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The 290 is back together. Since it was more or less a trade-out, I used a ms390 P/C from huztl to get it running. A little more tuning, and she's out the door. A great learning experience overall. I definitely prefer the Husky P/C replacements. :-) Thanks again for all the help, guys.

You can say that again. Worked on a ms290 for what felt like days. Finally found the carb side of the piston was shattered. No idea how the thing even ran. :-| It's just too easy to check. From now on, it will be one of the very first things I do.

Sorry guys, I missed these last few replies completely. I have no idea about the history of the saw. These are just junked or scrapped saws that my friend picks up for his collection. Could be carb issues, could be piston skirt explosion. (See below) Thanks for the troubleshooting help. It was...

Yeah, they are removed. I set them both to 1 turn out, and had the same results. Even with the sensitive carbs I've seen, the base settings will get one to start, or at least let it "hit" a few times. This one, with those settings and the air filter on, won't. It won't even try to start.

Ok. When I pull the lines and the carb off this next time, I will inspect for piston wear. That does make sense. I guess it would create more "blow-back" on the intake side... which would push the fuel out of the carb. Right? Is that the logic behind it?

In the video, I actually screw the "L" all the way down... and the saw doesn't change idle speed. That makes me think something else is going on. From my very little experience, there's usually a sweet spot for the "L" adjustment. Higher or lower, and the saw will die. I will definitely try it tho.

Ha! It seems like it's getting plenty of fuel, based on the amount it throws out the carb. It really seems to flood at idle... and once I get the RPM's up to consume the extra, it will rev. I've gone through it several times, and there is a chance I could've missed something or assembled it...

If I bump the throttle a little, and get the RPM's up, it will then rev fine. If I let it idle and hit the throttle, it bogs down heavy. If I slowly get into the throttle, it will eventually rev if I'm patient enough.

I did not. The 290 seems to put the fuel line in a bind back behind the carb. I've worried about that area, as it seems to crimp the line a bit when pushing it back. I replaced the lines because of the age of the saw, not because I identified a leak. I may try to check the old lines and swap...

I pulled it a few times prior. It hit once, then nothing. I thought, although knew better, that it could be starving... and tried the one pull with a choke. Obviously that didn't help. With the filter on, cold, warm, or hot, I get nothing. Yeah, on a good running saw you shouldn't need to do...

Good to know! I didn't realize removing the limiters changed that. It does make sense. Anything else I should inspect? I tried adjusting them 1 turn out, and had the same results. It's practically identical results. As soon as I add the filter, it dies.... and is impossible to start afterwards.

(This post has been pulled from another unrelated thread. I'd like to delete it from the other location if possible.) The saw will start and idle. It will not rev from a dead idle, but if I bump it, it will rev afterwards or from a higher RPM. The longer it idles, the more difficult to get it...

Ok. The parts/tools came in. No luck with the carb rebuild on the ms290... same results. I may end up starting a new thread for this, but until then, here is a summary of what I've done up to this point, and video of how it acts. The saw will start and idle. It will not rev from a dead idle...

Did it, and it did make a difference, but the saw still seems like it's starving. I ordered a carb cleaning kit, a rebuild kit for the HD-18c, and a pressure/vacuum Mityvac setup. If I'm going to work on more of these, I need to have those available. Thanks for the help. Beyond the compression...

I think it's the influx of disposable Poulans that hurt the name. When you can buy a new saw for $75, I'm sure some people thought it was worthless to pay a repair shop to fix it when it didn't start on the 3rd pull. Personally, I hated dealing with the primer bulbs. I'll check his inventory...

When I first got it I opened it up, did a really quick once over, and put it back together. Today, however, I took my time, thoroughly went through it & blew all the ports out. I had the same poor results after putting it back together. So I had a thought. I pulled the muffler again, no visible...

He collected them. As people would toss them out, for scrap or garbage, he'd grab them. Good to know. I don't think he had any top handle Poulans, but I'll look for those models.

He has a bunch of the smaller 16-18" bar sizes, from what I could tell. Not sure on the actual models and cc's. They all looked so similar, and were spread out, I didn't get a chance to gather them up. Anything in particular I should be looking for? He wants to get a shelf together and start...

Indeed. Thanks. The MS290 starts fairly easily, idles, and if I'm really really slow on the throttle I can get it to rev sometimes. As soon as I let off, it dies quickly... falls flat on it's face like I used the kill switch. It acts like it's starving. I started with the basics... checked...

Good morning! Long time lurker here... I've learned a lot about chainsaws from the group, thanks for that. Still, I do have a long long way to go! I recently came upon a collection of old saws, and the owner said he'd consider a repair and trade deal, where I repair one, and he gives me one. He...