engine damage autopsy

[mexicanyella]

Pretty sure that’s a rebadged Weed Eater. Shroud looks like an early Featherlite model, but red instead of green. Fuel tank looks the same too. I see the displacement is 25cc...the older square shroud Featherlites I’ve “rescued” before were either 18 or 20cc. I have a 25cc one now, but it has a newer, sort of Jellybean-shaped shroud.

The ones I’ve used seemed like good-running powerheads on really light-duty shaft housings, with tiny single-line bump heads loaded with .065” line. I have a fixed-line head on my current one and it swings .080” just fine. It will work with .095” too, but I worry about that small-diameter flex shaft and tube, and .080” seems like a good compromise for the available power and not wearing or breaking off too fast as you cut.

One of the 20cc ones I found and revived a few years ago had a crank bearing failure after a few months but the others only had the occasional fuel line and diaphragm breakdowns. Parts are available and pretty inexpensive, so worth fixing if you don’t expect to use it as a clearing saw/brush cutter.

 

[MacAttack]

I think you're right about it being an older Weedeater Featherlite 25, here is a picture I found. I actually have 2 of the newer style ones (got both for free) that I am fixing. It seems like the newer ones usually just need fuel lines, diaphragm, or a carb.

I've actually been using that one I have as a brush cutter, after I got a brush cutter attachement at a Sears going out of business sale, and it handles it great.

 

[mexicanyella]

Cool, can you post a picture of that brush cutter attachment? I’ve never seen one on this type of trimmer.

The one I have now is called a SST25CE, and has a straight shaft housing—still with a flex cable in it—and no clutch. Found it in a scrap pile with missing intake parts and swapped on the air cleaner and working carb off the 20cc one with the crank bearing problem I mentioned earlier. It’s been pretty easy to keep running and is my favorite for careful trimming around fences and flowers. I wish it was several inches longer; the ergonomics aren’t quite right, but it is light and easy to handle and not a problem for maybe one tankful at a time.

 

[hector]

those are classic

 

[Huskybill]

I purchased the poulan pro with all the attachments. The first was a refurb, it runs but stalls when hot, I purchased a second one that runs ok.

 

[MacAttack]

Cool, can you post a picture of that brush cutter attachment? I’ve never seen one on this type of trimmer.

Yep I will, also that trimmer does have a clutch, which I really like.

 

[MacAttack]

Cool, can you post a picture of that brush cutter attachment? I’ve never seen one on this type of trimmer.

The one I have now is called a SST25CE, and has a straight shaft housing—still with a flex cable in it—and no clutch. Found it in a scrap pile with missing intake parts and swapped on the air cleaner and working carb off the 20cc one with the crank bearing problem I mentioned earlier. It’s been pretty easy to keep running and is my favorite for careful trimming around fences and flowers. I wish it was several inches longer; the ergonomics aren’t quite right, but it is light and easy to handle and not a problem for maybe one tankful at a time.

Here you go, I'm not sure when the trimmer was made but the brush cutter is only a few years old and fits it, I also have the original string trimmer attachment:

 

[mexicanyella]

Thanks for posting those. Looks cool. Do you notice the drive cable winding/unwinding from the inertia of the metal brush blade?

I installed an 8-tooth Stihl grass blade on a Stihl FS74 trimmer years ago (early 90s model with straight shaft and a cable inside) and it was pretty much unusable. You could feel the cable winding and unwinding with every rpm or load change. Later I installed that same blade on an older Tanaka with a splined driveshaft in the tube and it worked much better. But maybe that Stihl cable was extra boingy. Also, the 8-tooth blade was a bigger disc of metal than that 4-tooth in your photo...possibly making it more of an issue.

 

[MacAttack]

Thanks for posting those. Looks cool. Do you notice the drive cable winding/unwinding from the inertia of the metal brush blade?

I installed an 8-tooth Stihl grass blade on a Stihl FS74 trimmer years ago (early 90s model with straight shaft and a cable inside) and it was pretty much unusable. You could feel the cable winding and unwinding with every rpm or load change. Later I installed that same blade on an older Tanaka with a splined driveshaft in the tube and it worked much better. But maybe that Stihl cable was extra boingy. Also, the 8-tooth blade was a bigger disc of metal than that 4-tooth in your photo...possibly making it more of an issue.

I have not noticed the cable doing anything funny, like winding up, bouncing, or anything. And I've hit some pretty rough stuff with it. Does your Stihl trimmer have a clutch?

 

[mexicanyella]

Yes, the FS74 has a clutch. It has been great for bump head use; it’s been used hard since 1992 and only needed the lower gearbox replaced once and the spark arrestor screen cleaned once (running it on 32:1 premix its whole life, I will add). It is only just now needing fuel line replacement and a carb kit for the first time, and that’s on cheap 87 octane fuel with ethanol in it. I’d say we got our money’s worth out of that machine. But it did not like that grass blade.

I have one Poulan Pro trimmer, a PP033, with a straight-shaft Craftsman “lower unit” swapped on and the same type of 31cc engine as in the OP’s first post...no clutch, fixed-line head. It does a little bit of wind/unwind briefly when I start it, sometimes, but never while cutting. I wonder if it has to do with the spacing of the nylon guide bushing thingies in the drive tube; maybe if they are spaced too far apart the drive cable can whip around in there too much or something.

 

[Manic84]

This is my older Craftsman trimmer with convertible attachments, not sure of the year but it has a Walbro carb and carb adjustments that take a flathead screwdriver. Runs strong.

If I had to take a guess of when it was manufactured, I'd ballpark it at late 90's - early 2000's. But that EPA certified stamp says 2001, so I would go off that to date it.

 

[MacAttack]

If I had to take a guess of when it was manufactured, I'd ballpark it at late 90's - early 2000's. But that EPA certifed stamp says 2001, so I would go off that to date it.

Yeah I guess if I ever bothered to take a closer look at it... I would have seen the EPA 2001, haha. I thought it was older for some reason.