Well, a Poulan 330 just isn't gonna be part of our line-up here. Instead of just returning the unopened one, I decided to give this deal one last try. I took the third one out of the box today, gassed her up, and went to work.
I didn't touch anything this time, leaving the limiter caps in place, no muffler mod, etc.
Low and behold, it started right up, and ran OK for 2-3 minutes, then the EXACT same crap as the last two, starts going lean at idle, engine speeds up dramatically, then settles back down, etc, etc.
Ran a full tank through it, it acted lean every single time I returned to idle after a cut, then would eventually settle down and idle OK, then back fast/lean, back down again, etc, etc.
Three for three is telling me that there is a serious and deeply rooted problem with these saws.
I even contacted Poulan last week about them, and they were sort of helpful, giving me basic tuning ideas, things to check, even making sure the carbs needle height was exactly even with the casting. Kind of interesting is how helpful they were by email, until I told the rep that I suspected a deeply rooted carburetor issue, and offered to send the saw back to the factory for inspection/repairs. Not a single word after that note, so it appears to me they aren't really interested in finding out what's wrong, or already know that these 2007 models have an inherent problem. I suspect the latter. I suppose some folks could live with this crap, but I demand perfection from my equipment, so find this situation unacceptable.
Bottom line, nothing makes any difference, all three saws we obtained here from TSC are problematic. I still suspect defective carburetors. On this saw in particular, I could get the engine to change speed and sound by very quickly tilting it forward (bar down), then back level again. Going to either side made no change, but it still acts like a carb problem to me. In any case, last thread on these saws, two have already been returned, this ones going back tomorrow........Cliff
Here's a copy of the last note to Poulan, and it also went unanswered:
No response after the last two emails, so it appears that your company isn't going to look further into this problem with customer support?
For the record, I have 16 working chainsaws here, most are Husqvarna's, and a couple of Echo's. When the 2007 model Poulan 330's showed up at our local TSC store, I took the plunge and tried to add them to my line-up. You may be asking yourself, why 16 chainsaws? I manage 400 acres of land, 200 acres of woods, and we cut wood several times a week, a LOT of it. The 50-60cc saws in our line-up see the most use, as they are easy on fuel, and the operator, and most of the material we cut is less than 20" diameter.
I am not brand specific, and really wanted to add an American made product to our line-up. I really love the power of the 330, and the size/weight of the saw, etc.
Both saws we obtained have a deeply rooted problem, not easily repaired by the average technician.
To re-cap, I have checked the fuel line, filter, vent, carb needle height, intake gaskets, intake boot, cylinder base seal, timing, spark, carburetor diaphram, internal filter screen, check valve/gasket, etc, and the problem persists. The run fine off idle, but will not hold or maintain a stable idle once fully warmed up.
I suspect at this point that it is either a defective carburetor or we have a crankshaft seal problem. I'm leaning towards the carburetor since both saws do EXACTLY the same thing once warmed up. They will not hold a steady idle, going lean, back to normal, going lean, back to normal, stalling out, etc, etc.
Another possibility is that the fuel is getting heated up and causing a vapor lock condition, but I'm really thinking something is inherently wrong with these carburetors. The only thing I notice out of line is that the idle feed hole is NOT lined up with the notch in the throttle plate. This out of alignment situation may be causing fuel distribution problems at idle speed, although I suspect this is done for emission reasons? Once warmed up and at idle, the air running past the idle feed hole may not be creating a continuous and effective pull on the idle curcuit. Just guessing here, but I can tell you for certain, both of the saws I purchased and tested do EXACTLY the same thing, and I can find nothing fundamentally wrong with them.
Off idle, they cut flawlessly, with great power. This is also a very well made saw, with great top end power, rivaling my Husqvarna Pro models.
Sad to say, without some factory support here, I'm going to return both of them for a refund. I could carry them to a local repair shop, but they have far less abilities than I have here in my own shop. I'm open for sending them for a factory or higher level service facility for evaluation/repairs. Let me know ASAP, I've got them boxed up and ready to return for a refund or ship to a depot or higher service level facility.....thanks.....Cliff
I didn't touch anything this time, leaving the limiter caps in place, no muffler mod, etc.
