Chainsaws sat in flooded basement

[EEwithasaw]

Long story short, basement flooded this morning and I had a few saws sitting flat on the ground (I should have known better). They were sitting in about 3 inches of water when I got to them. Saws in question are Echo CS-490, Husqvarna 340, and Poulan PR4218. What should I do to try to save them? Of course I plan on draining all the fluids first. I will probably also remove the spark plug and muffler to make sure all the water is out. I'm not too concerned about the Huzqvarna and Poulan since they were kind of project saws, but I would really like to get the Echo back in working order. Any advice I would greatly appreciate. Thanks!

 

[merc_man]

Probly no water in it but i would start by pulling plug and pull over to make sure no water inside. Then i would put new fuel in and take outside and fire them up and let them build some heat to dry them out a bit. And yes i had this happen to me too. Your not the only one. I took mine outside and fired them up at 11 oclock at night. I went into panic mode for my saws. Probly wouldnt sleep till i heard them run again.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[svk]

Diagnose if water entered. Post up if it did.

Water in a two stroke isn’t the end of the world as long as it’s clean water.

 

[HarleyT]

I would drain the fluids, and refill with good.

Then run them a while.

 

[MacAttack]

Drain em, refill em with gas and oil, and run em. Guys around here sink snowmobiles in creeks, ponds, etc. Pull them out, drain everything, get em running and that's it.

 

[Gypo Logger]

I would drain the fluids, and refill with good.

Then run them a while.

I would just empty gas and oil and refill with fresh and run them.

 

[HarleyT]

There are some echos in here!!!

 

[henry r]

There are some echos in here!!!

Well, one echo, one husky and a poulan.

 

[Jkstihl]

Id just start over and buy a stihl.....




Jk drain fuel and make sure no water is in crankcase...run em and get em hot...for the ones that dont run, only way to save the bearings is to tear em down.

 

[EEwithasaw]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I pulled the plug and muffler on the Echo and it doesn't look like any water entered the cylinder. I also took the starter off and cleaned it since water definitely got around there. Any issue with water around the clutch drum or bearing? It probably got up to around the crankshaft level. I'm probably going to try it out if not tonight then first thing in the morning.

 

[Jkstihl]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I pulled the plug and muffler on the Echo and it doesn't look like any water entered the cylinder. I also took the starter off and cleaned it since water definitely got around there. Any issue with water around the clutch drum or bearing? It probably got up to around the crankshaft level. I'm probably going to try it out if not tonight then first thing in the morning.

Id lube the sprocket bearing..simple to do if its an inboard clutch. Not familiar with echos tho. So it may be an outboard clutch..even then its not bad just need a piece of nylon rope and stuff it down the spark plug hole as a piston stop. But in all reality its probably fine if they were under water for a short time.

 

[EEwithasaw]

It has an inboard clutch and has the rim sprocket held on with a nut. I actually tried to take the nut off (clockwise to loosen I believe) by putting a piece of rope in the cylinder. It would put some resistance on it but would continue to turn past TDC. Maybe the rope was not large enough or in the correct area. I'm an amateur when it comes to saws but I did successfully use the rope method on that Husqvarna 340 in the past. The saws were probably under water for about 3-4 hours.

 

[Jkstihl]

It has an inboard clutch and has the rim sprocket held on with a nut. I actually tried to take the nut off (clockwise to loosen I believe) by putting a piece of rope in the cylinder. It would put some resistance on it but would continue to turn past TDC. Maybe the rope was not large enough or in the correct area. I'm an amateur when it comes to saws but I did successfully use the rope method on that Husqvarna 340 in the past. The saws were probably under water for about 3-4 hours.

This is the rope i use... You should be able to solve your issue by shoving more down in there.

 

[billyboy]

It has an inboard clutch and has the rim sprocket held on with a nut. I actually tried to take the nut off (clockwise to loosen I believe) by putting a piece of rope in the cylinder. It would put some resistance on it but would continue to turn past TDC. Maybe the rope was not large enough or in the correct area. I'm an amateur when it comes to saws but I did successfully use the rope method on that Husqvarna 340 in the past. The saws were probably under water for about 3-4 hours.

Shouldn’t you turn that nut on the clutch counter clockwise?

 

[alleyyooper]

I believe the clutchs on chain saws are threaded righty loosie and lefty tighty.

3 inchs of water would come up maybe crank shaft level.

Al

 

[HarleyT]

Well, one echo, one husky and a poulan.

And one beer!!!!

 

[Jkstihl]

Yeah the clutches are reverse threaded...it might feel like your gonna break something but it will come off...

Try and stuff more off your rope down in there.. Get you a pencil and get it to tdc and turn till piston is about 1 inch below tdc then stuff it with rope.

 

[Jkstihl]

And one beer!!!!

"One bourbon"

 

[Brent Nowell]

Like the others said, clean water from a broken main prob not the end of the world. If it was flood water from a swollen river nearby and brown, yes I would not even try to turn it over. Pull the jug and disconnect piston. Clean out all the dirt and mud with water and a sprayer, then proceed with diesel and a small sprayer till she’s clean clean.

 

[billyboy]

I believe the clutchs on chain saws are threaded righty loosie and lefty tighty.

3 inchs of water would come up maybe crank shaft level.

Al

Like what he said,,,, Brain was disengaged!!