Any experts on the little cheapie Poulans?

[Chris-PA]

I have not worked on a later strato version. The saws are not worth anything in terms of money if you're trying to make a profit. They are good tools however, and they can run very well with any of they typical mods done to any saw. Mine are extremely reliable too. They are very simple.

I stay away from the non-A/V ones though.

 

[GeorgiaVol]

The strato ones are the ones with an intake boot above the carb. There is not a clamp on the boot. I'm thinking that's why some lean out and score the piston. I have sold quite a few of the older ones and make decent profit with them. I usually get the saw for around $10 and put $5-10 in it. Takes less than 2 hours and they sell for $60-65. So $45 for a couple hours plus I make some decent trades with them. I take all I can get of them.

 

[82F100SWB]

The lack of value is why I always have one. Usually have them given to me and they need less than $20 invested. I usually seem to end up with Sears branded ones with A/V. Gave the last one away, and the current one was given to me by my neighbor.

 

[bulletpruf]

The lack of value is why I always have one. Usually have them given to me and they need less than $20 invested. I usually seem to end up with Sears branded ones with A/V. Gave the last one away, and the current one was given to me by my neighbor.

They're good to have around for loaning to the neighbors.

 

[fearofpavement]

The strato ones are the ones with an intake boot above the carb. There is not a clamp on the boot. I'm thinking that's why some lean out and score the piston. I have sold quite a few of the older ones and make decent profit with them. I usually get the saw for around $10 and put $5-10 in it. Takes less than 2 hours and they sell for $60-65. So $45 for a couple hours plus I make some decent trades with them. I take all I can get of them.

Yeah? Well then come to my place. Bring your wheelbarrow.

 

[Conquistador3]

Air leak where? The crank seals are reliable, and there is no intake boot - not many places to leak. The fuel lines are randomly crap though, depending on where they were sourced on any given production day.

Parts are cheap on eBay and elsewhere here.

The last one I've seen (seized) leaked at a crank seal. Probably part of that quality control problems so many seem to list as the main problem of these saws.
Yes, parts are cheap, but add shipping and custom duties on top of that and it makes no sense to fix those things, especially with the smaller homeowner Makita saws so heavily discounted.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Have had a few given, they go in the trash. Even brand new they are junk. Wild Thangs show up at the shop, unless uts a chain sharpen or very minor repair like a carb adjustnent, it's sent away, cheaper to buy a new one than get it fixed.

Slow, underpowered, anti-vibe is horrible. Better than a hand saw, but barely!


Poulan Pro not bad mid 90s and older, but the new stuff, they shouldn't bother putting a removable chain or gas cap. Once it's empty, get a new one! Kind of like a Kia or Hy-undai car.

 

[Cliff R]

The only good sound those saws make is when they "tink" off the dumpster outside the shop. I do NOT allow them in my shop nor will I work on one.

From a business standpoint they are not worth putting any time and funds into for reasons mentioned in earlier threads.

For a hobbyist or homeowner with a little mechanical knowledge you can grab them up for free to $20 or so and spend some time researching the IPL's/ordering parts and get them going. Most will only need a carb kit and fuel line and about 30 minutes of your time. If they need much beyond that get another one. Once finished you will have a chain saw for under $50 for light duty work around the property......Cliff

 

[Okie]

A friend gave me a non-running 4218 Craftsman that Poulan made about 18 years ago. It had a broken pull cord from a frustrated owner who gave up on it. He said, "Edwin, you can keep this thing. It's junk."

Amazingly, the only thing wrong was the spark plug was loose. I started it on the third pull after fixing the pull cord, cleaning the plug, and tightening it down. I used it for awhile and never had any trouble. Good little limbing saw. I should sell it, but for some strange reason, it's still on board and resting in its storage case.

I'm certainly not an expert, but I have learned a lot about these saws through the years. There was one straight-gassed Poulan Pro that I tried to save by rebuilding the top end. While bolting the new cylinder tight to the case, it cracked right down the side. It was a sickening sound. The local Stihl dealer said I was nuts to even try to save it.

I'm certainly not an expert, but I have learned a lot about these saws through the years.
Same here and I also have couple of them Poulan/Craftsman laying around that were given to me due to being dogs and I keep them mostly as loaners or just leave them in the back of my ole hunting vec to clear brush out of road and don't care if they get get stolen or evaporate. One of them has a primer bulb and I really do not even try to take care of the saw, looks really beat up, part of plastic missing and some plastic cracked, just leave it stored with gas sometimes for over a year and that thing will start up in about 5 pulls, and is ready to go and the other one looks nice with good plastic and it will never start if stored over 3 days unless it's a nice blue bird day with sun shining and lots of TLC, petting and priming to make it get up and go.

Therefore from experience: (with Poulans)
I'm certainly not an expert, but I have learned a lot about these saws through the years.
I think maybe, from experience looking for simple parts that the poulan/craftsman saws are made one at a time and parts are different on each saw of same model for different days of manufacture. (made one at a time by hand)
A new chain costs more than the saws are worth and that is why the saw usually wears out before the chain. OCCASIONAL USE SAWS

 

[Chris-PA]

Other than fuel lines I see no problems with quality control on these saws. The plastic parts are sturdy and well made, with flashing cleaned up better than the MS250 I worked on. The engine castings are also nicely made. I have yet to see a bad crank seal on one but I'm sure it happens like on any saw. Carbs are made by Walbro or ZAMA like everything else. The foam air filters work great. Not sure what the beef is with the A/V other than that it is spring and allows a fair amount of movement, but it's sturdy. Most don't have A/V and will buzz your hands numb in no time.

