spudulike

Glad I wasn't the only one, still lob them at the other half when walking, just get a look of distain and a threat of no tea:thumbdown: Oak Apples down here in Hertfordshire and Kent as a kid!

In addition to the above..... Sometimes the cutters get gummed up which can stop a trimmer revving and also these little carbs sometimes need a tweak, the ones with the slide valve are generally more reliable than the typical butterfly throttle valve type. If you have H&L screws, try turning the H screw 1/4 turn anti clockwise. The fuel lines can also get kinked or can rot if left in petrol.

"Narky" me...I'm chilled dude:001_tt2:

Ah, bliss....I am competent.....that's nice:sneaky2:

Not worth trading it in, you can take it to a local or send it in, choice is always yours. I would advise not running it until the flywheel is inspected.

The heat could be lean mix or pre ignition,both are bad news in engines and could severely damage it. You could align the magnets with the coil and see if the Piston is just before top dead centre but it sounds like you are getting out of your depth without meaning to insult you!

I use the plastic Stihl piston stop to good effect and a piece of cord if the squish band is a bit angled and the Stihl one slips out. The metal ones are a big no no as they can crack the piston crown. By MALLET, I am meaning a hard nylon one and not a copper one or hammer! Not seen the flywheel grip, get a pic up

I agree unless it is pristine!

If you get stuck............

Husqvarna 365 or Stihl MS441/460

The 038 is a VERY old saw, if it has seen a bit off life, I would personally steer clear and get something a little newer. Look at the bottom of the saw and if it is missing a lot of paint and the metal has been worn, it has had much use. The plastics will also give a fair indication of use. If it is in good clean condition then it starts to look OK. These saws have a relatively long stroke and the pistons can get a bit slappy at the bottom of the stroke - let the saw idle and if it is rattling like a bad un then it has piston wear or the clutch has wear - reasonably typical on these saws. Check the saw idles with a very even speed, not hunting up and down and leave it 2-3 mins on idle. Pick it up and grab at the throttle, make sure it spools up to flat out cleanly without loads of smoke. Make sure it revs out OK with no hessitation. Make sure the chain isn't spinning at idle, if it is suspect worn cllutch springs. All these issues are fixable but at extra cost. It is always worth checking that the cylinder is the original so look at it and make sure it has a dull grey colour, if it looks almost white in colour, it is probably aftermarket - ask your mate if it is original. Hold the saw up by the starter handle and see how long it takes to extend, 10s + is good, if compression seems bad then walk!

To answer the question, tracking through a bad insulator will make the saw either a non runner or will make is sound very flat, misfires and unable to rev plus if you touch the cap, you will light up:blushing: Not too sure about Makita but to remove the flywheel you need a piston stop in, spin off the flywheel nut and then pop a large screwdriver between the back of the flywheel and engine and tap it lightly in and holding the saw up by the flywheel, belt the crank end WITH A MALLET NOT A HAMMER and the flywheel may come off. There are pullers that grip on location holes, on Stihls they screw in to the central boss and some have legs that grip the outer edge of the flywheel (use the magnet section - it is stronger) but access is often an issue. Once off, make sure the flywheel to crank key is in one piece. You can set the flywheel without one but it is an interesting experiance:lol:

Plugs will either stop sparking or may start tracking through the insulator causing an intermittent spark. Backfiring will tend to be a heavilly retarded ignition, that is the saw is sparking on the downward stroke causing the detonation to bang out of the exhaust rather than to ignight in the combustion chamber. The other thing that can happen is that fuel vapour can be retained in the exhaust and get ignighted by the exhaust gases. Backfiring is generally caused by a sheared flywheel key, that is the only time I have ever had a backfire from a saw. It is possible that a faulty ignition coil with smart ignition advance gone wrong may cause it also.

The aluminium transfer MUST all be gone, if any is left it will take out the rings in seconds. You leave the solution on until it stops fizzing where you clean it, abrade it lightly and try some more. 20 - 30 mins is not unheard of. An hour on really bad stuff. If the bore feels smooth with your fingertip, all is OK!

On the second pic, next to the inlet port, near the bottom of the photo, is that some sort of wear/scuff or is it just the photo, missed it earlier!

There is no set position but a very rough guide would be circa 2 &1/2 turns out from fully in. If fully in, the saw should race on a fast idle. If it isn't doing this then you have some issues. If you start the saw on the fast idle setting on the choke lever (the setting used after initially making the saw fire using the choke), does the saw race and the chain spin up? Once the saw is started, generally it is a case of feathering the throttle until the idle has been more or less dialled in.

I am taking it that the H screw still has a limit cap on it??? If so fully anti clockwise is fine to start from - without the limit cap, the screw would come right the way out:blushing: So - with the H screw fully anti clockwise and the L screw one turn out from fully in, you should start the saw and then adjust the idle so it idles well without the chain spinning - clockwise speeds it up, anticlockwise slows it down. This is a good start point and once it is idling well, I usually fine tune it but on 1 turn out, you should be close enough. The saw can be revved flat out and if it sounds too slow and flubby on the top end, turn the H screw in but don't let the saw scream otherwise you risk seizing it! See how this goes - with the limiter in place, you shouldn't do too much harm.

Yes Matty, looks very doable, whats it off, Dolmar or is it your T540? I can't see 100% how much aluminium there is on the bore but either use a strong caustic soda solution or acid taken from a car/bike/etc battery cell or brick cleaning solution on the area until it stops fizzing and then use 100 grit paper to take the black oxide off and then finish with 400 grit paper. Rub around the bore with the 400 grit to lightly hone it and then fit the new piston and rebuild. Any idea why it failed? If it is a normal carb, set it a bit fat on the H screw and if the saw is any more than 3-4 years old and you are not sure why it failed, I would pressure check the saw to be safe. Good luck

Yup, saws can leak and postmen may smoke, not rocket science, it is the fact that saws now appear on prohibited lists and it makes running any sort of business more difficult for responsible traders.

Ebay are usually pretty good on stuff like this, they will ask you to send it back and record the delivery and they will then reimburse you the money and it will take around two weeks. Dicks like him are why many courier companies don't take saws anymore - how difficult is it to drain it, double bag it with wadding around the bar mount and then pack it in a bed of rolled up newspaper:001_rolleyes: One prat fouls up and we all take the fall out!

Yes, times are tight for the royal family, I also gather Charles is growing hash and touring the council estates in his Aston touting his wares:lol:

Sorry, no joy, not got one spot on 1.2":thumbdown:

I will take a look and see what I have.

Yes, this has the baffles drilled, a secondary outlet plus the ignition mod, piston tuning and porting that yours did.

Best to add the outer measurement of the shaft and the diameter of the inner shaft plus a description - splined with number of splines, square with measurement across the flats etc I may have one but no idea what machines they came from.