McCulloch Dolmar Super Pro 118 resurrection

[CM76]

I have had a few days off lately, so thought it was time to start work on the big Sachs Dolmar / McCulloch SP118. I pulled out an SP125C earlier today to do some trimming work in the garden (wife wanted a palm tree removed, and a big saw can do what most little ones can!), so this gave me the inspiration to work on the saws again as opposed to just finding them.

This particular machine is the SD 166 in McCulloch colours - sold in Australia as the SP118. My particular saws recoil cover has been replaced at some point with an original Dolmar coloured unit.

This is my first job on a big Dolmar and I was impressed by its build quality - fasteners, positioning, and castings. Definitely a solid unit for sure. The saw needs a good clean before I can fully assess what is required to make it run again. The HT lead is missing the spark plug boot, but a quick check indicated that the coil is fine with a healthy spark.

The decomp valve had been knocked and was actually bent and stuck in the open position. I managed to straighten it up a little, and this enabled the valve to close properly. I pulled the muffler as I just had to see what the piston looked like before anything else, and was pleased to see the piston and bore in really great condition with no scoring or marks present. That was a big relief!

I will get things cleaned up a bit more before the next post.

Regards,

Chris.

 

[Teddy.Scout]

Pretty much the HOLLY GRAIL OF MACS-DOLMAR there!

 

[gmax]

Chris, Your very lucky to find one of those, I would give it a full 2 pack paint job

 

[CM76]

Pretty much the HOLLY GRAIL OF MACS-DOLMAR there!

Cheers Matt - not many of these about the place, and will be a good day when she makes smoke and chips again.

Chris, Your very lucky to find one of those, I would give it a full 2 pack paint job

Yes Wayne - no paint for this one though, although I probably will match the recoil starters colour with the rest of the saw.

Regards,

Chris.

 

[Brian13]

Looking forward to watching this project. Should be a real nice saw when you finish. Nice thing about a SP125 and a palm tree, if you get a bar long enough you can trim them from the ground:msp_biggrin:.

 

[heimannm]

I was fortunate enough to get an SP118 on a trip to Australia last year. I had to find some clutch parts, a new muffler, and some other odds and ends to get is finished up but it is now a good runner.

I still need to find one more of the "clutch springs" for the starter. One was missing and I sort of houghed one together out of some spring wire but it is not quite right.

I am still not quite satisfied with the oilers (manual and automatic) as it seems to be rather dry when you are cutting with it, but is does seem to pump a lot of oil when it is just setting there idling. There is a lot of oil pumping out, just doesn't all go to the bar and chain.

Mark

 

[sachsmo]

Mark,

if you are running a big Stihl bar on that, you will need to slot the oiler holes. The big Dolmars' holes are not the same.

 

[CM76]

Hi Mark,

I cannot vouch for my saws auto oiler operation however the manual pump produces a nice volume of oil at the bar outlet. It would be interesting to see if yours does the same, and that if the bar / plate combo is correct.

Regards,

Chris.

 

[sachsmo]

Stumpin' that close to the ground is fo' sure worse than some of that OZ stuff.

 

[heimannm]

No more hi-jacking I promise, I am pretty sure the bar is branded Sachs Dolmar but the chain is quite stretched so it was near the end of the adjustment. I have since replaced the chain with one that is a bit shorter, seems to get plenty of oil out of the wood, I just don't feel like it gets enough in the cut.

I will have another look to make sure the oiler holes in the bar plates and bar line up correctly with the oiler itself.

Mark

 

[CM76]

No more hi-jacking I promise, I am pretty sure the bar is branded Sachs Dolmar but the chain is quite stretched so it was near the end of the adjustment. I have since replaced the chain with one that is a bit shorter, seems to get plenty of oil out of the wood, I just don't feel like it gets enough in the cut.

I will have another look to make sure the oiler holes in the bar plates and bar line up correctly with the oiler itself.

Mark

No problems with the hi-jacking - the more posts the merrier I say. It is good to see what issues / ideas others have come up against with these saws as I have very little in the way of Dolmar experience. Your 118 has come up well Mark - looks good with that muffler as well. I have seen two types of muffler on the 166 saws - one like yours with the perforated outer cover and the one that mine is fitted with. There may be more. They are solid in every way these saws - quite heavy for a relatively modern machine. Built to last no doubt.

More cleaning today, so hope to have some more pics by the end of the day.

Regards,

Chris.

 

[166]

Hey I have one of them SP118's too!

Haven't even made a cut with this one since i've had it. :msp_mad:
Hmmm where's Gumnuts?

 

[166]

Chris,

Whats the serial # of your SP118? I only know of four of these saws that exist. Yours, Marks, The one on McBob's site, and mine.

Steve


Anybody have a spare piston & cylinder?

 

[CM76]

Chris,

Whats the serial # of your SP118? I only know of four of these saws that exist. Yours, Marks, The one on McBob's site, and mine.

Steve

Anybody have a spare piston & cylinder?

Hi Steve,

Unfortunately the serial No. of my saw has been worn into by the chain brake lever mechanism on the clutch cover. As can be seen from the photo, the number sequence I can make out is as follows:

1667009600

I am unsure about the last two numbers - especially the last number as it could be an 8, 9, or 0.

As for a piston and a spare cylinder for one of these machines - hens teeth come to mind. Lee may be able to share some insight into that batch of Wiseco pistons which were made up some time ago.

How bad is your cylinder?

Regards,

Chris.

 

[CM76]

Ended up running out of time today to work on the big saw. Will have to get back to it in a couple of days due to work commitments. Gives a little more time for research on parts and the like which is good.

Chris.

 

[RiverRat2]

Chris,

Whats the serial # of your SP118? I only know of four of these saws that exist. Yours, Marks, The one on McBob's site, and mine.

Steve


Anybody have a spare piston & cylinder?

Steve, Check your PMs' Dolmar Parts needed!!!!!

 

[CM76]

I had a bit more of a fiddle with the SD today - removed the carb and cylinder assembly to check out the bottom end and complete a thorough clean up of the machine.
The carb was pretty filthy on the outside, however it looks as though it has never ever been removed from the saw or played around with at all. All of the screw heads are sound with no signs of removal / adjustment.
The bottom end was clean with no sign of corrosion or damage. The cylinder and piston are in fine shape and just need a good clean up on the outside.

The decomp valve has seen better days and will be replaced. I checked with a Dolmar (Makita) dealer today, and he confirmed that the v/v's are readily available. I also ordered a repair kit for the Walbro WB carb to get that done as well.

Starting to really like working on these saws - nice and simple with everything well thought out and easy to get to. Plenty of well designed anchor points for the components as well.

More pics.............


Regards,

Chris.

 

[CM76]

Out of interest (as my saw does not need them - yet), has anyone on here tried out the caber piston rings for the 166 - as advertised by our Greek friend on ebay?
I see that one set has been sold, and was wondering if they are a good thing or a bad thing. :msp_unsure:

Chris.

 

[Nardoo]

Chris, I have used the Greek guy's rings in lots of saws with very good results. I dont have a 166 but have used them in my (Dolmar) Mac 6800 & 5200 which would be similar aged saws. Also used them in some later Dolmars and Makitas with no issues.

Al.

 

[sachsmo]

I have heard good things about Caber rings, would think new fresh rings would have to be better than 25 year old ones?

I have used several of Leos' piston kits, they were very nice.

What is the airfoil thingy in the intake tract? The old 120 Supers had thay stalactite.

Nice yeller saw there.