MCCULLOCH The official McCulloch thread

[Al Smith]

An interesting subject came up another place on the net .A McCulloch D-30 which I never knew even existed .Looking for the seals which I found the CR interchange numbers .Evidently it wasn't a success because it was only made about one year .It had a pinion gear start kind of like an automobile starter .I thought how odd is that . Evidently in the late 50's and early 60's they tried a number of things ,some with success and some not .

 

[edju1958]

Al,if I'm not mistaken there were quite a few saws in the D series family that used that type starter.I know I have a D36 that has that style starter.Sadly the saw was seized tight as a drum when I got it & anything I tried didn't free it up.

 

[Al Smith]

Toss it in a bucket of kerosene for a couple of weeks .Old trick if it's stuck above the ports is use a spark plug base with a grease zert and gun .A grease gun can put out 5,000 PSI . It will either move or blow apart . That old trick predates the Model T Ford .

 

[heimannm]

The D-30 and D-36 were the only "center pull" starters McCulloch made. The D-45 is hard to distinguish from a 1-51/52/53 with the left hand start, long black air filter cover, and full wrap handle bar. The D44/55 series were all top tank, left hand start models.

D-30


D-36


D-45


I believe the D-45 was only offered in Canada.

I used the grease gun trick today to remove the piston from a Pro 10-10A that I sold some weeks back. The young man brought it in and said it was running a just stopped, locked up. He broke both starter pawls trying to start it again... When I looked through the spark plug hole I could see needles stuck in the piston/bore. Upon disassembly I found that one of the wrist pin bearings slid out of the piston, the wrist pin was still stuck where it belongs in the connecting rod. That was a first for me.

If I get over the shock and disappointment I may try to take a few photos.

Mark

 

[Al Smith]

I've used that grease gun on chainsaws ,tractors, a Ford 300 engine and one 12 HP single cylinder hit and miss antique stationary engine with a 6" cylinder .I've yet to exploded one . However I do have a 1940 D4 Caterpillar that's stuck I haven't seemed to find the time in 30 years to unstick . I'd best get on it because I have more miles behind me than I have ahead of me .

 

[Al Smith]

Now a question because I don't know .According to Mike Acres site the D-30 pumped oil/fuel from the crankcase, which I have no idea how it got there on to the bar providing you used a ratio of 10 to one on the fuel mix .I can't seem to wrap my head around how that could work .In other words I'm in the lost lane.

 

[Dream]

An interesting subject came up another place on the net .A McCulloch D-30 which I never knew even existed .Looking for the seals which I found the CR interchange numbers .Evidently it wasn't a success because it was only made about one year .It had a pinion gear start kind of like an automobile starter .I thought how odd is that . Evidently in the late 50's and early 60's they tried a number of things ,some with success and some not .

Had a D30 that was my grandfather's.
Stupid me left it in a shed at a place I was renting.

 

[Al Smith]

It's probably still in the shed .Let's face it not too many people would be interested in an antique saw unless they are collectors .It's kind of funny especially on flea bay or the forums .They stumble on to some old relic and have delusions of grandeur they are worth a kings ransom .Truth being they have a very limited buying market .

 

[heimannm]

There were several models that used the Lubri-Mac system that scavenged "heavy condensate and crankcase residue" from the crankcase and redirected it to the bar. The illustration below shows the check valve in the bottom of the crankcase that allows the residue from the bottom of the crankcase.



29 is the seat, 28 is the check valve (disc), 27 is a very light spring, 26 is a washer, 25 is the plug.

The telltale indicator of the Lubri-Mac system is the plug in the bottom of the crankcase. That rib was used to provide the port from the crankcase to the crankcase bottom/fuel tank. And all this time you thought that rib was just used to separate the model number from the serial number stamps.



Below you can see the passageway in the bottom of the crankcase and the port where is exits the crankcase to the crankcase bottom/fuel tank.



And here you can see the channel in the fuel tank/crankcase bottom that directs the flow to the bar pad.



And finally, there is a sort of brass gauze in the bottom of the crankcase to filter out any solids before they can get to the check valve or the passageways.



And there you have it.

Mark

 

[Al Smith]

Clear as mud .Thanks ! I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like it .Evidently it wasn't a total success ?