Low and behold, it started right up, and ran OK for 2-3 minutes, then the EXACT same crap as the last two, starts going lean at idle, engine speeds up dramatically, then settles back down, etc, etc.
Ran a full tank through it, it acted lean every single time I returned to idle after a cut, then would eventually settle down and idle OK, then back fast/lean, back down again, etc, etc.
Three for three is telling me that there is a serious and deeply rooted problem with these saws.
I even contacted Poulan last week about them, and they were sort of helpful, giving me basic tuning ideas, things to check, even making sure the carbs needle height was exactly even with the casting. Kind of interesting is how helpful they were by email, until I told the rep that I suspected a deeply rooted carburetor issue, and offered to send the saw back to the factory for inspection/repairs. Not a single word after that note, so it appears to me they aren't really interested in finding out what's wrong, or already know that these 2007 models have an inherent problem. I suspect the latter. I suppose some folks could live with this crap, but I demand perfection from my equipment, so find this situation unacceptable.
Bottom line, nothing makes any difference, all three saws we obtained here from TSC are problematic. I still suspect defective carburetors. On this saw in particular, I could get the engine to change speed and sound by very quickly tilting it forward (bar down), then back level again. Going to either side made no change, but it still acts like a carb problem to me. In any case, last thread on these saws, two have already been returned, this ones going back tomorrow........Cliff
Here's a copy of the last note to Poulan, and it also went unanswered:
No response after the last two emails, so it appears that your company isn't going to look further into this problem with customer support?
For the record, I have 16 working chainsaws here, most are Husqvarna's, and a couple of Echo's. When the 2007 model Poulan 330's showed up at our local TSC store, I took the plunge and tried to add them to my line-up. You may be asking yourself, why 16 chainsaws? I manage 400 acres of land, 200 acres of woods, and we cut wood several times a week, a LOT of it. The 50-60cc saws in our line-up see the most use, as they are easy on fuel, and the operator, and most of the material we cut is less than 20" diameter.
I am not brand specific, and really wanted to add an American made product to our line-up. I really love the power of the 330, and the size/weight of the saw, etc.
Both saws we obtained have a deeply rooted problem, not easily repaired by the average technician.
To re-cap, I have checked the fuel line, filter, vent, carb needle height, intake gaskets, intake boot, cylinder base seal, timing, spark, carburetor diaphram, internal filter screen, check valve/gasket, etc, and the problem persists. The run fine off idle, but will not hold or maintain a stable idle once fully warmed up.
I suspect at this point that it is either a defective carburetor or we have a crankshaft seal problem. I'm leaning towards the carburetor since both saws do EXACTLY the same thing once warmed up. They will not hold a steady idle, going lean, back to normal, going lean, back to normal, stalling out, etc, etc.
Another possibility is that the fuel is getting heated up and causing a vapor lock condition, but I'm really thinking something is inherently wrong with these carburetors. The only thing I notice out of line is that the idle feed hole is NOT lined up with the notch in the throttle plate. This out of alignment situation may be causing fuel distribution problems at idle speed, although I suspect this is done for emission reasons? Once warmed up and at idle, the air running past the idle feed hole may not be creating a continuous and effective pull on the idle curcuit. Just guessing here, but I can tell you for certain, both of the saws I purchased and tested do EXACTLY the same thing, and I can find nothing fundamentally wrong with them.
Off idle, they cut flawlessly, with great power. This is also a very well made saw, with great top end power, rivaling my Husqvarna Pro models.
Sad to say, without some factory support here, I'm going to return both of them for a refund. I could carry them to a local repair shop, but they have far less abilities than I have here in my own shop. I'm open for sending them for a factory or higher level service facility for evaluation/repairs. Let me know ASAP, I've got them boxed up and ready to return for a refund or ship to a depot or higher service level facility.....thanks.....Cliff
) anyway i topped it off fired the saw up and it idled fine no problems , I've cut about 12 loads so far all is good , maybe the mmo cleaned everything , or maybe i got lucky and got a good one , my build date is 2007 so i guess it sat for a while 