The later mufflers are very restrictive, but with an early 2-pc muffler opened up a little they run well. If you want to do more mods they run surprisingly well considering the simple dual open transfer design. Used parts are everywhere and often near free, while new ones are cheap either OEM or AM off eBay. My most heavily modified one runs a 68DL lo pro bar and has a plastic case from 1994. I was running it last weekend and was again amazed at how well it works. They're not pro tools but are very capable for firewood needs. A Poulan Pro 260 is one of my favorite little saws.

Maybe the later strato ones have more issues but I have not messed with any of those yest - mainly the inboard clutch puts me off. I think that's a design mistake with a plastic housing, as the homeowner Stihls have shown. I also prefer the chromed bore engines - the bare bore/chromed piston design works, and I have one that is ported and runs very well - but they are very intolerant of any kind of foreign objects. Granted that should not happen, but if it does your grinding efforts are toast instantly.

 

[gary courtney]

I have a 2150 I muffler modded and retuned. Put a oregon bar and chain on it and I have not had one minutes problem with it. I have 40 acres of pine and I use it 3 hours per week piddling. Cuts ,oils excellent. Was just given a 99% 2150 from friend who purchased in 2001 and run 15 minutes and stored in shop . fixing to replace lines,filters ,primer bulb. For a homeowner saw in my opinion they are perfect. And by the way, I own a large number of pro saws!

 

[GeorgiaVol]

Ok, went to the shed and got some pictures. 1st is of an early Poulan. These are the east to fix, rarely scored piston ones. They have a foam filter. 2nd is the newer ones with strato engine and a felt filter and get scored piston often. 3rd is a picture of the boot that I suspect is a cause of an air leak.

 

[Modifiedmark]

Matt that boot on the strato port is not really a issue. Thats just to let fresh air in for stratocharging and has little to do with the fuel mixture.

For those thinking this no clamp is bad, go look at the intake boot on a Stihl like a 270-280. No clamp at all on the intake boot..

The biggest rap against the strato Poulans are that like most all brand saws today is they come shipped too lean. Then the next problem is that most people who think they know how to tune a carb don't realise the old ways don't work well on these carbs.

They won't work right set to just blubber out of the cut on the high side and then just rich enough to not bog on the low side. On both you need to find the too lean setting and the too rich setting then set the needle in about the halfway point between lean and rich.

The other thing is once in a great while you will get a carb that just won't work, no matter how many times you tear it down and then all the ways you try to adjust it. If I get one that don't respond correctly, right off the bat I just replace the carb. Their cheap and not worth messing with. In fact I don't mess with them much anymore as you can get the replacments for $10-$15 and most the time you need to do very little adjusting with them.

 

[Chris-PA]

There is a similar boot on my PP338PT pole saw/trimmer, except it is molded in some sort of red rubber. They last one season and I have to replace them every year. They crack and fall apart and then you cannot set the idle. These appear to be a different material, but it might still be deteriorating and just gets loose rather than cracking. At least these are just a simple tube so it would be easier to come up with an alternate material.

The thing is that if that boot leaks it will not change the full throttle mixture because the air valve is wide open anyway. It will mess up the idle though, and allow in lots of dirt which the cylinder won't deal with well.

 

[GeorgiaVol]

Well, I figured there were folks on here that knew better than I about these things. It was just a guess. Anyhow, this model is more complicated and a little more difficult to repair than the previous model. But with a little more practice, maybe I will get good at fixing these too.

 

[Chris-PA]

I'm not sure how restrictive those foam filters are. I've tried some experiments in cutting down the foam so it was thinner to see if it flowed better on ported saws, but I could not tell the difference. They do filter really well, and I've never seen anything get past them into the carb.

 

[radio]

I bought one new with a 16" B/C, hard plastic storage case, scabbard, tools and oil for $75 on clearance at Walmart. Still haven't fueled it up yet. Paid $7 for a 2 year 'cash back' warranty in case it develops a problem. I figure it's good to put in the back of the jeep or lend out, something I won't do with my Husky XPs or Stihl or Echo. And if it dies I get my money back. Warranty covers wear and tear. Works for me.

 

[Jeff Lary]

I have not worked on a later strato version. The saws are not worth anything in terms of money if you're trying to make a profit. They are good tools however, and they can run very well with any of they typical mods done to any saw. Mine are extremely reliable too. They are very simple.

I stay away from the non-A/V ones though.

Boy howdy aint that the truth. I worked on a green one for a guy,... and it just about vibrated the meat right out of my fingers!!!

 

[TALLGUY]

Every one I have worked on had loose pan bolts. The cylinder was just floating. Huge air leak. Just tighten the bolts and they can be tuned. Have to pull apart and reseal the pan to fix right.
Neighbor was cutting the other day with his PP. I walked over with a 5/16 socket and asked to see his saw. I flipped it over and the bolts all needed at least one turn. He couldn't believe how much better it ran after. Or that I could hear his air leak.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Chris-PA]

Every one I have worked on had loose pan bolts. The cylinder was just floating. Huge air leak. Just tighten the bolts and they can be tuned. Have to pull apart and reseal the pan to fix right.
Neighbor was cutting the other day with his PP. I walked over with a 5/16 socket and asked to see his saw. I flipped it over and the bolts all needed at least one turn. He couldn't believe how much better it ran after. Or that I could hear his air leak.

I have not run into that on the 42cc engines, but I do locktight the threads. I run into it on the 46cc versions where the engine vibrates the bolts out - but those have separate bolts to hold the clamshell together and to hold the engine in the chassis.

The 46cc engines started out as 36 and 40cc, and have quite small counterweights which did not change with the displacement increase. The A/V system on those does a good job if blocking the vibrations but the engine shakes a lot and things fall apart. I like the design of the other saws better - but they are not as compact.