Hard starting Jonsered 361

[promechanic]

Bear with me if this is a long post. I have a very clean Jonsered 361 (Frontier, Husky, Skil,etc) that has been in the family since I was a kid. It has been hard to start as long as I can remember.
After sitting on the shelf for 20+ years I decided to get it running again. The piston and cylinder look great. 155 lb compression on my tester. I replaced both crank seals, rebuilt the carb with an OE Tillotson kit, replaced the fuel filter and line, cleaned and set the points to .015.
After all that, the saw is still very hard to start. 20+ pulls before it fires on choke. Once it fires, it runs perfectly. Idles smoothly, good throttle response, plenty of power (for a 35cc saw). It will hold pressure and vacuum overnight. What am I missing?

 

[Treeman2021]

Bear with me if this is a long post. I have a very clean Jonsered 361 (Frontier, Husky, Skil,etc) that has been in the family since I was a kid. It has been hard to start as long as I can remember.
After sitting on the shelf for 20+ years I decided to get it running again. The piston and cylinder look great. 155 lb compression on my tester. I replaced both crank seals, rebuilt the carb with an OE Tillotson kit, replaced the fuel filter and line, cleaned and set the points to .015.
After all that, the saw is still very hard to start. 20+ pulls before it fires on choke. Once it fires, it runs perfectly. Idles smoothly, good throttle response, plenty of power (for a 35cc saw). It will hold pressure and vacuum overnight. What am I missing?

well if i work at it meaning keep trying to get it started it will after a time start, since it's not needed right now, i have just parked it when i really need it i will again get it running.
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Update: i have found the correct way of getting the 211 started, i had thought it has to get fuel to carb. but problem has always been just getting the right amount without flooding it.

I had this idea of first pulling the starting cord to pull fuel on full choke to carb. then just letting the saw set for around five to ten minuets and taking saw off full choke and placing it on run.

Then i now try to start the saw and it starts right away with just one pull of cord and it is ready to start cutting.

I am not implying this will always work for me everytime, but so far it's been my best way of getting the 211 started.

 

[Old2stroke]

Can't tell from the photo, is there some method of latching the throttle partly open for cold starting? A cold saw will NOT start with the throttle closed.

 

[holeycow]

Unless it's automatic and can't be over ridden, I never start saws with the throttle open warm or cold. Choke, yes. Throttle, no. The first saw I ever owned, a jonsered 590, still starts without a high idle. I didn't even know a high idle was possible until 20 years after I bought the thing. I have two. I have primed one of them. Once. I have never set the high idle. Never on any saw that doesn't force you into it with the choke linkage.

A minor pita, but maybe the op's saw should be primed on first cold start. It would save a lot of pulls.

 

[holeycow]

The problem with the OP's saw could be as easy as opening the lo screw a bit.

 

[Old2stroke]

Unless it's automatic and can't be over ridden, I never start saws with the throttle open warm or cold. Choke, yes. Throttle, no. The first saw I ever owned, a jonsered 590, still starts without a high idle. I didn't even know a high idle was possible until 20 years after I bought the thing. I have two. I have primed one of them. Once. I have never set the high idle. Never on any saw that doesn't force you into it with the choke linkage.

A minor pita, but maybe the op's saw should be primed on first cold start. It would save a lot of pulls.

Unless it's automatic and can't be over ridden, I never start saws with the throttle open warm or cold. Choke, yes. Throttle, no. The first saw I ever owned, a jonsered 590, still starts without a high idle. I didn't even know a high idle was possible until 20 years after I bought the thing. I have two. I have primed one of them. Once. I have never set the high idle. Never on any saw that doesn't force you into it with the choke linkage.

A minor pita, but maybe the op's saw should be primed on first cold start. It would save a lot of pulls.

There’s a reason that practically every saw has some method to set fast idle for cold starting

 

[holeycow]

Yes there is, apparently. But I never use it. When I first got my ms362 it surprised me mightily when it started racing the first time I started it. I had started quite a few less current saws over the years prior that without a fast idle setting...

 

[holeycow]

Found this. What a sweet running little saw!

 

[holeycow]

Well, I had to prime one of my Jonny 590's again yesterday. The same one. I guess it needs some work. Fuel delivery work, as compression feels normal.

The other one which has been sitting on a shelf for about two years popped after 5 pulls on choke and started after 2 more. No high idle involved. Ran perfectly. Old treated non-ethanol premium fuel. Wonderful, wonderful little saws.

I guess the faulty one is going on the shelf for a while. It needs a going thru. At least it comes apart crazy fast.

 

[Old2stroke]

What do you mean by "priming"? Squirting some fuel into the carb throat?
Most of the saws that are tuned for "lean best idle" won't start (less than 20 pulls) with the throttle closed as the intake vacuum can only suck fuel out of the idle port and there just isn't enough fuel to provide a rich enough mix to start, they need to have the throttle opened a bit so that the vacuum can progress back to the choke and suck fuel out of the main jet and transfer ports as well as the idle port. Saws that will start with the throttle closed usually have the idle mix set very rich and the throttle set a little more open than normal just to keep it running but sill require more pulling to start than with the throttle partly open. What do you do for hot starting? Usually if it won't start after 2 or 3 pulls with the throttle closed, you have to go to the fast idle or do a LOT of pulling.
Many people who don't like the way a saw races when you start it on fast idle, just start it with the chain brake on and make sure they trip the brake back off as soon as they reset the saw to idle, unfortunately not an option on most the saws I like to use. Too old to have a chain brake.