when I go to show a saw for a buyer and it just wont start... gas tanks empty- happened a number of times and yes I empty every saw that comes in for repair into a separate can which my old briggs on my wood splitter doesnt seem to mind at all.
DON"T be an idiot!! ( A cautionary tale)
- Thread starter david newbie
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Tony Mayhew
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Stihltech, I couldn't have said it better my friend! After years of experience with 2-stroke engines, I have learned that you need to have a sequence of steps that you do to analyze the problem you're dealing with! My first thing i tell guys is, don't just keep pulling the starter rope until you have another issue on your hands! I have a rule i follow, and that is No More Than Five Pulls! If it doesn't pop and try to start after five Pulls then I stop and go through the fuel, fire, and compression rules for making it start and run! If someone brings me a saw that won't start for them, first thing i do is dump whatever fuel they have in the tank out in a glass jar and put fuel that i know is fresh and I am not playing a guessing game! I can't believe how many times I have asked if the fuel is fresh in the tank? Just to pour it into a glass jar and find out it's full of water! I just purchased that gas! Is the answer I get from them every time! I just want to ask, Who ya teasin? I tell people all the time that I'm like a detective, I'm gonna figure it out anyways so you might as well tell me up front enstead of sending me on a wild goose chase and waist a bunch of my time! But I know if I just put my fuel in that I can eliminate that. And after the fuel has been drained you can check the condition of the fuel lines and filter and know the condition they are in. I have a Husqvarna 266xp that has a pin size hole in the fuel line inside the tank and will run just fine as long as the tank is full, but if it gets down past half tank it will starve it for fuel! I find the fuel filter in the bottom of the tank on a piece of equipment alot of times and the fuel line will float to the top of the tank and not draw gas floating on top of the gas! Now one thing alot of guys overlook is the tank vent on most of your upper end saws like Echos, Sachs-Dolmar, Husqvarna all have a little white plastic piece with a duck bill valve inside of it and the end of the duck bill is glued shut from old sticky oil and the gas tank is vapor locking. Most guys don't realize that when you turn the kill switch off depending on how fast the piston is still traveling you now have fuel being pumped with no fire to burn it! So every time you stop your chainsaw with the kill switch your to some degree fouling the sparkplug out! But only seeing the same thing again and again will steer you in the right direction and in order to truly understand and enjoy playing with a chainsaw you need to have a little hands on to get it to run the way you want it to run. 
thenne1713
ArboristSite Guru
Hada little vintage Craftsman top handle given to me, first found oil pump rod nut in plunger, so button wud not press (shudda been first clue); then wud prime, start 1st pull, run 15-seconds, die) drove me crazy, finally changed carb= same problem.... then FINALLY NOTICED SLIGHT CRIMP/ BEND in short line between prime and carb, trimmed 1/8" off the 1"+ long line, which STRAIGHTENED the line, and it cured issue. It had new line/filter, but new was cut to exact same length as old, so ....LESSON= FUEL MUST BE ABLE TO FREE FLOW TO CARB.
Piotr Pakuła
ArboristSite Guru
Sometimes the fuel filter has a metal screen inside which is often clogged or corroded
Had a 070 come in with that problem. Idled fine. Pull the trigger and it would die. Original fuel lines and e-10 gas…flat fuel line with anything more than idle.
What model is your 240…Late ‘70s or 2008?
https://www.barrettsmallengine.com/p/husqvarna-240-chainsaw-parts-lookup.html
The thing I don't get (after checking fuel) is not replacing a fuel filter. Get an OEM one. I am sick of replacing the Chinese ones that are being sold as a chainsaw filter, but have the small outlet of a trimmer. JUST SAY NO!
So many of the saws being repaired on here are 5+ years old. Get rid of it. If it can't get fuel, it causes all kinds of issues. A plug may work, but not an old fuel filter. As I said, start from the bottom up.
