mc culloch eager beaver

[harry44]

further to an earlier post I fixed the jammed clutch problem by blowing out a lot of burned sawdust from the clutch with pressure air and it now works properly

I couldnt get the nut holding the clutch off, is there some way of locking the crankshaft from the other side?

the drive sproket has several marks or cuts in it, is the sproket meant to be replaced and is this an easy job?

 

[andrewspens]

Clutch pulling

There are two ways to get the crank to stop rotating so you can pull the clutch. Either go to the dealer and buy a piston stop, or pull the sparkplug and stuff the cylinder with some clean cord when it is at the bottom of its rotation. That should stop the spinning, so you can remove the clutch (probably left hand thread).

 

[GASoline71]

There are two ways to get the crank to stop rotating so you can pull the clutch. Either go to the dealer and buy a piston stop, or pull the sparkplug and stuff the cylinder with some clean cord when it is at the bottom of its rotation. That should stop the spinning, so you can remove the clutch (probably left hand thread).

Just be careful not to jam too much rope in there. If you get the rope hung in one of the transfer ports your won't be happy.

Gary

 

[ehgauss]

Piston stop

I also use rope (clothesline works well) fed into the spark plug hole to stop the piston when removing the clutch nut. You don't need much rope - just enough to jam between the top of the piston and the head of the cylinder. As was mentioned, feeding too much runs the risk of catching it in the intake and exhaust ports -- bad. Gene Gauss

 

[Austin1]

To answer your other question you should replace the sprocket. They are cheap I think I paid under 10 bucks for the last one I did, it was a Oregon replacement. And they are left hand thread, Turn clockwise to take off.Some do not recommend it but you could use a impact gun just don't hammer away at it! To take it off but not to put it back on. Enjoy your little saw I had mine a long time and it won't die!
Also since you seem new to this pay attention to the order that the washers on the sprocket come off.

 

[lesorubcheek]

I use rope, but don't put it in with the piston at the bottom. On saws where I can remove the muffler, I let the piston come up until its just past the exhaust port opening. On saws that I can't easily remove the muffler, I bring the piston to the top, then back it off about 1/4 revolution of the crank. This way I'm safe about rope getting pinched somewhere it shouldn't.

Dan

 

[Sprig]

I use rope, but don't put it in with the piston at the bottom. On saws where I can remove the muffler, I let the piston come up until its just past the exhaust port opening. On saws that I can't easily remove the muffler, I bring the piston to the top, then back it off about 1/4 revolution of the crank. This way I'm safe about rope getting pinched somewhere it shouldn't.

Dan

Yup, that'd be my thinking too. On some saws you can also use the nut on the opposite side as leverage to remove your left threaded one, don't know if this works with all but it did on my old Stihl, just put a spanner on it and use your bench to work against, wouldn't torque on it overly as it may over tighten the other side. Impact will work I'd imagine but I'd be real gentle and also make darned sure what direction yer going in (usually easy to see if there's any thread exposed and if unsure you can use a scribe or something to follow the groove to be sure).
Just my useless 0.02$ worth fer the afternoon and as always stand to be corrected.



Serge

 

[Austin1]

Yup, that'd be my thinking too. On some saws you can also use the nut on the opposite side as leverage to remove your left threaded one, don't know if this works with all but it did on my old Stihl, just put a spanner on it and use your bench to work against, wouldn't torque on it overly as it may over tighten the other side. Impact will work I'd imagine but I'd be real gentle and also make darned sure what direction yer going in (usually easy to see if there's any thread exposed and if unsure you can use a scribe or something to follow the groove to be sure).
Just my useless 0.02$ worth fer the afternoon and as always stand to be corrected.



Serge

Your post is a good one lot's of info. I sense he is new at working on saws and it is good to see everyone helping him out! I hope his little eager beaver serves him as well as mine did 14 years and still going strong.
P.S keep your minds out of the gutter!

 

[harry44]

thanks for all the advice, yes I have an overgrown garden and its a handy little pruning saw, much more power than an electric one
mine has a poorly thought out choke lever, either on or off, not easy to choke it anywhere between, got it cheap as a return, probably due to new owner flooding it using full choke
veteran small engine mechanic advised using 25 to 1 fuel mix, better to have too much oil for safety, said he got many 2 stroke repairs due to lack of oil in fuel

 

[Austin1]

thanks for all the advice, yes I have an overgrown garden and its a handy little pruning saw, much more power than an electric one
mine has a poorly thought out choke lever, either on or off, not easy to choke it anywhere between, got it cheap as a return, probably due to new owner flooding it using full choke
veteran small engine mechanic advised using 25 to 1 fuel mix, better to have too much oil for safety, said he got many 2 stroke repairs due to lack of oil in fuel

I happen to like the choke on my little mac if it is below -20c it will even start on full choke for a couple of seconds. Now I know you will never see weather that cold! but It is like any other saw I own in the cold pull a couple of times on full choke move to half choke and she will be up and running. Give it a few seconds on half choke and move it to the open position and start cutting.