spudulike

I have to say that I agree. I must have purchased around 6 carbs in 7 years or repairing kit on a daily basis so hundreds if not thousands of machines. Most are fixable and if you know what you are doing, it is a relatively cheap repair compared to a typical £120 new carb. My weakness is to keep going where I should throw in a towel but manage to fix most to the customers relief. Difficult to recommend a definite fix from a distance but as we have both said...air filter is a possibility. Worth looking to see if the unit has an automatic choke as the mower I was working on did as if this auto choke has failed, this would cause it to run rich. Honda use a wax type auto choke to open and close the choke and it is embedded in to the cylinder behind the carb and is heat activated so if the machine is warm, the choke should fully open. Probably a manual choke I would imagine though.

And make sure the air filter is clean as a blocked air filter is the same as engaging the choke!

If you are up to it....take the carb off, remove the float bowl, unscrew the main jet and then remove what I refer to as the "emulsion tube" or nozzle and make sure the jet is clear and the holes in the emulsion tube are clear. The emulsion tube is a light push fit but can take a bit of removing - watch the Youtube vids for tips. I have just done a neighbours troublesome hunting mower and this was the issue. Lastly, check the float bowl sits level with the housing of carb where the bowl sits when the carb is held upside down - this makes sure the needle and seat are OK. Or just fit a new carb

The compression gauge is nothing to do with vac and pressure tests and if you purchase a compression gauge, don't get one for a car, saws need a much more sensitive gauge to measure the compression correctly. The saw you have is relatively old and old saws can develop air leaks through the crank seals (no need to change the bearings), inlet manifold etc. I believe the 181 manifold is a plastic type one and they can crack hence the test. The fact the saw has seized means it has happened for a reason. The typical reasons are poor fuel/oil mix, using old fuel/oil mix, issues with fuel delivery such as dirt in the carb, split fuel line etc or the carb high speed screw not being set correctly and the machine over revving or an air leak in the engine. Doing the leak down test is up to you. It is possible to protect the engine by tuning the carb to run a little richer but any decent engineer would ensure the engine is airtight on rebuilding it. I seem to remember the 181 having a stepped crankshaft making fitting seals an interesting experience for the uninitiated but may be wrong.

Dust through the air filter usually causes wear to the plating on the inlet side not the exhaust side.

Just to add a bit of info...these original rings were really thin and would have reduced friction to allow the saw to produce faster pickup and power. I guess the friction of two thin rings is probably still less than the single thicker ring just from the reduced springiness and I am now thinking that a single thin top ring would be an interesting experiment for a fast limited use saw. Is this 181 one of the ex army green ones?

I'm one of the "Some on here" that do salvage cylinders rather than bin them and have generally had good success doing so, no disrespect to Mr P...we all have our ways and didn't have an OEM supplier to keep happy. The cylinder doesn't look too bad - was this before cleaning the cylinder up...it looks like it. When cleaning it up, don't scrub at a small area with emery paper but do clean in larger rotations around the bore. The former can cause small concave areas in the bore and they can kill compression. The displayed damage looks like a partial seize or "nip up" that hasn't destroyed the cylinder but has caused some damage. I used to use a cylinder hone to clean the bore up but don't overdo this, you are only giving the new piston a rough surface to bed it in quickly. On pistons - use a quality brand, Meteor and Hyway are pretty much the best. As Mr P says - do pressure and vac check the machine checking the seals, rubber parts and manifold etc. Do service the carb on reassembly, do fit a new fuel filter and check the fuel line isn't split and finally....tach the carb to set the flat out running of the saw to ensure it isn't over-revving - you can do this by ear if you know your onions.

If we accept a favour or nice gesture and pay it back two fold....just imaging what the outcome will be. BTW - thanks to the driver that let me pull over in Norwich when I found myself in the wrong lane approaching the football ground!

