spudulike

Keep it coming, fingers crossed all will be sorted soon.

357xp, 346xp and 181SE (ex army spec), none of them standard and I will be buried with them👍

Ah, sounds like the head gasket on the right side has cracked and letting in oil. Bummer 😞

Have you looked at the plugs after the machine stops? Wet or oily plug on one cylinder may lead to a fault one cylinder. Blue smoke is usually oil and white is excessive fuel. It could be one cylinder not firing after a minutes running so dodgy coil....does it have two coils, is the coil to magneto gap nice and close as a large gap may make the coil only work when stone cold....seen this before on chainsaws.

If you don't know too much about saws and the things some less scrupulous sellers may do to sell them then purchase new. The sort of things I am talking about is using cheap non OEM parts such as carbs, coils and cylinders so they can turn a profit. If you are purchasing from a known contact you trust, perhaps a larger arb company that replace kit every two years then you may get yourself a decent deal. Assuming you are after a single ground saw that can cut the mustard then the 550xp MK2 or MS261 mtronic are both decent saws and have both been around a long time.

Now, bearing in mind the only Vanguard I know are the US investment specialist....was this engine playing up before you made any adjustments to anything? Assuming not....white smoke...what does it smell of, burning oil smells like burning oil😬, It could be diesel in your fuel....that smells like paraffin as combustion leaves.... paraffin to exit the exhaust, water in the fuel can give all sorts of issues with running so drain off a bit from the carb float bowl in to a glass and look for the water at the bottom of the fluid...it is pretty obvious. It could be a stuck choke, as I said, I don't know the engine but if the choke is stuck shut, white smoke and stalling is the symptom you get 100%. Compare both cylinders for compression, leak down and plug colour. If the head gasket has gone in one, there will be a significant difference. When you stripped the carb, did you pull the main jet AND the emulsion tube...those little holes can get blocked up. I can't say I know that much about mowers😉 Good luck

From the description, it sounds like the saw is running very rich so... Blocked air filter Choke stuck partially on Check valve stuck open Assuming the H adjustment is set correctly!

I did once purchased a genuine Zama carb from China for a 201 and 150 for something like £15 off eBay. Worth a good look.

It won't be long before there is a "pay per log" tax on wood burners.

On the new cylinder, does the cavity the hole runs in to, get the crank case impulse from the transfer port? It is difficult to see.

Double check the coil to flywheel gap and if you can unscrew the HT lead ( some you can), then unscrew it, check the continuity, clean it and refit it. It is also worth checking the continuity between the HT cap and earth. You should get a reading of sorts, possibly 20k ohms, but it will show the cap and lead are OK before purchasing a coil. I had a 461 once that had a corroded HT line and this check saved purchasing a new coil.

But both Husqvarna and Stihl use Zama and Walbro carbs so how can Husqvarna carbs be shyte and Stihl ones be superior. In my experience, the Walbro carbs on the 357xps had accelerator pumps that failed but the infamous MS200T had Zama carbs with pump issues....I didn't purchase them 25 pcs at a time for the fun of it. Unfortunately, the 357xp was new carb time.

Get a picture up of each part but you do need to feed the crankcase impulse pressure back to the carb pump diaphragm by channels in casting or pipes from unions in to the crankcase cavity.

I blame the Labour Government 🤔 Ed Milliband and his net zero must be involved somehow.

I still don't get it. To seize an engine, it needs to be run up to max revs and put under load for a fair time so the piston can effectively melt on to the cylinder and it would still need old fuel, an air leak, bad carb settings or straight fuel. Let's see the parts and go from there. It is possible that carbon has caused the issue but can't see how kit can go from ending the season in prime condition to losing all compression on running it up much later. Rings can get gummed up and that can cause compression loss but have usually experienced the old oil coating in the bore giving the engine excessive compression after being left for a long period but no bore damage. Done enough MS200Ts left for years thinking they had good compression until the old oil burns off.

Glad my ramblings helped you and thanks for the update👍

What does "scored the bore" mean, have they seized, were they seized or scored when left on the shelf last year, is it carbon damage and who diagnosed the damage? It is possible that it is just normal wear and your repair shop is egging it up. I have saws, Husky and Stihl that haven't run in 1-3 years that will fire right up when needed. The oil in the fuel usually protects the engine parts. Both the manufacturers use very similar materials in their pistons and cylinders so not sure why these issues have occured.

Looks like a farmers saw to me....reckon the owner either has some strange working practices or total lack of maintenance...what a mess.

I believe your carb is a Walbro WT carb and a generic carb kit for a Walbro WT series will work just fine. Your carb should have "Walbro" on the top and Probably "WT" on the side along with a number. Most of the WT carbs will have the same diaphragms. Rowena Carbs are Walbro stockists and are very helpful or buy a kit off eBay.

It is possible that the water has rusted the blades together and these battery machines like to trip out if they meet any restriction on pulling the trigger. If it is this, dosing the blades with WD40 and manually moving them and then trying to pull and release the trigger multiple times may ease it in to working. It may be water in the workings and this may give zero movement in the blades, motor etc. Never had this but a day or two in the airing cupboard may help to dry it out.

That is EXACTLY how it is working with them...no joke!

No, consumer electronics of the computer type manufacturing for 20 years then spent 10 years in sales working with major PC manufacturers, distributors and resellers.

Go for the path of least resistance, import from abroad but be aware of any import duty you may have to pay. Typical German company, don't take it personally, it is just the way they are....worked with them for 30 years 😱😱

Yup, Rowena are the go to carb specialists. Hugo is da man and very helpful.

No, net easy to fit and very easy to cock it up and at £12.50, easy to lose your money. Getting the old one out, pierce it with an awl at an acute angle ( protects damaging the cage) and lever it out. I clean the area, use plenty of oil, push it in as far as you can and tap it in to place with a suitable deep socket. I do use the factory guide to ease the seal around the inner race which makes it much easier. I guess I have done around 25 -35 on 550/560/562 and 346s in my time....so you can gauge the worth of my comments.