it can't be emissions or if it is what is done is counter to reason. However, if government is involved then that would make perfect sense.

I was gonna say the same thing

Yes, true. B-)

True fuel is a waste of money. There are a decent number of gas stations that sell ethanol free gas at a quarter of the price. And, it's the same fuel.

Thanks for the tips.

Yes I agree, he never did the fast running jet. To set the slow running, you can tune the jet for the fastest idle chain speed, then add a bit of richness.. Then slow the throttle stop, so that the chain just stops moving. That old chain was a safety chain, so maybe the safety ramps would also need to be ground down as well as the rakers.

I've done that before. The metering diaphragm and the pump diaphragm. I was getting aggravated with then realized that I had the diaphragms on backwards

Well, somebody saw it! Good job ... was wondering if this was some kind of different saw ...

I find this mistake alot and it’s a easy fix, but I tell them what they did wrong 😊

Poulan is cajun for Husqvarna

@@artpatronforever LOL

I have fixed 9 last week and there very popular here because of TSC, just ordered 20 more carb kits

You are correct. I also checked Zama parts diagram for this carb, and watched the Zama video, and have the Zama service manual, 3 in agreement, the gasket goes first against the carburetor body, then the metering diaphragm with the metal disc side also towards the carburetor body and then the cover. That gasket is also a shim thickness that positions the metering diaphragm at correct height for its metering function to occur as designed.

@@artpatronforever Correct, otherwise the metal disc will press on the lever when it's not running and will flood the saw, will also run rich in operation. You can tune around this but it's not ideal. I bought a Husqvarna 365 couple of years ago, guy sold it cheap because it "would never run right", basically couldn't even start it cold because it was flooding. Luckily it's easy on that saw and only need one screwdriver so i dismantled the carb on the spot and sure enough someone had done this exact thing, so i fixed it, started right up. I think he was a little sad he was selling it now but too late

@@CSkwirl I have not looked closely to tell, but it may be possible to replace a metering diaphragm without removing the carburetor for access. Generally it is only a brittle from age metering diaphragm that will make a saw be wandering at idle, and other stuff on the carb is good. It could be a low complexity quick fix for idle issues to just replace the metering diaphragm.

Nice to hear. I do not do many 2-stroke repairs so it’s good to hear others find this useful.

Ethanol is bad for car engines too! & it really doesn't help reduce carb emissions ... because as it ruins the engine ... causing it to run improperly ... also causes it to spew more emissions ! 🤔

I have a gasoline-powered radio control model helicopter and because of the ethanol problem and not having canned fuel where I live, I reverted to using exclusively aviation gasoline (Avgas) in the model. It's the low-lead variety, no problems after some 16 years flying.

Yepper, I caught that

I have worked on both and videoed it, they are identical. Stay safe, Joe Z

Craftsman saws are rebranded Poulans.

I was thinking the same thing, first thing I check, after fresh fuel and purge the carb

Yeah. First thing I thought of. They can get crudded up surprisingly quickly especially when it's running rich to begin with.

I think first, I would check that the air cleaner is not clogged, then check the spark arrestor screen. While that is out, use a flashlight to check the piston for any scoring. If it is scored, engine is dead. Also, keep in mind, that these carbs are very sensitive to vacuum leaks. Old fuel lines with cracks or pin holes must be replaced !

Subscribe please !

Ok thanks for the advice I’ll try

I have a 50 year old Homelite with point ignition that starts first pull. I have 2 other vintage implements also have actual one pull starting, Three or four newer improved modern manufacture, one pull? Nope.

Great points explained for us novices to the chainsaw world

I feel the same way I loan out my gas power weed eater it came back not running because he put regular gasoline not two cycle gas

A friend once said he'd loan his wife before he'd loan his chainsaw.

Amen!

Rod H 😂👍

@@rodh2168 Damn right!!

Me too 🖖

Poulan is now owned by Husky, better quality

There good saws and really air filter and proper type of fuel with no corn crap with red armor oil is the way to go

I ended up leaning out the high speed jet before sending it back to the owner. Definitely messed up the gasket. Generators are my strength but still learning on two stroke engines. Do not fix many of them. Thanks for the feedback.

Idling is for those occasional pauses when the saw isn't running wide open

yeah its super easy to fflood them aswell! 1 or 2 extra pulls with the choke on is all it takes. I flooded my 025 just to see how many pulls it would take to unflood it and it was 23.