Free Poulans, need some help...

Thought I would request some help from you folks for two Poulans I got for free. I know they're crap saws. I only buy Stihl, but free is free. You guys have been very good to me on some recent technical posts I had and helped me a great deal. Thanks.

What I got was a Poulan 210, 14" and a 2750, 20". The 210 is supposed to only have brittle, busted fuel lines. I cleaned all afternoon. This saw has never seen compressed air until this afternoon. Looks great now. Now to get it working... Sure enough when I opened it up, fuel lines to who knows where just dangling. There are three, 1. From primer to tank, I think 2. Tank pickup to carb, not sure which inlet. 3. From carb, again not sure the inlet, to who knows. Just a fuel line sitting in the carb area, but there look like two fittings on the carb for them... What I would like to do is buy all three lines and replace them and figure out the scheme. My question is I usually go down to the Stihl dealer and get what I need. Any recommended suggestions on these saws? Is there usually any help locally (yellow pages) or am I trying to hunt something down on the internet for parts?

The 2750 also doesn't run. It was said it needed a choke lever, he had a twisted wire sticking out to use the choke. If I get it running, I'll be needing one. Again, from the Poulan store... wherever that is. I put some fresh mix in and pulled and pulled. I'm supposed to pullon and pullon a Poulan, right? 'Least that's what I've been reading on this site. I suspect fuel pickup or hose or something. Like it's not getting gas. I put some gas in the hole and it fires, but after 3 or 4 seconds, dies. I haven't opened it up far enough yet to see what I'm in for, but wanted suggestions/thoughts as to what to start to look for at least on this model, not getting gas. Just start with fuel lines or any more usual issues with model?

I know they're probably throw away saws by most folks standards on this site, but look at it like they're my project saws... I'd like to at least attempt to see if they will work before they hit the dumpster. A couple of fuel lines and new saws for me I hope. Probably not going to be that easy. Thanks in advance for everyone's help. Now I'm off to find a manual that explains how to put the bar back on the 210. What a ridiculous system. Tried for almost an hour until I decided there must be a manual somewhere online. Hope the 2750 is not as challenging. I'll soon see, just not tonight.

I would take any saw that was free. I would go to any small engine dealer and buy a few feet of tygon fuel line. take a piece if the old hose with you to size it. I would also pick up a couple new filters. You may just have to try your best to trace and replace the lines. Remember, Tank hose to primer, primer to carb, sometimes carb back to tank on some models. Some models also have an impulse hose, which runs from the carb or intake to the cylinder. I would try that first, if you still have problems take the carb off, get the model number and find a rebuild kit. Chainsaw carbs usually arent hard to rebuild. All that fails after visiting with the folks here and troubleshooting, you might have worse problems. Those are the common and cheapest ones to fix. Good luck, and dont be afraid to ask questions!

Free Poulans???

I thought this was an offer of free Poulans. I thought that if I posted on your thread you would send me a Poulan...dang!
That's alright I'll just have do do with the three that I already have.
Isn't Stihl fuel line a different size than what most others use? Doesn't Stihl use a proprietary fuel line?

I don't know a thing about the 210.Now,if that 2750 is the same as a 2800,I.E. 2.8 cubic inch ,you can make a little tiger out of it with a tweek or two.

It will never be a 346 Huskie or 028 Stihl but you can make that little pup into a dog with some bite.As far as parts, a doner would be cheaper,they don't fetch too much.

Thanks for the comments so far. I did find the Poulan parts site and they have PDF parts listings for these two saws and manuals, thank god! The fuel lines and filters and a choke button come to $11.11 or there 'bouts. Probaby $10 to ship them now...

More info on the saws. First post was long enough so I didn't want to bore with more details. They were my dad's saws, so I know they always had mixed gas in them and had been mostly taken care of. Except the Pro 210, looks like it never got cleaned. I did yank the muffler off both and pistons look very clean as far as I can see them through the exhaust port and I dont have a compression tester, but that 2750 will try to take your arm with it.

The manual for the 2750 also lists the 2775, 2900, and 3050. So I guess not like the 2800, but probably very similar anyway. Dad said it was a good saw, but when he got his Stihl, it never seemed to get picked up again. So it sat and sat for years I guess now, 'til I fixed up one of his older Stihls this past week and he was like you want to mess with these and see if you can get them to work again? Then you can do whatever you want with them. Thought I would at least give them a shot. Also, have been looking for a throw away saw for flush cutting stumps, so I'm hoping the little Pro 210 might work for that. Don't want to put my Stihls in the dirt if I can help it...

The Pro 210 was a bear to make the chain break work after it was off the saw, but I opened it up and cleaned the gunk out then after pushing the plastic to the point I thought it would break, it finally actuated and I was able to put it back on the saw. It works ok now that I have it back on the saw. Lesson learned, don't take it apart without disengaging it first.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess for now I'll order the parts I'm sure I'll need to get started with and work on cleaning the 2750 over the next few nights 'til they come in.

