AcesHigh15
ArboristSite Lurker
Hello all,
Last year I bought a ryobi 18" 46cc chainsaw against my better judgement... but for light home use what could go wrong? The saw has maybe 2 to 3 hours of use on it.. and now it is near impossible to start. It is so hard to start that it is stripping the starter gear.
When the spark plug is out it pulls with ease. I replaced the starter assembly and put in a new spark plug, there was no change.
I stripped the engine right down to the crank case, bearing seem good.. there was next to no fluid in the crank case so i think that eliminates hydro lock. The piston rings were free moving and intact. The exhaust and port were not clogged as well as not much carbon build up in the cylinder or on piston.
I cleaned it all out regardless., no scoring either.
When I cycle the engine with the exaust and carb off i can see the piston move down to the exhaust port.. and up to the intake, and as soon as it goes past and in to compression it is super hard to crank. Even after cleaning.
It did not run like this when I bought it and got progressively worse, I use only ethanol free gas with synthetic oil.
Anyone have any idea what it could possibly be? It seems to me that it is just compression but why would it get tighter over time? Any help would be much appreciated
Edit: I should add that it does run when i can get it started and it runs great.. but at the cost of destroying starter gear after gear.
Last year I bought a ryobi 18" 46cc chainsaw against my better judgement... but for light home use what could go wrong? The saw has maybe 2 to 3 hours of use on it.. and now it is near impossible to start. It is so hard to start that it is stripping the starter gear.
When the spark plug is out it pulls with ease. I replaced the starter assembly and put in a new spark plug, there was no change.
I stripped the engine right down to the crank case, bearing seem good.. there was next to no fluid in the crank case so i think that eliminates hydro lock. The piston rings were free moving and intact. The exhaust and port were not clogged as well as not much carbon build up in the cylinder or on piston.
I cleaned it all out regardless., no scoring either.
When I cycle the engine with the exaust and carb off i can see the piston move down to the exhaust port.. and up to the intake, and as soon as it goes past and in to compression it is super hard to crank. Even after cleaning.
It did not run like this when I bought it and got progressively worse, I use only ethanol free gas with synthetic oil.
Anyone have any idea what it could possibly be? It seems to me that it is just compression but why would it get tighter over time? Any help would be much appreciated
Edit: I should add that it does run when i can get it started and it runs great.. but at the cost of destroying starter gear after gear.