spudulike

Hard stares....hard stares......bugger that, get lively with the harsh language and if that doesn't work, break out the hammer!

Yup, looks like a light seize that has been cleaned up by continuing to use the saw. As above and I always just fit a new piston as once the saw is apart, the cost difference isn't massive and it will give you more life out of the saw as well as better performance.

Would that be the first, second, third, fourth...........etc time we watched it........one of the best!

Firing up any engine I have worked on always makes me think of this..........

Thank the Lord

OK, welch plug with red sealer....LEAVE IT ALONE, you will not be able to get a new one punched in and sealed well! The carb surfaces are fine, a light rub of grease or oil on the gasket surfaces can be used but not necessary. The needle and spring - just change them both. A slack or short spring can give a much lower pop off, trouble with flooding in hot weather and sluggish throttle response. A leaking needle valve will give flooding. The "valve jet", I am assuming you mean the check valve.....I would be careful in taking it out and refitting a new one. They sometimes fail and go open rather than sealing one way, there are ways of testing them but it is fairly unlikely that this has failed as a saw will run if it is faulty but it will be very rich and will not idle at all. I change, at a guess, 1 valve every 50 - MS200Ts I do (similar carb). I only change them after testing them.

My advice is to tackle the easy ones to cross them off the list. It is easy to check the impulse line, less easy to check some of the other stuff but these are the things I would check. The Walbro carb thing is a real possibility but rarely happens overnight, it is more of a time related thing! Just work through them, if you do pull the manifold off, let me know before refitting as there is a right way and a way others do it!!

A sharp craft knife? Mind your fingers if using a safety razor double edged blade.....perhaps a Derby, smooth and reasonably sharp

Sorry, I meant "Purchaser" and not seller - now corrected!!!

Does feathering the throttle or holding it wide open have any effect on the 10 secs and die issue?

This could be a number of things but it sounds like your saw is getting enough fuel/air to fire and start. It does sound like once started, it is either getting not enough fuel or too much air (air leak). It is also possible that the throttle is stuck open but I would expect the machine to keep running and not stop. So.....possible causes: - 1) Fine wood pulp in the carb internal gauze strainer....common on all saws. 2) Impulse line has come off - this is the small rubber hose to the clutch side of the saw just below the inlet manifold. 3) Split inlet manifold - they are prone to failing around the impulse connector but isn't possible to see without taking it off which can give another load of problems with refitting if not done correctly. 4) Bad crank seals - unlikely as they are pretty good in that area. 5) Air leak elsewhere - possible if the cylinder is loose. 6) Split fuel line - they commonly split where they push through the fuel tank wall. 7) If the saw has a Walbro carb, they have issues with accelerator pumps that cause issues very similar to yours as described and to the MS200T issues - unstable idle, rising and then dying - they can be slight to impossibly bad but the fix is to fit the Zama replacement, the factory did this but make sure the H screw is a good two turns out as the check valve is a bit light on flow and it needs a bit more on the H screw to compensate. I would be surprised if it isn't one of these but difficult to tell without seeing the machine - Does it have the automatic decomp valve? If it does, make sure the rubber pipe is in good shape and it is possible it has stuck open - they were a shyte idea and not reliable!

Is this on the first outing? No one has bent the bar on a previous outing have they? Other than that, make sure the chain, bar and sprocket match - gauge, pitch and drive links. Make sure that when you tighten the chain and do up the bar nut that the end of the bar is pushed upwards or you are griping the top of the chain and pulling upwards so the bar is pre-tensioned - amazed how many aren't aware of this simple technique and their chains keep going slack!

I use a decent quality sharp wood chisel, sounds brutal but if you get a nice angle on it, the residue will come straight off. Don't worry about a slight mark or two....it isn't rocket science, the gasket material will seal fine.

They always look after the purchaser which is frustrating if the purchaser is an ijut (not directed at you of course!!) and the seller is bona fide decent but .........you never got it, the seller cant have packed it correctly ensuring it had no fuel smells etc so you reap what you sow....life is harsh but can be made less so if you do things right - decent box, FULL drain down, bag the saw, double skin box, lots of padding, shrink wrap around the outside if the box is a bit iffy, bar ends padded if included, padding around the dogs....simple but not often done! I haven't had any issues with kit I have couriered and there have been hundreds!

It normally scrubs off when the clutch catches the drum as you rev the engine so now you have cleaned the rest of the crap from around the area, it should go back to shiny steel. It can be an indication that the clutch isn't wearing evenly on the drum (the dirty bits being the low parts) but clean it off and if it doesn't slip, wouldn't worry too much about it on a saw this small. If you can feel undulations around the inside if the drum or see wear when a flat edge is put across the clutch shoe then you need to make a judgement but have only ever seen excessive wear on much bigger saws such as 395XP and 372XPs.

It looks OK, not much wear on the clutch shoe holes or the spring hooks. Always difficult to judge at a distance but looks OK to me. If it has been very hot, the shoes tend to get blued over or black in some cases. It looks OK to me though!

Good for adjusting the shades as well

A lot cleaner than chainsaws that's for sure! Did the battery on my phone a while ago, keep the tech going that bit longer!

On my bench...my lap top.......... busted the screen.....got a new one off eBay, came in two days, took it apart without breaking anything, new one fitted and bingo....£40 and the jobs a good one!

Ah...Zama C1Q.....the C1Q is fitted to a raft of machines....blowers, saws, strimmers and all are slightly different. The adjusters on yours I believe will be "Hexagonal" ones, you just need the correct adjustment tool, you may find it just needs a bit more fuel and an adjustment will sort it - seen it many times before. No #5 on this listing: - Carburetor Screwdriver Set,LouisaYork 8Pcs Adjustment Tool Kit Carb Adjusting Screwdriver,Adjustment Splined Carb Tool Kit Chainsaw Trimmer Set: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK Shop Carburetor Screwdriver Set, LouisaYork 8Pcs Adjustment Tool Kit Carb Adjusting Screwdriver, Adjustment Splined... Same as one of the sets I have and does pretty much all machines that I have come across...apart from Autotune Stihl like to set their settings a little lean to adhere to the EPA regs - it means some machines over rev when they loosen up a bit.

Just rattle it against the compression, no need to use a solid stop or clamp any part of the engine. Clockwise to remove - left hand thread....done so the clutch naturally tightens when cutting!

The "very little use" means more than the year. With a machine like this, I would always look at the carb and fuel filter/line after adjusting those niggly tappets of course....and then look at other possible issues!

A high idle speed can make the chain run as can the chain being too loose but if the springs are working properly, you shouldn't see that chain moving on anything than a fast idle.

The usual signs of clutch springs getting weak are a ring ping sound coming from the saw at idle which are the shoes hitting the clutch drum and also the chain pulsing forward when the saw is standing on idle. If you look at the clutch against a light, look at the springs - if you can see light between the spring coils then they are probably OK, if the coils are touching each other, they are past it. You can remove them by getting a small screwdriver under the hook and levering it off and using a piece of thin string doubled around the hook to extend them and get them back on.

Try the easy options first and then explore the more difficult ones if the easy ones don't cure it. It always helps to know the age and condition of the unit.