I don't doubt that the 2750 and the 2800 are the same basic saws.Many were rebadged and sold by Sears and Roebuck under the Craftsman name.

Actually for an inexpensive saw,they aren't too bad.The oilers for example actually do better than Stihls as far as oil output.

The danged things are real restrictive on the mufflers which kills their power output.If a person were real sly ,when the chainsaw police aren't watching and do a little work on the muffler,you can really wake them up.

Most of them came with a semi chisel ,long safety guard chain.Hang that thing on a nail and replace it with a loop of full chisel .325 .Between the muffler and the chain,you will see a great improvement in power and cut speed.

As I mentioned before that I ported a 2800 and it literaly cut two to one against a similar stock model that was about two years old .

The mere low cost of shipping for these items that weigh, I don't know, probably less than 3 or 4 ounces, if even, $8.99. Maybe they're being overnighted from China. I'll keep thinking that, then it won't seem to hurt so bad.

2750

I personally know these saws inside and out. I've got two of them and they actually aren't that bad of a saw if you tweak them. If you need any help when assembling the 2750 give me a shout. If your getting your parts from partstree you just as well order the parts for both and save some shipping. they'll sock ya for 10 bucks every time.

The fuel lines are probably going to be a tight fit. I cut a 45 angle to start them and lubed them with a little fuel mix. There may also be a small plastic "keeper" that goes on the return line inside the tank. You may also have to clean out some pieces of old line that got into the carb.
Poulan must use really cheap plastic for their fuel lines. They don't seem to last too long.

Had a neighbor that had a Poulan 2800 Forrester. That was a decent little saw. He cut a lot of firewood with that saw... year in and year out. I talked him into a loop of non-safety chain and he really like the way it cut.

Why don't Poulan make saws like that anymore? I tried to find one recently just to mess around with... but no luck. I think it's bigger brother was the 3200 or the 3400.

Gary

GASoline71 said:

Had a neighbor that had a Poulan 2800 Forrester. That was a decent little saw. He cut a lot of firewood with that saw... year in and year out. I talked him into a loop of non-safety chain and he really like the way it cut.

Why don't Poulan make saws like that anymore? I tried to find one recently just to mess around with... but no luck. I think it's bigger brother was the 3200 or the 3400.

Gary

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They just aren't the the same, the only thing they really have in common is the name. Same with McCulloch and Homelite. Once great saws but now they are just box store junk. My little brother had a used Poulan Pro 655 for sale in his shop, we went out and played with it on the test log and it was a wood eating SOB. I thought about it for a few days and went back to buy it, I was too late, it sold quick.

I just did a little checkin' on the interweb... the 2800's big brother was the 3200.

The 3400 was an earlier CV model.

If anybody has a 2800 or a 3200 they wanna part with...

Gary

WildnCrazyGuy said:

The mere low cost of shipping for these items that weigh, I don't know, probably less than 3 or 4 ounces, if even, $8.99. Maybe they're being overnighted from China. I'll keep thinking that, then it won't seem to hurt so bad.

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OMG! I called about my order today because it showed not shipped yet. I thought it had plenty of time to ship yesterday. The rep says, oh, it shipped yesterday, they just didn't update it. So curious me, asked where from? (To see about how long it would take naturally...) She says NC. You can look at my member profile and figure out I was not a happy camper. So, I'm like where in NC? She rattled off a little podunk town, north of Greensboro, about an hour from me. :bang: :bang: :bang: I just spent $8.99 to ship something less than probably 3-4 ounces within the state about an hour from my house. OMG! With any luck, I'll be a little more calm when I get home and see the package on my door. Better be there!


OK, calming down slowly. I guess $8.99 is cheaper than me driving 2 hours, (1 hr each way) to try to pick these things up. Gas, time wasted, etc. I feel a little better now.

LMAO... sounds like you are friends with Murphy...

Gary

1 down, 1 to go... Well, mostly. I did get my expedited box of fuel lines, choke button, and fuel filters. I was able to blow out all the gunk and clean up the 2750 quite a bit. Then the fun began...

It was definitely the fuel line. It was broken off at the carb inlet, hence it couldn't get any gas. When I pulled it to take it out, broke in about 4 or 5 pieces. The instructions for replacing the fuel line make it sound so simple. Think of it like trying to push a bowling ball through your, well, you get the picture. I hand it to Stihl fuel lines. They're a pain to change as well, but completely less frustrating. With this Poulan fuel line, you have to make something ever so slightly too big for the hole go through and be able to get to it and pull it farther until you have enough line to work with. :bang:

Long story short, I did get the line on and put the 2750 back together with high hopes. Pulled the newly installed choke lever out and pulled the starter 4 or 5 times and it fired. So, I disengaged the choke and pulled one more time. It ran for about 15 or 20 seconds and with very good throttle response, then it died. I had to shut it off before the neighbors could figure out where the noise was coming from at 11:00 PM.