So many of the saws being repaired on here are 5+ years old. Get rid of it. If it can't get fuel, it causes all kinds of issues. A plug may work, but not an old fuel filter. As I said, start from the bottom up.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, it’s easy to overlook something and even easier to struggle to see the forest for the trees when it’s your saw and you’re invested financially and emotionally. @trains gave me good advise to just stop, take a deep breath, step away if necessary and come back to a problem. Work methodically and don’t leapfrog over anything. He first told me this about 4 years ago and I have gone from knowing nothing to being constantly asked by the owner of the second largest stihl shop in the whole state to work for him almost every time I go in. I wouldn’t be anywhere near that stage if it wasn’t for @trains and that’s just a little example of how I have been where you are / were. Take a step back and don’t over look anything - test, test and test again. Be methodical and don’t beat yourself up.
If you build or fix stuff! You can look like Fonzie and smack it at times our struggle real bad. The one very important thing is you never give up! That is a sigh of a very strong person. That force will serve you well.
I had a saw (chipper has it now) that a few years ago got where it just didn’t run right. I did everything I could think of and finally just left it sitting. When I re-investigated it….just an old soft fuel line.
You don’t forget those lessons and don’t overlook the basics.
You don’t forget those lessons and don’t overlook the basics.
Cricket
ArboristSite Operative
Got one of my saws - think it was a Stihl, but don't recall - that did exactly that. I'd taken it to the local "He's great, everybody says so!" fix-it guy, which I do occasionally in case I missed something - turns out he'd set the edge of the carburetor on the fuel line, pinching it down to just barely a trickle - he'd of course started it - and it would start, and run for a few seconds - and apparently that's all he messed with. I was not amused.So ive been struggling with my 372xp OE for a while now. Had it pressure tested, fine. Tried 4 different carbs, farmer tea, zama, original hd12 and another hd12 shipped in the mail from a member who was kind enough to loan me one. No matter what, it would start ok, although took too many pulls, idle ok ,ect. However, as soon as I put it in wood it would die immediately. I mailed it off to a member who took pity on me, and he found a clogged up fuel filter!!! It didn't look terrible, but it was hard to blow air through it. That seems to have solved it. Hopefully my silly story will help some future chainsaw dummyView attachment 1129851
More silliness. I picked up a 365x torq with a scored piston. Replaced it with a meteor piston and ground out the transfer covers while I was at it. Took it to a chainsaw mechanic for pressure and vacuum test. It passed but wouldn’t start. Took it back to the mechanic and he tried to start it. I bet he pulled on it 100 times. He gave up. I sent it off to a high school kid who’s way into saws. Turns out the mechanic forgot to remove the rubber piece he used to block off exhaust port. Whoops 
. Pretty soon I’m going to know all the possible mistakes a guy can make on a saw!
. Pretty soon I’m going to know all the possible mistakes a guy can make on a saw!
One of my older brothers never lets me forget when I tried to install a manual transmission on my 70's Pinto wagon when young and I couldn't get it to go into place. I was cursing up a storm under the car. Finally I think he observed I had my old throwout bearing on and was trying to install it with the new one too. Doh! Did something similar when putting a Husky clutch cover on the other day after replacing the chain brake. Wouldn't go into place. Was stumped about what wasn't lining up, tensioner was aligned. Finally saw that I'd left the clutch removal tool (one of those 19mm bolt heads) in place on the clutch. Sort of looks like it belongs at first glance so I hadn't noticed it.More silliness. I picked up a 365x torq with a scored piston. Replaced it with a meteor piston and ground out the transfer covers while I was at it. Took it to a chainsaw mechanic for pressure and vacuum test. It passed but wouldn’t start. Took it back to the mechanic and he tried to start it. I bet he pulled on it 100 times. He gave up. I sent it off to a high school kid who’s way into saws. Turns out the mechanic forgot to remove the rubber piece he used to block off exhaust port. Whoops
thenne1713
ArboristSite Guru
Sometimes pays to PAINT YOUR TOOLS? I like bright Blue for yard tools, and many hand tools, bc it stands out well when dropped into grass/ Fall leaves, but also someone else's toolbox?
It's only dumb when you do the same thing again.
Then, I'm in trouble, lol
Well at least it aint big trouble..
