I love buying attempted repair chainsaws

[Mark71gtx]

Picked up a non-running Stihl 028 today from Craigslist. The guy told me that he had the carb rebuilt and it still wouldn't run. The saw was really clean and had a new 16" Rollomatic E bar and chain on it, new spur, new plug, and other stuff I don't remember.

I tried to start it when I got home. No dice. Pulled the plug - it has less than 1/2 thread in there crooked. I put it in straight and tried again. No dice.

I pulled the filter and put my thumb over the carb and after three pulls my thumb was wet. It hit and ran for a second and died. I decided it was time to pull the carb and muffler for piston inspection and a vacuum and pressure test. When I pulled the carb, the paper gasket that comes with the rebuild kits was under the carb. I yanked it off and tossed it in the trash. I then decide to check the diaphragm orientation. Fuel pump was good to go, but the metering diaphragm was upside down. Flipped it over and put it back together. Now it runs like a new one! Not bad for $80.

 

[295 tramp]

Sometimes it's the simple things.
I've pick saws up at the junk yard that just needed fuel.

 

[Mark71gtx]

I get a decent amount of parts saws from my dad's friend's scrap yard. I have put carb kits and fuel lines on several and sent them down the road. I hate it when they get unloaded with a claw. I got an 038 Magnum that had very few usable parts on it from the freaking claw...

 

[old guy]

I picked up a 353 husky for $80 that wouldn't run, when I popped the cover off I saw instantly the blue wire on the kill switch was bent 90 degrees so it touched the other contact, straightened it & it fired rite up.

 

[USMC615]

Picked up a non-running Stihl 028 today from Craigslist. The guy told me that he had the carb rebuilt and it still wouldn't run. The saw was really clean and had a new 16" Rollomatic E bar and chain on it, new spur, new plug, and other stuff I don't remember.

I tried to start it when I got home. No dice. Pulled the plug - it has less than 1/2 thread in there crooked. I put it in straight and tried again. No dice.

I pulled the filter and put my thumb over the carb and after three pulls my thumb was wet. It hit and ran for a second and died. I decided it was time to pull the carb and muffler for piston inspection and a vacuum and pressure test. When I pulled the carb, the paper gasket that comes with the rebuild kits was under the carb. I yanked it off and tossed it in the trash. I then decide to check the diaphragm orientation. Fuel pump was good to go, but the metering diaphragm was upside down. Flipped it over and put it back together. Now it runs like a new one! Not bad for $80.

Nice...helluva score!!

 

[raumati01]

Got a husky 345 from the dump, it started on the third pull. Some muppet had jammed the chainbrake on and couldn't release it, the chain was still sharp.

 

[bigbadbob]

Ported 046 24 b/c yard sale, guy said no compression, yup we both pulled on it,,we haggled on a parts saw $60 once home I put the spark plug in and off she went,,,passed it on to friend who had lost his 361 out of his pick up.
BBB

 

[USMC615]

Ported 046 24 b/c yard sale, guy said no compression, yup we both pulled on it,,we haggled on a parts saw $60 once home I put the spark plug in and off she went,,,passed it on to friend who had lost his 361 out of his pick up.
BBB

Damn...whatta score!!

 

[bigbadbob]

Damn...whatta score!!

Did good today $350 still some gas from first tank in it!! 365xt
BBB

 

[Wood Doctor]

Great thread. I now have another Stihl 028 Super in my possession. The owner asked a novice "mechanic"to fix it and it was wrecked further. I repaired that repairman's mistakes, added my enhancements, and now it runs fine -- as good as any 028 that I own. My bill was a measly $40 for seven itemized repairs. Owner says it's mine. Holy Cow!

 

[Mark71gtx]

That's nuts! Who wouldn't want that saw back over a $40 repair bill? You will certainly have no trouble making a decent amount of money on flipping that one!

 

[Wood Doctor]

That's nuts! Who wouldn't want that saw back over a $40 repair bill? You will certainly have no trouble making a decent amount of money on flipping that one!

Not to mention that it took some substantial rewiring of the ignition, redressed the the bar's grooves, installed a new chain because the old one was shot, cleaned up the whole saw, added new fuel and oil caps that were both leaking, tuned the carb, and tested cutting under load.

He doesn't want it. I'm keeping it.

 

[Mark71gtx]

See... Nuts! Just like I said!

 

[Mark71gtx]

Wonder how much the last guy charged to screw it up?

 

[Wood Doctor]

Wonder how much the last guy charged to screw it up?

Last I heard the owner paid $50 and got a saw back that still would not work. He had to pay that before leaving the saw for repairs. Mark, it's stuff like this that gives me the creeps. If I can't fix it, I charge nothing.

 

[Mark71gtx]

Same here!

 

[cus_deluxe]

Bought a cherry 246 off craigslist with bar and chain for $80 that needed a fuel line...sold it for a song to a good friend so at least its got a good home

 

[TJ the Chainsaw Mechanic]

I got my Homelite Xl Auto for $40 because it ran like crap. All I had to do was put the diaphragm on Top of the spacer gasket and it was fine. lol

 

[stihl_head1982]

Bought more than I could even count at this point. One of the best deals was a MS460. A guy had a friend who tried to repair the saw. He bought a cheap kit off of Ebay then put the rings on upside down. Needless to say it did not last long. I bought the saw, found an OEM cylinder and a Meteor piston. Things turned out really well when I flipped it. Oh and by the way, Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Last week a guy gave me a Mac chainsaw that someone attempted to fix and messed up. I discovered that the recoil spring was installed backwards, coiled the wrong direction. Then I also measured practically no engine compression, so it was a McCulloch basket case.

However, I had two more Macs of the same size and vintage that had other problems but did have adequate compression. I stripped parts off the basket case after fixing its backward recoil spring and ended up using those salvaged parts to repair the other two. Now I have two saws that both run perfectly. I guess I'm second cousin to a cannibal.