So now to finish cleaning it up and getting the rust out and run it at more neighborly friendly hours when I get home and then to hopefully do the same with the little PP210 tonight. I'll post pics of them after I get them all cleaned up and running. I keep meaning to take before and after pics, just get too darn excited to clean the gunk away that before I know it, it's too late. Looking at both of them now, you wouldn't believe how they looked when I got them. They almost look like new again.

Does anyone have a P220 or something similar they can post a pic of the carb area or take a look and explain where the fuel lines go on it. I looked at the IPL's for the PP210 and PP220 and they look like they might be similar in the setup with the primer. I've not dealt with multiple fuel lines yet. Just one from the tank to the carb. I think this PP210 has 3 including the primer. Thanks.

WildnCrazyGuy said:

Does anyone have a P220 or something similar they can post a pic of the carb area or take a look and explain where the fuel lines go on it. I looked at the IPL's for the PP210 and PP220 and they look like they might be similar in the setup with the primer. I've not dealt with multiple fuel lines yet. Just one from the tank to the carb. I think this PP210 has 3 including the primer. Thanks.

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I have a PP220 and the line from the forward nipple of the primer bulb goes to the tank near the cylinder, the aft nipple of the primer bulb goes to the left side of the carb and the right side of the carb goes to the fuel pick up .

scottr said:

I have a PP220 and the line from the forward nipple of the primer bulb goes to the tank near the cylinder, the aft nipple of the primer bulb goes to the left side of the carb and the right side of the carb goes to the fuel pick up .

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Thank you sir. I guess I haven't looked close enough at the primer yet. All I saw coming off it was one line and I think I remember it went into the tank. I'll go look for that aft nipple. That probably explains my third fuel line that was just sitting there. Also, the left and right sides of the carb help tremendoulsy because nothing was attached to the carb, except the reminance of the old line that had been broken off, so i had no idea which line to put on a carb with 2 inlets. Much thanks for the direction.

WildnCrazyGuy said:

Thank you sir. I guess I haven't looked close enough at the primer yet. All I saw coming off it was one line and I think I remember it went into the tank. I'll go look for that aft nipple. That probably explains my third fuel line that was just sitting there. Also, the left and right sides of the carb help tremendoulsy because nothing was attached to the carb, except the reminance of the old line that had been broken off, so i had no idea which line to put on a carb with 2 inlets. Much thanks for the direction.

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Glad to help , if you'll take the starter cover off you can see the primer bulb nipples .

:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:

Anyone have any experience or secrets for putting the primer fuel line into the tank for a Poulan? Is there a special tool I need to get that will reach to the other side of the tank to pull that line through? Also, 45 degree cut, WD40 were used in attempt.

:bang: :bang: :bang: :bang:

Well, I had no luck. I did get the fuel pickup line, the smaller diameter hose through the tank, so I'm half way home. Not that the smaller line was easy, but what I ended up doing was poking a small hole in the end with the 45 degree cut and tying fishing line to it. Placed the fishing line through the hole to the gas filler cap and with a little help from WD40 and a strong pull, the fuel pickup line came through. Cut off the end that had been damaged by the hole for the fishing line and put the fuel filter/pickup on, done.

Now to get that primer line to the tank on. It is a larger diameter line than the fuel pickup. It has to go into the tank on the opposite side of where the gas filler cap is, so it's way too far to reach by hand, even needle nose pilers... Inside the tank and just below the hole, there needs to be a fitting placed on the line I guess so it doesn't have more than 1/4 to 1/2 inch into the tank.

So, My thoughts on this was to attach the fitting on the primer fuel line, then run the other end through the gas filler cap, up through the little hole with fishing line, tug on it just enough to get the 45 degree end up through the hole so I can grab the line with my needle nose pliers and when I get enough to handle, then I should be able to pull it through until the end with the fitting hangs about 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the hole. Sound like a good plan? I thought so too, until I could never get the primer fuel line fished up through the hole enough to get a grab on it. It's the right size primer fuel line, I can get it through the tank pushing it from above, but can't reach it through the gas cap filler to pull through, especially at that angle. Tried fishing line but apparently making that bend to go all the way across the tank through the gas filler cap puts too much stress on it, then breaks.

Should I continue to try this or go the other way? That would mean pulling the primer fuel line through the hole all the way over to the gas filler cap to put the fitting on, then pulling it back through until the fitting is near the hole. I'm thinking back and forth might do damage to the line. Any thoughts, direction, secrets, hints, wisdom, would be very much appreciated. I would like to know what the "Pros" at the Poulan repair shop do, or if they curse just as much as I did last night, only every day.