I'm learning to have more respect for these lil Poulan saws. I literally put this saw together from a box of parts that I got. And after reading about a guy on other sites who lives in PA.....That has done great things with these saws...I decided to give it a whirl. So this is what I ended up with. Don't believe that 38cc sticker...It's 42cc Did the standard fuel line replacing... Locktite applying...And muffler mod...gas cap...And Oregon not-safety chain... Soon on the list...Getting rid of the Intenz bar crap...And converting to a standard bar adjuster. This turned into a very nice small Firewood saw...With a surprising amount of zip ...And decent anti-vibe . And enough parts to keep it running in perpetuity.....What's not to love ! This will not be my last Poulan experience....It's a lot of fun !
Nothing wrong with a budget saw. What hardware and tinkering do you need to get the chain adjuster fixed up? Does this saw have an adjustable carb? It would be kinda cool to have something like this for a dedicated keep in the pickup saw. With a sharp chain and the mods your doen this 220 could surprise a few folks.
Yeah, I have 3-4 (EDIT: 5 ) of those lil PP4218A saws...and a couple of the big bro PP5020A...all I've ever cut with...heated this place for the last 8-9 years that way...plus I'm at least 4-5 years ahead now too. And I only have maybe $300 in the whole shootin match...can't complain one bit. My oldest 4218 is low on compression now...thought about getting another P/C and having a lil fun with it...just because
I love to hear this ! These saws may need a little extra maintenance at times....But it's well worth it ! Sounds like a whole lot of fun and work done for $300 !! And by the way...Rebuilding them is alot of fun ! Cheap parts everywhere !!
Oh I've had a couple of 'em apart...like you said, not hard. I've not found much under $50 for a P/C unless going with used...come to think of it, I haven't checked HL Supply yet though...
Oh very cool ! Let me know what you come up with for prices. I wouldn't be afraid to find a good used short block ...Or just piston either.
Search for a Partner 350 cylinder /piston kit on ebay ~$30. They fit the older Poulans (~1990-2005). Look for the 2 diagonal screw intake manifold.
I have a 4218 and a 220 pro both with muff mods. I put a 14" bar on the 220 and use it for limbing and trimming....does a great job and I like it due to its lite weight and ample power. I removed the stops from the 4218 carb and muff modded it. With a semi skip it does an adequate job but if I'm going to cut something that needs an 18" bar I want something with a bigger sack. The 4218 is a Craftsman and looks like new because I only use it to mess around with and keep it operational.
HoneyFuzz ... Good to see your back in the game again and came back to visit us... Nice after the action shots!
Ok...took roll call tonight... - 2 actual PP branded 4218AV saws , - 1 green Craftsman branded 4218AV (plum wore out though...) - 1 black Craftsman 4218AV - and I forgot about the Wild Thing...it's basically a 4218 without the AV - and now, tonight I added a low hour red Craftsman 4218AV to the stable...CL find, $20. The guy said it wouldn't run but it had good compression, so I took my gauge and drove the 10 minutes to go see it. 135 PSI compression so I figured it was worth $20 just for parts. Before I left I dumped a bit o gas in the cylinder and pulled it over a couple times...popped off and after 1 more pull it took off and run good...even after my "prime" gas ran out it keep running and ran good. I figured it would not restart without another prime, but when I got home it popped right off on the first pull and ran pretty darn well! So that makes 6 of these things I have now ...only 5 runners though Oh, and the 2 PP5020AV's... The guy was obviously capable of fixing this saw so I asked why he was selling it. He said some lil ole lady gave it to him for cleaning out her garage, and since he has a whole shed full of Stihls, he said he didn't need any more saw projects...especially a "Craftsman" ...oh well, yay for me! EDIT: I just went through the list and added it all up...got ~$400 invested in the whole pile now... Proof...
Stick with the Poulan Pro yellow series saws. They have the chrome plated cylinders. Some of the green Poulans do not. Brenndatomu you can probably get away with just replacing the ring and rough up the cylinder with a little emery cloth to get that compression back up. I too have a few Poulans laying around. They did not always make small cheap saws.
I'm almost ashamed to say that I got my PP220 basically for free. I found on cl a 10 briggs for a back-up for my splitter along with a 5hp briggs for a kart project I had going. The guy wanted to meet at a truck stop and when he showed up he had a truck load of stuff all for $100 He said all or nothing so I bit and the 2 engines were like new but old style L heads. The 2 other things I kept was a commercial grade Echo trimmer and the pp220. A little carb work on both and they run well. I really like the little 220 I'm just worried someone will see me using it. (wink)
Ended up getting a PP4218AVX for free for helping my neighbor get his 2 grills to his new house. Told them I didn't want any payment of any kind that I was just glad to help but they gave me this saw. It had unfortunately been left out in the rain more than a couple times. Chain was rusted solid and the sprocket had started rusting. Ended up getting a new bar/chain for only $23 and some change. Was pretty shocked at how cheap the b/c was. I replaced all the fuel lines and slapped an aftermarket carb on it that only ran me $12. Figured since I got it for free it would be a good little project in the evenings. Runs pretty decent for what it is. Not a big fan of the chain tensioner or how you loosen/tighten the clutch cover. Just wanted to get some opinions on this model since this is my first Poulan or similar type saw. Would it be worth keeping in the lineup or maybe popping on CL for sale? Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Good info...thanks! The Craftsman version have the plating too? You can change the clutch cover if you want to go to the standard adjuster...there are cheap parts for these things all over the place. One of my saws has the EZ adjuster...I didn't think I'd like it, but its been fine so far. I assume that is what you are talking about on yours... To me these saws have more value as a functioning firewood saw than they do to sell...I've bought 2 of 'em for $20 now...2 of 'em at $50...did some horse trading for the one one PP4218AV...I figured I had $100 in it (was brand new in the box) ...so not worth a ton of money to sell it... My opinion is run it!
The Craftsman which are not always easy to identify on which ones had the chrome plated cylinders did come both ways just like Poulan. All of the black Craftsmans that I have seen were chrome plated cylinders but knowing the model numbers is a better way to tell.
If you guys want to possibly scare up some of these try putting up "wanted non running chainsaws" on a piece of paper with tear off phone numbers up at local gas stations ect. I did and had large,old,no plastic amongst other stuff on it also and was inundated with poulan and Craftsman calls. I had to replace the sheets. Most just felt it was a waste to toss it after they got estimates on repairs.
