Fell into a free 181SE

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sjames

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I was at a buddy's house cutting some wood, his brother rolls up and sees my old 268xp sitting on the tailgate and says I've got one at the shop bigger than that, that I can't get running. You can have it if you want it, so I took it. Its an 85 model year, missing the chain brake parts, only 130psi compression, good spark, cylinder looks good from exhaust port might be some very light scoring. It looks original, plastics are in good shape, saw is just really dirty. Should I try to get it running with 130psi compression or should I tear it down right off the bat?
 
Don't waste your time with it . Ship it to me , I'll pay the shipping , and take it off your hands . :msp_biggrin:
 
I was at a buddy's house cutting some wood, his brother rolls up and sees my old 268xp sitting on the tailgate and says I've got one at the shop bigger than that, that I can't get running. You can have it if you want it, so I took it. Its an 85 model year, missing the chain brake parts, only 130psi compression, good spark, cylinder looks good from exhaust port might be some very light scoring. It looks original, plastics are in good shape, saw is just really dirty. Should I try to get it running with 130psi compression or should I tear it down right off the bat?
You'll need to have higher compression than that for a good running saw. Most of that series saw will have 160 or better compression if they're healthy. Clean up the cylinder with some muriatic acid and sandpaper if there's transfer and go with a Meteor or oem piston. You'll probably need to do some repair to the fuel system as well. That is definitely a saw worth restoring.
 
I fell in love with the 268xp that's what started it, then bought another in pieces in a box (I have almost everything to put back together) I don't plan on selling the 181 unless it has major issues, I really didn't know anything about the 181's performance or history, but I'm always up for another project, and I do need a saw that will run a 28-32" bar. I will get some pics up as soon as I can. Thanks in advance for the words of wisdom.
 
You better run the 181 b4 you deal it away, if you like the 268 that much I think you will fall in love with the 81 once you put it in a log!!:clap:
 
Fix the 181. I have a 181 pawn shop find that has loads of compression and no decomp. I have a 28" bar on it which it pulls really good. The saw is used mostly for noodling. If your saw doesnt have decomp already I would suggest a p/c kit that has decomp. If you put in a new piston and rings and have the compression that mine has it will be a bear to start.I would like to have decomp but I dont want to take off a good p/c just to gain easier starting. Either way you go you will really like the saw once you get the compression number up.
 
Not sure what happened but the saw fired on the 1st pull when I got home today, its been sitting for at least 5 yrs. Yesterday I put fresh fuel in it, checked compression and spark, poured a little fuel in cylinder, anx it wouldn't fire. I then cleaned the coil and flywheel with parts cleaner, reset gap, and put some ring free in the cylinder and pulled 10-12 times to work it through and left it sit all day. I haven't rechecked compression to see if it went up but it runs great, VERY snappy, and idles perfect. I'm still in shock , it can't be that easy.
 
Well, as I suspected it couldn't be that easy, I went back out to let the saw run a little more, it bogged and died after a few minutes, it did start right up though. The fuel tank was almost empty, so I refueled restarted and it ran ok, I got it to rev up normally, then started to bog out again so I shut her down and rechecked compression 150 when warm, so it's getting better. The guy that gave it to me said he put a carb kit in it, but I think it's time for a full tune up, new fuel line, filter , air filter, and I'll pull the cylinder just to ease my mind. The carb linkage seemed really sloppy and the throttle hold open thing on the handle doesn't work, so I still have some work to do on it, it wouldn't be any fun if I didn't get to tear into it. It can't be normal to get this excited over working on a flippin chainsaw.
 
The intake side of the cylinder from what I could see looked good, the exhaust side of the piston looked good as well.
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Well, I did a leak down test tonight on it, wouldn't hold vacuum or pressure, so I started to tear it down. The crank seal on the clutch side came off with the oiler, not sure if it's supposed to? The oiler was completely packed with saw dust behind it. Is that normal? The flywheel side crank seal has an egg shape to one side of it, so I could actually see where it was leaking. The cylinder and piston look fine, the cylinder has some discoloration, light and darker spots like maybe the coating is wearing off? This thing starting and running for 5 minutes right off the bat had to be a total fluke, it never ran after the initial start up, it hit a few times but would bog and die. I suspect the seals loosened up after the initial start up, I know its been sitting awhile. So what should I do with the piston and cylinder? Put back in or get aftermarket kit?

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The cylinder looks clean but discolored, is this normal?
 
There also seems to be an excessive amount of play in the connecting rod at the crank, does this look normal?
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Yes, side to side play on the big end rod bearing is normal. Radial/end play is not. Also, your cylinder looks just fine to me. That is a Kolbenschmidt 181 cylinder and will run a fair bit stronger than any aftermarket top end, IMHO.
 
I didn't take any pics of the piston, but I will when I get home today. I'm not sure if I should put it back in since I can't get rings for it, but it does look fine, the rings on it seem loose, the piston slides right into the jug with very little resistance.
 
I didn't take any pics of the piston, but I will when I get home today. I'm not sure if I should put it back in since I can't get rings for it, but it does look fine, the rings on it seem loose, the piston slides right into the jug with very little resistance.

thin rings?
 

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