Nik's Poulan Thread

[fossil]

Mike's already asleep .... but I did get mine.

Thanks Ted

 

[rms61moparman]

I got mine too Tim!
Sounds ALL GOOD!!!

I'm not asleep yet but I'm headed that way NOW!


Mike

 

[fossil]

I got mine too Tim!
Sounds ALL GOOD!!!

I'm not asleep yet but I'm headed that way NOW!


Mike

Thanks Mike

 

[Nardoo]

I do not have a great deal of experience in porting saws but I have done some and with a degree wheel for timing. What I am doing with my 3800 is smoothing out the intake runner because when it was formed I found ridges on the inside that would obstruct flow. On the intake port itself where the divider is, I just narrowed the leading edge so that the air will flow around it better. The rest is pretty much the same as what you are doing already. Good luck and let us know how it turns out, I will do the same.

Now you just frightened me when you said degree wheel.:msp_biggrin: I always figured that proper porting was like an algebraic equation, that it could be calculated with numbers for duration, blow down, air flow and other stuff I do not understand. So being dumb, I always kept grabbing a bigger saw when I needed more cutting power. But I now see it as a challenge so I will get my die grinder out, freshen up the Dremel and start practising on all the old jugs lying about my workshop. You have given me a goal sir!

And 3000fps is a mighty fine velocity. When I was young I liked to get my Swift's projectiles out at over 4000fps, but these days I am happy pushing a 520 gn postell at 1350fps with 90 gns of black. Times change.

Al.

 

[EZRYDER]

Don't you think that's a bit HARSH !

Larry go to google and type in how a 2 cycle engine works and when your done doing some research, then come back and ask some questions. Right now you should not even attempt to even change a spark plug on one.

FYI I have restored (well sort of because I got them working perfectly) three 70's Roper built craftsman 3.7's, an 80's s25PRO, a 70's Pioneer P26 which was a total junker, an '85 Craftsman 16" (poulan 3400) and am almost done with a 5 yr old 295 that was sitting with gas for 3 or 4. I admit that I am still a novice but if I shouldn't change a sparkplug, then how do you think I did that? NOT By PORTING IT OUT!
Larry

 

[3000 FPS]

FYI I have restored (well sort of because I got them working perfectly) three 70's Roper built craftsman 3.7's, an 80's s25PRO, a 70's Pioneer P26 which was a total junker, an '85 Craftsman 16" (poulan 3400) and am almost done with a 5 yr old 295 that was sitting with gas for 3 or 4. I admit that I am still a novice but if I shouldn't change a sparkplug, then how do you think I did that? NOT By PORTING IT OUT!
Larry

Well your question was a bit misleading. You have all these saws and work on them but yet you do not know where the ports are? It was not meant to offend you but to encourage you to do some more research. I am no different than you, I am 62 getting ready to retire in about 5 months and I did alot of research and reading before even joining this forum so that I would have some idea on what kind of questions to ask. I am sorry if this offended you but, it's like one mechanic talking to another mechanic and then asking him what's a camshaft, or where is the camshaft. You start to wonder if the guy is just full of BS.


Ok I am not all bad. The ports are the openings for the air fuel mixture from the carb to enter the engine and also there is a port for the exhaust to escape. 2 cycle engines have a sealed crankcase and the intake fuel and air enter in through the intake port and go into the crankcase as the piston is moving up. When the piston is moving down there are runners called transfer ports that run up the inside of the cylinder and transfer the fuel air mixture from the crankcase to the combustion chamber, at the same time the exhaust port is open and is expelling the burnt fuel.

Now all this timing is controlled by where the ports are located on the cylinder in relationship to the piston moving up and down. The ports can be changed in how tall they are and how wide they are. Changing how tall the ports are will change the timing of when these ports open and close and affecting how the engine will run. It takes a degree wheel to know how the timing is affected.


So what alot people do for simple but effective porting they just widen the ports alittle on the exhaust and on the intake to get more flow but they leave the timing alone. So porting out an engine would be going in with a degree wheel and then grinding the ports in such a way to achieve the goals that you want for certain performance enhancements. One of those would be higher RPM's another would be more torque.


You mentioned a Poulan 295, well I have one and I put a degree wheel on it and did some grinding on the port openings so that it would change the timing of when those ports open and close and I also modified the muffler so that it would expell the exhaust gas better and then I advanced the ignition timing so that it would give it alittle more torque. Now I have a 46cc engine that runs closer to a 50cc engine. It is kinda like hot roddin your saw alittle.


This is just a brief overview and there have been countless discussions on this subject here in the forum, and I am sure there will be countless more. I hope this helps and spend a couple of months doing some serious research and reading.
Roger

PS. Looks like you have some nice saws there.

