Craftsman 42cc idle

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doc874

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Got my bosses Craftsman 42cc saw starter after installing new piston aganist all advice. Lol. The saw is mine now anyway after he gave it to me. My problem is it will only start on 1/4 to 1/2 half choke, i figure its a fuel/carb issue. Any ideas ( other than boat anchor. ) Lol.
 
Hi, Doc! Depending on the age of the saw, it might be a decent one. In any case, it was probably a good learning experience and possibly fun...there's value there, for sure.

A few questions need to be asked...

How long has the saw been sitting and was it stored with fuel in it?
How is the carb set now and have you attempted to adjust it?

In general, a good starting point for carb adjustments is one turn out on each of the L and H screws from their seated position (seat them lightly, they're sensitive), provided they don't have limiter caps.

Your first goal is to get the saw started, then get it to run with the choke OFF. Once the saws "pops" with the choke ON, the choke has done its job, turn it off, or you'll just flood the saw. Now try to start the saw with the choke off. If you can get the saw to run a little at the settings above, you're probably in business. The L screw position will determine whether the saw starts, so that's the one you'll mess with (in small increments) to get it to idle.

Try that stuff, ignoring the H screw for now. ONCE you get the saw started and idling, it will be time to figure out where the H screw will be for your saw.

All this assumes that your carb is not gummed up! If the the saw has been stored for a long time with mix in the carb, it will probably need a rebuild. It is ALWAYS a good policy to check your fuel line and filters also. In fact, since you've done the piston, I would just go ahead and do a carb kit on general principal. It's cheap and easy compared to what you just went through to do the piston.

What source did you use to fiind the piston and how much did they charge?...I need one cheap!

Oh, let us know the results... what happens when you try to do the above procedures can be used for diagnostic purposes.
 
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Its basically a Poulan Wild Thing.

Do the above advice and get her running, it might need to be choked to start all the time until the piston/rings seat in tight.

I know on my W/T, from a cold sit, I pull the choke, turn it on, and pull the rope hard one time and it will pop.

Push the choke in, but dont blip the throttle to release the catch. Pull, and its running.
 
Hi, Doc! Depending on the age of the saw, it might be a decent one. In any case, it was probably a good learning experience and possibly fun...there's value there, for sure.

A few questions need to be asked...

How long has the saw been sitting and was it stored with fuel in it?
How is the carb set now and have you attempted to adjust it?

In general, a good starting point for carb adjustments is one turn out on each of the L and H screws from their seated position (seat them lightly, they're sensitive), provided they don't have limiter caps.

Your first goal is to get the saw started, then get it to run with the choke OFF. Once the saws "pops" with the choke ON, the choke has done its job, turn it off, or you'll just flood the saw. Now try to start the saw with the choke off. If you can get the saw to run a little at the settings above, you're probably in business. The L screw position will determine whether the saw starts, so that's the one you'll mess with (in small increments) to get it to idle.

Try that stuff, ignoring the H screw for now. ONCE you get the saw started and idling, it will be time to figure out where the H screw will be for your saw.

All this assumes that your carb is not gummed up! If the the saw has been stored for a long time with mix in the carb, it will probably need a rebuild. It is ALWAYS a good policy to check your fuel line and filters also. In fact, since you've done the piston, I would just go ahead and do a carb kit on general principal. It's cheap and easy compared to what you just went through to do the piston.

What source did you use to fiind the piston and how much did they charge?...I need one cheap!

Oh, let us know the results... what happens when you try to do the above procedures can be used for diagnostic purposes.


Thanks for the tips. I will likely rebuilt the carb. The piston was purchased through sears.ca and only cost 29 cdn + change & tx i had set my cost at about 40 for all or else it was parts. I did price a cylinder also for learning etc... it was 97 + change cdn. I will let you know how it goes. This one is for a friend once i get'er running, he's helped me alot with the kids fort and such.
 
Its basically a Poulan Wild Thing.

Do the above advice and get her running, it might need to be choked to start all the time until the piston/rings seat in tight.

I know on my W/T, from a cold sit, I pull the choke, turn it on, and pull the rope hard one time and it will pop.

Push the choke in, but dont blip the throttle to release the catch. Pull, and its running.

Thanks Red. It does run on half and 1/4 choke but fades on choke off, maybe once rings and piston has setup she'll be fine. I'll rebuilt carb also, it did have some older smelly fuel in it when i got'er.
 
If it will only RUN on half choke, you are lean, which is likely what killed the original piston.

Look at the carb, look for a red plastic cap, and a blue plastic cap.

Turn them both out as far as they will go, the plastic caps will limit this to about 1/4 turn or so.

If the caps are gone, turn both the little screws next to each other out 1/4 turn apiece.

If you have the caps on still, and they wont let you turn out far enough to richen it up, use some needle nose pliers to carefuly lift them off, revealing 2 small flathead screws.
 
Its basically a Poulan Wild Thing.

Do the above advice and get her running, it might need to be choked to start all the time until the piston/rings seat in tight.

I know on my W/T, from a cold sit, I pull the choke, turn it on, and pull the rope hard one time and it will pop.

Push the choke in, but dont blip the throttle to release the catch. Pull, and its running.

i thought the craftsman were poulan pro, not basic poulans---mostly because of the av system, but other parts ive bought were crossreferenced to the poulan pro 260. are you sure its a wild thing?
 
i thought the craftsman were poulan pro, not basic poulans---mostly because of the av system, but other parts ive bought were crossreferenced to the poulan pro 260. are you sure its a wild thing?

Not positive, but I havent seen a whole world of difference between the quality and build of the pro's versus the green ones.

They all utilize the same basic build. Vertical cylinder, muffler up front, choke on the right of the handle, possibly a primer bulb on the starter cover side, kill switch on the left of the handle.

Ive worked on a number of craftsman 42cc saws, and they all looked and were built the same as my Wild Thing. But then Ive worked on a number of smaller and larger Poulan Greens that were nearly identical to the wild Thing.
 
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