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Does your saw have the emergency brake built into front guard like the Homelite does? I seem to remember the Craftsman and the Homelite looking very much the same.
If it has that front emergency brake, it is a piece of junk, built to be cheap not built to last. I take them out and throw them away. The brake can and does heat up and grab, It grabs and steals horsepower, as it heats it grabs more the whole process can happen quickly. Saw bogs then as the RPM's slows the brake cools and releases some, until the next time you speed up and load up the saw.
Like I said the next time it bogs, shut the saw down and try rotating the chain by hand and see if you can feel the grab, should rotate with little effort.
I have one saw now where the longer you use the saw the tighter the chain gets. I never have figured out why. After some use, I loosen the chain a little and keep on sawing, if I let it cool down the chain loosens again, too loose. I just deal with it as the saw works well enough, with great gobs of power. One of the strongest running saws I've ever used. A store brand saw somebody threw away that I rescued and repaired. Best guess is it is an Echo in box store colors.
I don't care what anybody says, my 30+ year old Poulan trimming saw is the best saw I've ever owned. Minimum maintenance, always starts, takes any fuel you want to feed it. For the price I certainly can't complain, it cost a quarter of what my Stihl cost. The spark plug ceramic separated from the metal base, it had a significant amount of play, It had to be losing compression, still started and ran fine . When my other saws crap out for whatever reason, that old Poulan is a reliable backup. I replaced the clutch once, replaced the sprocket at the same time. I'm on my second spark plug, have worn out dozens of chains and multiple chain guides. Other than an occasional chain and normal maintenance I've never had any trouble out of it. It has seen some hard use, one year after a storm I cut at least 10 cords of wood with it without a hiccup.
Float valves can cause all sorts of symptoms and grief, low fuel flow, too high fuel flow, easy enough to clean out and if you are really careful you don't even need to replace the gasket. Carburetor rebuild kits are cheap. Carb cleaner and compressed air will clean the orifices out. The first one can be a little tricky, the second time really easy.
man when it rans it pours. wont idle more than 15 seconds on 1/2 choke. when I pull the trigger all the way itll start but only run and max full open. second I let off the trigger, wump wump wump. puttt. dies. its like only the high end works and low end doesnt.
ideas?
There is some sort of fuel/carburetor issue with the weed cutter too. I would ensure there is no water in the gas, then replace the fuel filter. Then take a screwdriver(or other appropriate tool)and turn the low and high carb jets closed. Do not get carried away seating the jets down, as the seats can be damaged. Make sure you count the turns to close, and open them back up the same amount. If that does not cure it, a carb overhaul is in order. Replace the spark plug too and replace or clean the air filter, just because.
ok, im not a total dummy, so bare with me.
this is a classic 64cc 18" craftsman saw.
I did all the traditional checks.
air filter cleaned.
gas mixture ok.
oil in bar tank.
gapped the plug.
new plug.
clutch is fine.
this is the issue.
it starts just fine.
idles just fine.
revs at full trigger just fine.
the minute you put it to wood, it dogs out under load.
dies.
let it sit a minute.
starts again idles again.
dogs under load on wood.
q:
wrong plug?
bad gas?
ideas?
Craftmans 64cc classic chainsaw, have you got any pics of it? That would give an ideal who made it for Craftmans. I am pretty familiar with some of the chainsaw that various different companies made for them, but can't remember a 64cc. Does yours have the primer bulb? That info could possibly answer some questions on what could be wrong with it without physically checking it out. In the early days Poulan made some of their saws which are still good saws if in good shape. A lot of their latter saws were made by Poulan also.
On the 026...I hadn?t started this saw in several years, but after reading some of these tips it was worth a try. New air filter, cleaned carb/no dirt/varnish apparent, fresh gas mix (non-alcohol), new plug, pulled the muffler, piston looked good, felt like it had decent compression, finally got it running, fairly new bar, chain moved freely. Initially it ran like new, tried the rotating upside down/sideways, etc, still ran fine. Then, once it got good and warm it started running rough, bogged out, then quit. Air leak somewhere possible when it gets hot? I?m open to suggestions/advice.
