So I picked up this saw awhile back. Seems to have great compression and started from cold in 3 pulls, but idle was very fast. Was going to pull the muffler but did not have the proper tools for that. No test wood and I tend to not want to spend much time with strangers who know I have cash on me. Finally took it to my small engine mechanic to look over. Yesterday he texted that it needs a new carb as the L has no adjustment up or down. I asked if it could be a vacuum leak so he said he would look further. Came back with it could be an air leak. He based this on the fact he can limit the air with his had and make it idle. He does not have the equipment to pressure test it so I thought I would run it by the experts here and see what you think. Air leak or something else? Saw is not in my possession at the moment but can be this weekend. Thanks in advance for all the help on this as well as past and future problems. Stephie
The best way to determine air leaks is with a proper pressure/vacuum test. Carb issues or a junky fuel line or filter could be the problem here. The “hand test” is interesting lol, but other shadetree techniques do work (spraying carb cleaner near seals, as an example).
I have to guess he held his hand over the intake to richen it up. He is not equipped to vacuum test it and neither do I so will need to do more checking or find someone who is equipped and wants to tackle it. I am happy to pay to get it done, not looking for a freebee. I may try the carb cleaner just to see if I can track it down. Not sold it has a leak, just want to get it taken care of before a meltdown.
Throttle cable was holding up the butterfly, so running much better, just need to put it in wood. Piston and cylinder look good. After running it a bit I will have to dig into what it takes to fix the oil leak, guessing the oil hose. One thing I notice is when blowing air by the oil adjustment screw, oil would come out by the bar so the leak must be in that area. Not sure how hard getting the clutch off.