 

[3000 FPS]

Now you just frightened me when you said degree wheel.:msp_biggrin: I always figured that proper porting was like an algebraic equation, that it could be calculated with numbers for duration, blow down, air flow and other stuff I do not understand. So being dumb, I always kept grabbing a bigger saw when I needed more cutting power. But I now see it as a challenge so I will get my die grinder out, freshen up the Dremel and start practising on all the old jugs lying about my workshop. You have given me a goal sir!

And 3000fps is a mighty fine velocity. When I was young I liked to get my Swift's projectiles out at over 4000fps, but these days I am happy pushing a 520 gn postell at 1350fps with 90 gns of black. Times change.

Al.

That 220 swift was a smokin hot round.

 

[XPLRN]

I've been wanting a S25CVA and missed a local CL one a couple of weeks ago.......

Here's the silly part of this story..............I went out to look at some of the miscellaneous small saws I've acquired in the past couple of months and I "think" that this saw IS what I've been looking for all along. In picking thru the memory cells I'd ended up trading some 7mm Mauser ammo for three small non-running saws and some cash. This was one of the three and one of the other ones is a red Craftsman S25A solid handle saw.

I was really bummed out about missing the local green S25CVA but now I've got a re-badged blue one!! Any idea as to what years the blue ones were produced and if they had points ignition or electrionic ignition??? I don't have a clue as to the condition of it but I do know that it needs a muffler and I very much dislike the 'Power Sharp' assembly on the clutch cover. However I am very happy to now know what I've got and it will be on the project list!!

That 'Power Sharp' deal sure makes for a messed up looking chain!!

I wonder if this, in part, is a return of Karma from this situation; http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/208037.htm


PS...............I wonder what the 'VL stands for behind the 2.3 on the recoil housing.......'Vibration Limited' or !!???

 

[snowdmc]

Here's the silly part of this story..............I went out to look at some of the miscellaneous small saws I've acquired in the past couple of months and I "think" that this saw IS what I've been looking for all along. In picking thru the memory cells I'd ended up trading some 7mm Mauser ammo for three small non-running saws and some cash. This was one of the three and one of the other ones is a red Craftsman S25A solid handle saw.

I was really bummed out about missing the local green S25CVA but now I've got a re-badged blue one!! Any idea as to what years the blue ones were produced and if they had points ignition or electrionic ignition??? I don't have a clue as to the condition of it but I do know that it needs a muffler and I very much dislike the 'Power Sharp' assembly on the clutch cover. However I am very happy to now know what I've got and it will be on the project list!!

That 'Power Sharp' deal sure makes for a messed up looking chain!!

I wonder if this, in part, is a return of Karma from this situation; http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/208037.htm


PS...............I wonder what the 'VL stands for behind the 2.3 on the recoil housing.......'Vibration Limited' or !!???

i'm thinking vibe Less or vibration Less

 

[Eccentric]

Myron that is indeed a blue Craftsman badged S25-CVA with Power Sharp. Don't see many blue CVA's. That's about a 1975 saw. Right around the change to red Craftsmans. VL stands for Vibration Limiting........or something similar. Was the Sears version of Counter Vibe. PS of course stands for Power Sharp. I'm looking for a red 2.3VL or 2.3PS/VL myself. I have a couple of the green S25-CVA's, and they're by far my favorite tophandle saws. The reason I'm hunting for a red one is that I tried without success to buy a customer's "left behind" red 2.3VL from the shop when I worked for Sears Service in the 1990s. The saw had been in the shop for over 2 years with a broken rear handle. The manager wouldn't sell the saw to me, despite their repeated failed efforts to contact the owner. I left the shop for six months (while I was attending college) and when I came back one of the techs told me the saw had been thrown away.....:bang:

Anywho.........you can replace the PS clutch cover with a non-PS unit. If you really dislike the PS setup, you can either use whatever color clutch cover you find and repaint it, or scour ebay for a blue one (or REALLY luck out and get one from somebody here). Be aware that the CVA (Sears VL) clutch covers are different than the 'rigid' XXV series clutch covers. Run regular, non-PS 3/8-LP chain on it. Most of the Sears branded S25-CVA's that I've seen (whether red, blue, or yellow) seem to be PS saws. If/when I get a red one, it'll probably be a PS saw. No matter, as I'll replace the CC. Got a few green ones I could repaint if I can't find an original red one (if you find a red one I'll trade you a nice green one for it). I already have a nice red 2.1A (25DA),a red 1.9 (20D), and a red 2.0 (2000 Micro). I like the red Poulan/Craftsmans! Someday I hope to add a 3.6-20 (red 306A), a 5.2 (red 5200), and a 3.7 (red 3700) to the Craftsman Collection...