On the 026...I hadn?t started this saw in several years, but after reading some of these tips it was worth a try. New air filter, cleaned carb/no dirt/varnish apparent, fresh gas mix (non-alcohol), new plug, pulled the muffler, piston looked good, felt like it had decent compression, finally got it running, fairly new bar, chain moved freely. Initially it ran like new, tried the rotating upside down/sideways, etc, still ran fine. Then, once it got good and warm it started running rough, bogged out, then quit. Air leak somewhere possible when it gets hot? I?m open to suggestions/advice.
I had one that when the magneto got hot the spark got weak or quit altogether. Might want to look at your spark when it gets hot and starts to act like it wants to die. I'm not certain if my issue was weak magnets or the magneto, I changed them both. Be real careful of that spark plug wire, when they get old they get brittle. I have a can of silicon rubber conditioner I spray on the cables. let sit for a while, then disconnect the plug,
Then, once it got good and warm it started running rough, bogged out, then quit. Air leak somewhere possible when it gets hot? I?m open to suggestions/advice.
Like Hessian said, check spark. Also if it runs for a while, bogs down and quits, check the fuel tank vent to make sure it is not plugged.
Comments
Former Member U.S. Navy Shooting Team
Former NSSA All American
Navy Distinguished Pistol Shot
MO, CT, VA.
If it has that front emergency brake, it is a piece of junk, built to be cheap not built to last. I take them out and throw them away. The brake can and does heat up and grab, It grabs and steals horsepower, as it heats it grabs more the whole process can happen quickly. Saw bogs then as the RPM's slows the brake cools and releases some, until the next time you speed up and load up the saw.
Like I said the next time it bogs, shut the saw down and try rotating the chain by hand and see if you can feel the grab, should rotate with little effort.
I have one saw now where the longer you use the saw the tighter the chain gets. I never have figured out why. After some use, I loosen the chain a little and keep on sawing, if I let it cool down the chain loosens again, too loose. I just deal with it as the saw works well enough, with great gobs of power. One of the strongest running saws I've ever used. A store brand saw somebody threw away that I rescued and repaired. Best guess is it is an Echo in box store colors.
I don't care what anybody says, my 30+ year old Poulan trimming saw is the best saw I've ever owned. Minimum maintenance, always starts, takes any fuel you want to feed it. For the price I certainly can't complain, it cost a quarter of what my Stihl cost. The spark plug ceramic separated from the metal base, it had a significant amount of play, It had to be losing compression, still started and ran fine
Float valves can cause all sorts of symptoms and grief, low fuel flow, too high fuel flow, easy enough to clean out and if you are really careful you don't even need to replace the gasket. Carburetor rebuild kits are cheap. Carb cleaner and compressed air will clean the orifices out. The first one can be a little tricky, the second time really easy.
There is some sort of fuel/carburetor issue with the weed cutter too. I would ensure there is no water in the gas, then replace the fuel filter. Then take a screwdriver(or other appropriate tool)and turn the low and high carb jets closed. Do not get carried away seating the jets down, as the seats can be damaged. Make sure you count the turns to close, and open them back up the same amount. If that does not cure it, a carb overhaul is in order. Replace the spark plug too and replace or clean the air filter, just because.
You use non-ethanol gas in this equipment, right?
This is a 346xp and you can tune them close to 14k out of the box as most saws only 13k and a lot of the older ones around 9-10k
I had one that when the magneto got hot the spark got weak or quit altogether. Might want to look at your spark when it gets hot and starts to act like it wants to die. I'm not certain if my issue was weak magnets or the magneto, I changed them both. Be real careful of that spark plug wire, when they get old they get brittle. I have a can of silicon rubber conditioner I spray on the cables. let sit for a while, then disconnect the plug,
Like Hessian said, check spark. Also if it runs for a while, bogs down and quits, check the fuel tank vent to make sure it is not plugged.