Craftsman 2.0/Poulan 2000 $20 saw

[paetersen]

Picked up one of these for $20 and had a go at rebuilding it. I broke it down and replaced all the lines, rebuilt the carb, and decked the cylinder head to up the 'squish'. Put it all back together with anaerobic sealant instead of a headgasket. I had some problems with the oiler- duckbill clogged open so it was burning bar oil instead of oiling the bar with it and foam filter was plugged solid and breaking down so I replaced it with a cut plug of scotchbrite, unclogged the duckbill, blew out the check valve (carefully) and it oils steadily now, but sparingly for a 16" bar. It came with a 16" bar on it and I'd like to get it down to a 10" or maybe 12" so it can really rip through smaller stuff and have better oiling.

The gas cap always spits and dribbles, the rubber valve is nice and pliable, and clean, and appears intact. Is this just a quirk of these saws?

What size bar are people typically running on these?

EDIT: just ran the part number and I guess it's a 2.2 not a 2.0

 

[s sidewall]

If the gas cap is spitting fuel, replace the duck bill valve. 14" and 16" is what usually came on those. The 14" bar suits it better in my opinion. On the oiler duck bill valve, it's probably shot. If you can take that valve apart, replace the duck bill valve also.

Steve from my moto g(7) play using Tapatalk

 

[paetersen]

I have an old stihl 011av with a 14" bar on it. I want to go smaller. The gas cap has a flat rubber gasket on the underside held in with a star clip. No 'duckbill' present at all? The oil duckbill valve is working fine, running in spec for what the owners manuals says: 2 tanks of gas for one tank of bar oil. I might thin the bar oil a bit to compensate for the cold weather.

 

[Vibes]

Just a tip that has nothing to do with fixing that saw. Put some orange or hi-vis green tape on the handle of that saw. I had one of those and its bigger brother saw the Craftsman 3.0 and being they are gray, They get lost in the woods easily. I was cutting in the tops of logged out trees with mine and as the day got darker and the view of the area was changing because I was cutting and moving the wood around, I couldn't find my saw!!! Trust me. I looked all around. There was fresh cut brush everywhere. It got dark fast and I could not find my saw. I was there first thing in the morning and it still took me a little while to find it. I put orange electrical tape on the handle.

I laughed when Echo came out with that camo top handle a while back. I'll bet there are more than a few of them lost in the woods.