What are the top 5 things you check when a saw doesn't start?

[MustangMike]

I keep an X bar in the trunk. Being able to pull on one side and push on the other gives you twice the leverage, and is sometimes needed. Also, spinning the bar goes even faster than a ratchet.

One time they made them so tight I had to put extender bars on both sides of the X bar, and bent it up before the lugs broke loose.

 

[CR888]

I suppose impacts are super fast in a shop where time is money. I use a 1/2" 'click' style torque wrench when doing tyres at home. I have had to use a cheater bar on my ratchet before when shops have done them way to tight. Have we derailed this thread enough?lol

 

[danimal]

It was a joke lol

Well ya never kno,,sum of yous guys R stihl nuts,,ya kno..


as fer tars on me trucks, I take a set of rims to tire rack n have em mount new rubber.
Take em home and anti seize studs n torque to 105#s.
Tire rack cleans off the anti seize and torques to 140#s, if I drive a truck in and let them do the whole shebang..

PAIN IN THE ARSE TO REDO IT MYSELF.....

 

[treesmith]

Scarily commonly is "it hasn't got any power, it just bogs down when cutting" usually fixed with a 3/8 file, depth gauge tool and sometimes a new bar

 

[Motorhead]

If the garbage can is full

 

[Milkman31]

If the wife is pulling it hard enough!

 

[hotajax]

Leaking fuel line. Cheap and easy to replace.

 

[Wood Doctor]

One morning I put my ear protectors on before I tried starting my Stihl MS361 that I had run fine the previous day. For some reason, I failed to hear or notice the pop on the first choke pull and I pulled several more times on choke. That flooded it but good. Holding the throttle wide open and pulling will not unflood this engine, although that works on most of my saws.

Two hours later it started fine, but I had already got the job done with my Husky 257 as a backup. I suppose I could have removed the spark plug and dried it off, but running the other saw was easier. If anyone knows why the 361 will not unflood by pulling the cord with the throttle at WOT, I'm all ears. Maybe a simple carb adjustment?

 

[brushwacker]

Tell us

1, Fuel tank for clean freshfuel.
2,Check to see if the choke butterfly is fully closed.
3,Give it a shot of fresh mix in the carb to see if it fires on prime.
4, Check the spark plug for cleanliness, gap and then spark.
5,depends if it has spark, obvious good compression, if compression felt obvious low i would of done differently from the start. No spark , I'd look for pinched or bare wires, try a different spark plug.

 

[jetsam]

See which fluids are in which tanks.

Wish this was a joke! (Even more common: "Chain came off".... and has never been tensioned ever....)

 

[Logsdendave]

In order: 1 my wallet.
2 credit card balance
3 in truck console
4 under couch
5 kids piggy bank
If none of that can support a gallon of fuel. I’ll look the wife’s purse. Even though we all know that’s a wast of time.

 

[Wood Doctor]

One morning I put my ear protectors on before I tried starting my Stihl MS361 that I had run fine the previous day. For some reason, I failed to hear or notice the pop on the first choke pull and I pulled several more times on choke. That flooded it but good. Holding the throttle wide open and pulling will not unflood this engine, although that works on most of my saws.

Two hours later it started fine, but I had already got the job done with my Husky 257 as a backup. I suppose I could have removed the spark plug and dried it off, but running the other saw was easier. If anyone knows why the 361 will not unflood by pulling the cord with the throttle at WOT, I'm all ears. Maybe a simple carb adjustment?

Well, guys, I fixed the MS361. The pickup body (fuel filter) was clogged. I really am surprised it started and ran at all the previous day. Now it runs like the day I bought it. So, it wasn't flooded. It was fuel starved at WOT.

I had stored this saw for three years with fuel on board without starting it. I've been told that storing long term in old fuel will clog the fuel filter. That's exactly what happened. Cheers!

 

[hotajax]

Well, guys, I fixed the MS361. The pickup body (fuel filter) was clogged. I really am surprised it started and ran at all the previous day. Now it runs like the day I bought it. So, it wasn't flooded. It was fuel starved at WOT.

I had stored this saw for three years with fuel on board without starting it. I've been told that storing long term in old fuel will clog the fuel filter. That's exactly what happened. Cheers!

Way to go. Working through the problem. I have a handful of OPE, saws, weed whackers, hedge clipper, tractor, lawn mower, etc etc blah blah blah. Over the years, when I couldn't get them started, it just made more sense to me to start looking at fuel issues first. Sometimes it was electrical, but I'd say 75% of the time it was a fuel issue. A word of caution: If you ever installed that Chinese fuel line they sell on ebay for like 39 cents, be aware that that material is really really crappy stuff and can split in a New York minute. You might be replacing it sooner than you planned on

 

[Philbert]

Well, guys, I fixed the MS361. The pickup body (fuel filter) was clogged.

Sometimes it is the simple things. Glad it worked out!

Philbert

 

[Wood Doctor]

Way to go. Working through the problem. I have a handful of OPE, saws, weed whackers, hedge clipper, tractor, lawn mower, etc etc blah blah blah. Over the years, when I couldn't get them started, it just made more sense to me to start looking at fuel issues first. Sometimes it was electrical, but I'd say 75% of the time it was a fuel issue. A word of caution: If you ever installed that Chinese fuel line they sell on ebay for like 39 cents, be aware that that material is really really crappy stuff and can split in a New York minute. You might be replacing it sooner than you planned on

I avoid that cheap stuff at all cost when working with Stihls, especially my classic 361. This might be the original fuel line, and it's still in great shape. This is my third fuel filter in 12 years. Not bad I've been told, but some guys install a new one every year.

p.s. "New York Minute" -- I have not heard that expression since I left Connecticut in 1980. Thanks for the memories.

 

[Philbert]

"New York Minute" -- I have not heard that expression since I left Connecticut in 1980. Thanks for the memories

"A New York minute is an instant. Or as Johnny Carson once said, it's the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn.

It appears to have originated in Texas around 1967. It is a reference to the frenzied and hectic pace of New Yorkers' lives. A New Yorker does in an instant what a Texan would take a minute to do."

Philbert

 

[CJ Brown]

I bought a Husky 353 from a local homeowner a couple years ago and brought it home and put it on a shelf. It is in near new condition. So the homeowner told me it was for parts or repair because he tried and tried but it would not start. A couple days ago I took it off the shelf and installed a 346XP cylinder kit then decided to fuel it and see what happens. I removed the fuel cap and it was bone dry inside the tank. So I got a near new saw for cheap because the owner never put fuel in it. It only took 8 or 9 pulls yesterday and it was running like a top.

Gonna be a nice saw for someone, as long as they remember to put (mixed) gas in it lol.

 

[Philbert]

I took it off the shelf and installed a 346XP cylinder kit

Anything wrong with the old piston and cylinder?

Philbert

 

[CJ Brown]

Anything wrong with the old piston and cylinder?

Philbert

Nothing at all - they're sitting on the bench.

 

[president]

Thats a given to see if its locked up. Then usually I take the muffler off to check piston and cylinder and ask if the customer wants to rebuild if its bad. No sense in doin anything if they arent gonna put the $$$ in. Sometimes I pop the muffler off while they r there to show them the condition

T1 for pulling muffler with owner present