My chainsaw Engine!?

Question

Hey, I have a homelite chainsaw, it's a 2 cycle. I made the mistake by not draining it of oil and gas for about a year now. But I drained it today, and gave it a 20-1 mixture of gas and oil. The problem is that it takes from 1 to 100 pulls of the cord for it to start idling. I dont know what to do, I want it to work out. I am not sure how to prime the chainsaw, if that is even possible. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Sounds rich on mixture to me you also have to consider residual oil from the leftovers some of that gas would have evaporated leaving excess oil.Clean or replace your spark plug open your air filter put in a few drops of gas leave choke off hold throttle open try to start.

Answer 2

Start by rebuiding your carb.  A chainsaw carb is fairly simple, just a few gaskets and a needle and lever.  Go to your Homelite dealer and get a carb kit with a needle, a fuel filter, and a spark plug....give him the model of your saw....shouldn't be too expensive, maybe $20-$30.  Blow out all of the chips and debris around the carb before you remove it.  Strip it down, soak every thing in carb cleaner, then blow through all of the orfices, using an air compressor.  Reassemble your carb, make sure when you install your needle and lever, that the lever is level with the bottom of the carb.  Put your new fuel filter on the fuel line, install the spark plug, and you should be good to go.  Once your chainsaw has warmed up, adjust your carb to get maximum performance.  Consult your owners manual, or ask your dealer.  Usually, you turn in both jets, then back them out 3/4 to 1 turn each.  Set the idle speed so the chain isn't going around, then adjust your low speed jet to where you get the maximum idle speed....keep your hand off of the trigger for now.  Readjust your idle, if necessary.  Now, holding down the throttle, adjust your high speed jet to where your chain saw peaks, then back it off about 1/4 of a turn.  Let the saw idle down, then punch the throttle again.  If you have any hesitation, open up the low speed a little.  If you need to prime the saw, you can do so by removing the spark plug and carefully pouring a small amount of gas into the spark plug hole...1/2 tsp. would be plenty.  Don't use starting fluid...your saw will probably overrev with it.  Starting fluid works great for cleaning the saws air filter,though.

Answer 3

A lot of chain saws have Walbro carburetors on them. If yours is one of them, there is a fine mesh fuel filter inside that is possibly clogged. There are also diaphragms that (over time) become stiff and don't function the way they should. Here is a site that has service manuals for different Walbro carburetors. You might check it out and click your model and get some idea about how they work.  http://wem.walbro.com/distributors/servi...  ...Good Luck...

PS You can purchase diapharagm kits fairly cheaply. Just search "Walbro diaphragm kits."

Answer 4

Try cleaning out the fuel line.  Old gasoline tends to turn to muck.  Make sure there is no sludge at the bottom of the gas tank as well.  

If that is the case, you'll also want to clean out the carb of the same buildup.