 

[Yukon Stihl]

I've used that grease gun on chainsaws ,tractors, a Ford 300 engine and one 12 HP single cylinder hit and miss antique stationary engine with a 6" cylinder .I've yet to exploded one . However I do have a 1940 D4 Caterpillar that's stuck I haven't seemed to find the time in 30 years to unstick . I'd best get on it because I have more miles behind me than I have ahead of me .

I saw a tool made from an old starter with a 6 ft bar welded to it.You bolt it in place and add a bucket from a loader to the bar and push
Google " The King of Obsolete"
He salvages antique equipment on the ice roads and brings it back to life.

 

[Dream]

There were several models that used the Lubri-Mac system that scavenged "heavy condensate and crankcase residue" from the crankcase and redirected it to the bar. The illustration below shows the check valve in the bottom of the crankcase that allows the residue from the bottom of the crankcase.

View attachment 313085View attachment 313085

29 is the seat, 28 is the check valve (disc), 27 is a very light spring, 26 is a washer, 25 is the plug.

The telltale indicator of the Lubri-Mac system is the plug in the bottom of the crankcase. That rib was used to provide the port from the crankcase to the crankcase bottom/fuel tank. And all this time you thought that rib was just used to separate the model number from the serial number stamps.

View attachment 313089

Below you can see the passageway in the bottom of the crankcase and the port where is exits the crankcase to the crankcase bottom/fuel tank.

View attachment 313086

And here you can see the channel in the fuel tank/crankcase bottom that directs the flow to the bar pad.

View attachment 313087

And finally, there is a sort of brass gauze in the bottom of the crankcase to filter out any solids before they can get to the check valve or the passageways.

View attachment 313088

And there you have it.

Mark

I had no idea.
They were always trying something.

 

[heimannm]

McCulloch was certainly innovative, sometimes so aggressive in getting things to market that they failed test the innovations as thoroughly as needed.

I suppose other manufacturers were the same but I am most familiar with some of McCulloch's efforts. The BP-399T snowmobile engine is another good example of 99 yards of offense with no score...

Mark

 

[Al Smith]

The BP engines using an aux scavenging piston really were not something "new " .Cooper -Bessemer used that method decades before .First on large oil field pump engines in places like Titusville PA then later on huge pipe line compressors .Some are still in operation although out dated .
Fact it was on an old "Coopers " from an abandoned oil field pumper found in Michigan I first saw the grease gun trick .One huge old duffer that one is , nearly 3 ton .My buddy has it mounted to a trailer and runs it on propane with another antique belted up to start it . Talk about "bark " under load ,wow .

 

[Dream]

Getting off topic, but I knew a gentleman that rescued an old Lincoln stationary oil engine from a grist mill. He built it a pad and a shelter. Started it with an F-12 Farmall belted to it, and had a Far all regular to run the water pump. We had a hunting camp about 1/2 a mile from there, and you could hear and feel that thing when it fired.
Heated a "glow plug" with an oxy-acetylene torch and screwed it into the head to get it going.
Also had some old Mac 2 man saws.
There, back on track.

 

[edju1958]

I saw some of those old hit-n-miss engines at the W.N.Y.Steam Rally a few yrs.back.They had placcards posted where the engines came from & what they powered.I remember one in particular that was in the neighborhood of 1000 HP.When that thing fired you filled your drawers,Lol.I loved walking through the grounds there,but due to neuropathy in my feet I can't walk much anymore.They had my grand dad's first tractor there that he bought in 1940,an Allis Chalmers model B,I believe it was rated at 17 HP.I was hoping to go the last couple yrs.to get some vintage chainsaw parts.

 

[Al Smith]

Since it went off on a slant ,in my shop sits my dad's 1938 AC model B .I rebuilt that thing when I was a junior in HS .With a semi mount 14" plow it will pull the front end off the ground in sod .I also have his "cinder block" Mac 610 which he tweaked a tad bit plus the last Jeep CJ5 he built up from parts from three .

 

[heimannm]

 

[jacob j.]

View attachment 313220

That's about the best haul a guy could make, right there.

 

[Frank bierce]

View attachment 313220

Holy smokes!!!