Bubba Stump
ArboristSite Operative
Just picked up a Pioneer P45 Hi-Performance saw. Someone threw it away at the dump. I happened to be there dumping a load of brush and snatched it out of the scrap metal pile. Your not supposed to take anything from there but when I saw it had the K&N filter setup on it I grabbed it. The saw looked like it had very little use so I hoped and prayed it was not seized. The started cord was hanging out about 6" and when you tried to crank it over the pawls would not engage. I took the recoil starter cover off and took the pawls off. A little emery cloth and some PB Blaster cut the surface rust off and they moved freely. Reassembled the cover to the saw and proceeded to take the plug out to see if I could get some fresh mixed gas and a little extra Stihl mix oil into the cylinder to lube things up before I proceeded to crank her over. To my surprise the saw would turn over without any hesitation. I then hoped that it would have compression. I put the plug back in and did a slow cycle of the crank. About 3/4 of a turn and it stopped. I thought there was trouble but then remembered I had not engaged the decompression valve. Wow, it had compression and seemed like excellent compression. I decided to check the fuel filter and carb and found the fuel line in the tank was like playdough. I pulled the lines and replaced with some new line. I also took the carb off and gave it a good bath with some Gumount carb and choke cleaner. After reassembling the carb to the saw it was now time for the moment of truth. Was the saw thrown away because it was toasted or was it just a case of shelf sitting and surface rust? I pulled the cord about 5 times and heard a distinct pop of combustion and a puff of white smoke bellow out of the muffler. Glory be, she hickuped! The next crank brought on a series of pops and then after the next crank she came to life. The old girl was revived and running very well considering the carb will need a new kit installed. To my good fortune somebody threw away a perfectly operable saw, and a good one at that. The only thing wrong at the moment is the K&N HA-30 air filter is in pretty poor shape. The filter element is dry rotted and you can see through it everywhere, not very good for filtering out any contaminants. If anybody has a NOS one or a good used one they want to sell, I am in the market. I will get some pics here shortly.