...My little red headed Step child , A 257-Husky

[Agrarian]

IIRC, the first 2 digits of the serial number are the year of manufacture.

Not quite true. The first digit is the year within the range of years that the saw was manufactured, the next two digits are the week of manufacture in that year.

The two digit year on the tags was not used by Husky until the 257's had stopped being sold (at least in the US). I think the Troll had a recent post where he said it was in '97 or '98. A couple of years later they went to a four digit year on the tags.

 

[Agrarian]

You probably have a tillotson carby on your saw

A Tillotson carb was never used on this family of saws (254, 257, 261, 262) to the best of my knowledge. It is used on the 268/272's though.

 

[raumati01]

I had a husky 257 for a while and then I scored some 262 parts to convert it when it died.

It never did, its new owner loves it.

 

[kz1000]

I don't know how fast you are pulling the saw over, but it has to be pretty fast for it to show spark.

 

[dave1]

As for the spark, disconnect the wire to the ON/OFF switch and see if you have spark. Remember that you have to spin these motors over fairly fast to get it - not like some old lawnmower systems.

Also ensure the plug is good - either verify the one it has on another motor or get a new one. I am a masocist so when these two steps don't work, I hold the plug and touch the cylinder with the same hand and give a pull to see if I can feel anything - not for the faint of heart!

Ensure the gap on the plug is 0.020".

If neither of those fix it, remove the starter cover, the air shroud, and examine the coil area.
* Is the switch wire from the coil in good condition and not shorting to anything (insulation is good)?
* Is the flywheel tight on the crankshaft?
* Is there a 0.012" gap between the flywheel and the coil? If not, loosen the screws on the coil and re-gap - can use a business card for spacing if you need something.
* Are the coil screws tight?
* Is the sparkplug wire insulation in good condition?
* If none of these fix it, you may need a new coil (544018301). Since these are about $100 new from a dealer, I would recommend getting used from someone here or on the 'bay. This part was used on many Huskys so it should be easy to find. You can post a Wanted ad in the classifieds here.

 

[dave1]

Agrarian you were right the coil wire was crushed with the screw that was holding the recoil cover on ......I clipped it soldered it ,used heat shrink on it , and it fired right up. Thank you, now all I need to do is test it in some ND dutch elm or one of our Cottonwood monsters .