Your saw will have points ignition. Piston looks good through the doghair. The whole saw looks like it's well preserved under the dirt and mung. Scrub 'er down and oil 'er up to stop that corrosion that's starting in places. I can probably send you a muffler if you need one. Check your AV mounts. They like to tear......especially the top/front handlebar/handle mount.

 

[snowdmc]

there is a red craftsman 2.3 on ebay currently in .PA - i was just chatting to XPLRN about it, although does not say VL on the case, but looks identical to my S25CVA..... right down to the broken pulley

CRAFTSMAN CHAINSAW - 2.3 / 16" - RUNS BUT NEEDS WORK | eBay

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Myron that is indeed a blue Craftsman badged S25-CVA with Power Sharp. Don't see many blue CVA's. That's about a 1975 saw. Right around the change to red Craftsmans. VL stands for Vibration Limiting........or something similar. Was the Sears version of Counter Vibe. PS of course stands for Power Sharp. I'm looking for a red 2.3VL or 2.3PS/VL myself. I have a couple of the green S25-CVA's, and they're by far my favorite tophandle saws. The reason I'm hunting for a red one is that I tried without success to buy a customer's "left behind" red 2.3VL from the shop when I worked for Sears Service in the 1990s. The saw had been in the shop for over 2 years with a broken rear handle. The manager wouldn't sell the saw to me, despite their repeated failed efforts to contact the owner. I left the shop for six months (while I was attending college) and when I came back one of the techs told me the saw had been thrown away.....:bang:

Anywho.........you can replace the PS clutch cover with a non-PS unit. If you really dislike the PS setup, you can either use whatever color clutch cover you find and repaint it, or scour ebay for a blue one (or REALLY luck out and get one from somebody here). Be aware that the CVA (Sears VL) clutch covers are different than the 'rigid' XXV series clutch covers. Run regular, non-PS 3/8-LP chain on it. Most of the Sears branded S25-CVA's that I've seen (whether red, blue, or yellow) seem to be PS saws. If/when I get a red one, it'll probably be a PS saw. No matter, as I'll replace the CC. Got a few green ones I could repaint if I can't find an original red one (if you find a red one I'll trade you a nice green one for it). I already have a nice red 2.1A (25DA),a red 1.9 (20D), and a red 2.0 (2000 Micro). I like the red Poulan/Craftsmans! Someday I hope to add a 3.6-20 (red 306A), a 5.2 (red 5200), and a 3.7 (red 3700) to the Craftsman Collection...

Your saw will have points ignition. Piston looks good through the doghair. The whole saw looks like it's well preserved under the dirt and mung. Scrub 'er down and oil 'er up to stop that corrision that's starting in places. I can probably send you a muffler if you need one. Check your AV mounts. They like to tear......especially the top/front handlebar/handle mount.

I wonder if those front mounts are obtainable? I know where there's a perfectly good saw like the one pictured but the front mount is shot and someone filled the area with silicone. Not a good repair..

 

[Wagnerwerks]

I wonder if those front mounts are obtainable? I know where there's a perfectly good saw like the one pictured but the front mount is shot and someone filled the area with silicone. Not a good repair..

You writing that made me rethink an idea I was kicking around. Why not make some molds and do poly mounts for a few of these broken ones made of unobtainium? We do it in the custom car parts world all the time. Some would be tricky, but I've seen how creative you guys are.:msp_biggrin:

 

[Warped5]

... I like the red Poulan/Craftsmans! Someday I hope to add a 3.6-20 (red 306A), a 5.2 (red 5200), and a 3.7 (red 3700) to the Craftsman Collection...

Aaron! Did someone here say '5.2'?

:hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Wagnerwerks]

While I am not a Poulan afficianado, I do have a PP405 that currently has only 75 lbs compression. It is in the same range (cc-wise) as the 8500, but is from a later era.

That saw is a pioneer. I just sold a cylinder/piston set on eBay for 20 bucks shipped for that.... Had I known, I could have helped you out. They are pretty easy to find and the saws are heavy, but fun to run.

Does it have the decomp on the starter like the farmsaw? Just a thought.

Here's a link to all the info I didn't know.
http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/76792.htm

 

[OhioGregg]

"I like the red Poulan/Craftsmans! Someday I hope to add a 3.6-20 (red 306A), a 5.2 (red 5200), and a 3.7 (red 3700) to the Craftsman Collection... "


I feel the same way Aaron.. I'm missing the grand-daddy of the Craftsman line, the 5.2And for that matter, the 4.2 also.