Had similar problems with MS660 tanks. Try the wet and dry on a flat plate of metal and ensure the mating surface is flat and not deformed by rubbing lightly. You could use a bit of "engineering blue" on it to see what the surfaces are doing under compression. You could inspect the innards of the tank neck and make sure they are not deformed or damaged. You could try cutting another seal out of something like EPDM and placing it UNDER the existing one. Failing that, chuck a match in the tank and claim on the insurance It shouldn't be rocket science and can imagine a lot of swearing and laughing once you find the issue!!

I think he may have all he needs..... you being 12 years late to the party!

The most likely issue is that a bit of shyte has got in to the carb from the fuel tank and has blocked the gauze strainer in the carb. If having the carb apart and retuning it doesn't help then it is possible it is an air leak but not that likely on a low hours saw. I haven't had any 445s in so ADW may have other useful info on top of this.

I used Parcel-force as they were better at harder to find or isolated addresses. DHL were formerly very good for me as the driver was Eastern European...we called him Marion but he was really Marius and never let me down on pickup. DHL took over "Ipostparcels" and were pretty good for me. I used a broker (Parcelmonkey) and again, they were a little cheaper plus they did chase up failed pickups and issues pretty well and out of hours. I guess I used to have 5-8 parcels go out a week and the only memorable fail was in Southern Ireland which took around 3 weeks and that is another story. Any courier is as good as the local driver and how isolated your address is.

I spent a few years sending and receiving parcels as part of the business. If you talk to these delivery guys, you get go understand the stupid demands put upon the drivers. I once had a fella turn up at 9.30 in the evening to pick up a parcel....so you have to give some of these guys a big of a break. The best ones were always the ones that had been doing a round for a few years. Friday PM deliveries and pickups are always hit and miss because the drivers are much more likely to get to 4.30 and just return back to base. How many of you are still working past 6 while setting out at 8? Frustrating but it is just part of modern life.

Did you remove any of the baffle plate? I started letting in the secondary pipe in to the first chamber to bypass the baffle plate but nice job. Good learning curve.

Customers determine the selling price. If people pay the money, the prices stay high. If they stop purchasing, prices will fall....just economics. And no, I don't own it😉

066s are bullet proof and spares are relatively easy to get hold of as the MS660 followed on from it until the MS661 came along. The 288 is much rarer and spares more difficult to get hold of so....if you are collecting saws, purchase the 288, if you are using the saw for work....take the 066 every day of the week.

It could also be the needle valve in the carb not sealing particularly well or I have seen the carb diaphragm on 540s getting pretty "bagged out" and deformed so it may be worth fitting a new carb kit.

Then make sure you don't drill straight through as you may end up in the oil tank. It will be worth checking what is behind that hole if you do go too far. I guess I may be thinking of the 660. You may need to get a bottoming tap if your tap is a bit tapered as it will cope with the blind hole better and be aware that helicoils get longer on fitting.

I don't think this is a blind hole....can you stick a thin screwdriver in the hole and test it to see if it is through or blind? I have done a few of these and think it is a through hole from memory. Just tap it out with the M5 helicoil tap (it is probably M6 and then turn in the helicoil. Use a decent quality tap, lubricate the tap, form a decent receiving hole and the helicoil just needs turning in and will be very strong if done correctly.

Do it in late Autumn when it is cooler and wetter....I hope you have a big garden for that tree when it gets MUCH larger.

Hylomar was the sealant recommended by Honda to seal their motorbike crankcases back in the day.

Ding Dong....chipper as always!

Nope but he does a nice spray job on them, can't recommend him enough!

Just north of Stevenage. He is to Atco Cylinder Mowers what I am to chainsaws. A decent bloke in my book.

I know a fella who can sharpen those cylinders on an Atco sharpener that gives the cutting blades a slight angle, does a nice job at a good price but...he will be well south of you.....did my Suffolk Colt and Atco Royale cylinders. The methodology you are talking about is the same for most cylinder machines, you adjust so the cylinder is off the anvil and then bring it down on both sides until it brushes the anvil. You then use paper to make sure it cuts the paper both sides....it will probably never be perfect but the better it is, the better the cut. This fella also grinds the anvil to ensure it is flat. Cylinder machines are for technicians....the rest use rotary mowers!