contact the sears service center

[ICEMAN6166]

so last fall i bought a craftsman chain saw.
dinky little 16" p.o.s.
poulan makes them.

i abused it over the fall and winter doing way more than one should with the little thing but when i got it was on sale and fit the tiny budget.

the other day it just started running bad and would not stay idling then died. i pulled on it for a while with no results, i dont have much patience for pull start tools that dont cooperate after a few pulls.

today i decided to check out all the reasons why it would not operate
cleaned the whole thing off
cleaned the air filter
checked the muffler screen
checked the plug and spark.
poured out the gas, checked the filter and refilled the gas.

pulled
pulled

went in the house and found the manual

found out the procedure for adjusting the carburetor is "contact sears service center"
WTF
must be a joke

well it was.
the low and high idle mix screws were not screws but just little knurled knobs with threads
guess they dont want you to mess with the carb.
i had other ideas
so i took a little file with a knife edge and proceeded to file some slots. finished them off with a hacksaw blade, nice little slots for a proper screwdiver.
turned the low idle screw all the way in, then backed it out the standard 1.5 turns.
pulled the rope and it spit.
turned it out a hair more and it fired up.
spent a few minutes getting it where i wanted it and now it starts up, stays running and sounds better than the day i took it out of the box.
and now i can adjust it with a screwdriver the way your suppposed to.

[bird55]

I have the same model, I think. thanks for the tip.
FYI, I almost never buy at SEARS for this very reason.

[foodstick]

A nice thin dremel cutoff wheel makes those slots easier.. and the first thing that goes is the diaphragm in the carb..pretty easy to swap that out..

[bruceandersson]

My old trusty McCullough (SP?) died a few years back. The ethanol in the new gas ate all the gaskets, fuel line.... I replaced it with an electric. Not quite as fast nor powerful, but I'm no lumberjack and it always starts.

[unibody madness]

I feel you Brian.
I found out the hard way that you can not premix more fuel than immediately needed, unless you ad some form of stablizing compound to it.
I also drain all gas from the tank and run the motor dry before putting tools away. What ever has been added to the newer fuels makes it break down in under a month, and causes all forms of
John

[ICEMAN6166]

i used to mix 5 gal at a time now i only do 1.
gas station is a lot closer now and wood consumption down here is less than 50% of Alaska winter.
been using the same additive in the saw gas as the truck and car.

big thing that kicks me is although my big husqvarna saw was old i never should have sold it before moving.

[LM14]

StaBil works good for that kind of gas, too. I have been using it a couple years without problems. I do try to buy the gas without alky in it (not always an option depending on where you live) but StaBil also has an additive for the alcohol "enhanced" fuels.

SPark

[re54drider]

If you don't want to modify the screws you can always buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Poulan-We ... B000P8GKO2

[ICEMAN6166]

$16.50 for a tool to turn 2 screws on 1 piece of machinery vs. 15 min. with a file and old hacksaw blade and any small thin screwdiver will work

[re54drider]

I actually have a Poulan chainsaw and a mantis type tiller that both utilize that carb. Plus I like new tools

[ICEMAN6166]

i knew there was a special tool but it was not nearby when i needed it.
such is the case out in the sticks.
and the screws are still able to be turned with that tool if it shows up someday.
i like tools too but its a bit annoying that they dont tell you when you buy the saw, hey youll need this fancy tool to adjust it.
another thing is
the screws for the top cover are torx
the throttle adjustment screw is phillips head.
spark plug is 3\4"

so now stored in the case besides the chain file theres already those 3 plus now the thin flat blade screwdriver.
used to be i had a scrench for the majority of needs, now i need a plethora of tools.

[re54drider]

What is really bad is that the manufacturers do not want you to have this tool....Several places I looked when buying mine would only sell to "manufacturer certified mechanics". That made me more determined to get one.

[62galxe]

I got one of these. works good so far. starts everytime I pull the trigger. only downside is the cord. seems like every branch I cut falls on it.
https://www.worx.com/en-US/16-chainsaw-wg303-1.aspx

[ICEMAN6166]

Kenny thats a good deal
too bad the USFS and BLM dont have plugs every few feet out in the forests.