Gregg,

 

[XPLRN]

Great overview!!

Myron that is indeed a blue Craftsman badged S25-CVA with Power Sharp. Don't see many blue CVA's. That's about a 1975 saw. Right around the change to red Craftsmans. VL stands for Vibration Limiting........or something similar. Was the Sears version of Counter Vibe. PS of course stands for Power Sharp. I'm looking for a red 2.3VL or 2.3PS/VL myself. I have a couple of the green S25-CVA's, and they're by far my favorite tophandle saws. The reason I'm hunting for a red one is that I tried without success to buy a customer's "left behind" red 2.3VL from the shop when I worked for Sears Service in the 1990s. The saw had been in the shop for over 2 years with a broken rear handle. The manager wouldn't sell the saw to me, despite their repeated failed efforts to contact the owner. I left the shop for six months (while I was attending college) and when I came back one of the techs told me the saw had been thrown away.....:bang:

Anywho.........you can replace the PS clutch cover with a non-PS unit. If you really dislike the PS setup, you can either use whatever color clutch cover you find and repaint it, or scour ebay for a blue one (or REALLY luck out and get one from somebody here). Be aware that the CVA (Sears VL) clutch covers are different than the 'rigid' XXV series clutch covers. Run regular, non-PS 3/8-LP chain on it. Most of the Sears branded S25-CVA's that I've seen (whether red, blue, or yellow) seem to be PS saws. If/when I get a red one, it'll probably be a PS saw. No matter, as I'll replace the CC. Got a few green ones I could repaint if I can't find an original red one (if you find a red one I'll trade you a nice green one for it). I already have a nice red 2.1A (25DA),a red 1.9 (20D), and a red 2.0 (2000 Micro). I like the red Poulan/Craftsmans! Someday I hope to add a 3.6-20 (red 306A), a 5.2 (red 5200), and a 3.7 (red 3700) to the Craftsman Collection...

Your saw will have points ignition. Piston looks good through the doghair. The whole saw looks like it's well preserved under the dirt and mung. Scrub 'er down and oil 'er up to stop that corrosion that's starting in places. I can probably send you a muffler if you need one. Check your AV mounts. They like to tear......especially the top/front handlebar/handle mount.

Thanks, Aaron, sooo much for your shared knowledge and muffler offer......I just hope the muffler bolt threads are intact!! It is great to now understand a lot more about just what it is that I have. It will be fun to see what condition this saw is actually in............under all the dirt and dust. The PS setup will be the first thing to come off!! It's a bummer that the solid handle CC won't work but thanks to you I now know that and what to be on the lookout for.

PS.......if anyone has a non PS CVA clutch cover, in any color, please let me know.

 

[fossil]

That saw is a pioneer. I just sold a cylinder/piston set on eBay for 20 bucks shipped for that.... Had I known, I could have helped you out. They are pretty easy to find and the saws are heavy, but fun to run.

Does it have the decomp on the starter like the farmsaw? Just a thought.

Here's a link to all the info I didn't know.
http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/76792.htm

Looking at the IPL it does have a decomp valve but no actuator in the recoil mech like a Farmsaw that I can see. The valve could be stuck open though.

 

[EZRYDER]

I have two red (Roper) 3.7s with powersharp and a yellow lightweight without it.

"I like the red Poulan/Craftsmans! Someday I hope to add a 3.6-20 (red 306A), a 5.2 (red 5200), and a 3.7 (red 3700) to the Craftsman Collection... "


I feel the same way Aaron.. I'm missing the grand-daddy of the Craftsman line, the 5.2And for that matter, the 4.2 also.

Gregg,

They are all running well but one of them overheated last time I used it. I think I may have used an older mixture that might have been a little lean. I am now using 16:1 with 80's oil and will try again. All of these saws were leaking gas from the bottom seam. I rdremmeled the seam a used locktite weld and then a rubber pad over it to keep it from scraping away. I tried JB weld and it dissolved from the gas. The locktite works great. I will try to post pics if I can get to it.

Larry

 

[a. palmer jr.]

You writing that made me rethink an idea I was kicking around. Why not make some molds and do poly mounts for a few of these broken ones made of unobtainium? We do it in the custom car parts world all the time. Some would be tricky, but I've seen how creative you guys are.:msp_biggrin:

That might be a good project for one of us to try. I don't think poly mounts would give enough to get that cushion effect but the RTV stuff gives too much, to the point of coming apart. Maybe there is some softer poly other than what they use in suspension parts on cars? Actually, anything is better than the broken standard mount.