McCulloch Mini and Small CC Chainsaw's

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Got a project to complete prior to Christmas. This saw belongs to my dad and I remember back in the early eighties this saw just would not run right and his frustration with it. Pulled it out of his garage the other day and I'm gonna go through it to see what's the problem and hopefully have it done by Christmas to wrap up. I can't wait to hear which cuss word comes out soon as he unwraps that yellow saw box. Not digging at the brand its just that this saw gave him the speaking in tongue the likes of which a young fella never heard before.

Anyway, pulled plug and has good fire, poured some mix in the cylinder and it fires off nicely. Hoping maybe just some seals need replacing and carb kit. Haven't worked on one of these and have read/seen they aren't the simplest to do but it'll be fun. What I learn with this one, I hope to carry over to a similar sized eager beaver that belonged to an old friend of mine.
 

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Got a project to complete prior to Christmas. This saw belongs to my dad and I remember back in the early eighties this saw just would not run right and his frustration with it. Pulled it out of his garage the other day and I'm gonna go through it to see what's the problem and hopefully have it done by Christmas to wrap up. I can't wait to hear which cuss word comes out soon as he unwraps that yellow saw box. Not digging at the brand its just that this saw gave him the speaking in tongue the likes of which a young fella never heard before.

Anyway, pulled plug and has good fire, poured some mix in the cylinder and it fires off nicely. Hoping maybe just some seals need replacing and carb kit. Haven't worked on one of these and have read/seen they aren't the simplest to do but it'll be fun. What I learn with this one, I hope to carry over to a similar sized eager beaver that belonged to an old friend of mine.
Very nice! I have a non-automatic Mini Mac 6 basket case to fix. I have yet to have bad crank seals on a Mini Mac, you probably just need a full carb rebuild. Take my advice and replace the check valve. I've learned the hard way they often need to be replaced in addition to the standard carb kit. I assume your recoil is also not broken?
 
Very nice! I have a non-automatic Mini Mac 6 basket case to fix. I have yet to have bad crank seals on a Mini Mac, you probably just need a full carb rebuild. Take my advice and replace the check valve. I've learned the hard way they often need to be replaced in addition to the standard carb kit. I assume your recoil is also not broken?
The recoil pulls and retracts fine for just the few pulls I gave it. No odd noises or slipping...
 
The recoil pulls and retracts fine for just the few pulls I gave it. No odd noises or slipping...
They are prone to breaking and pricey to fix, be careful not to yank the recoil like the Hulk or pull it it beyond the length of the recoil rope. Lucky yours isn't broke!
 
The early Mini Mac saws used the same type of starter pulley, plastic with the metal starter "clutch" molded in place. For a saw that doesn't get used daily you can substitute the newer all plastic pulley and leave the metal starter pawls. If the saw will get a lot of use better to change the pawls to the later plastic ones or just swap the flywheel with a later saw along with the new pulley.

Mark
 
Got a project to complete prior to Christmas. This saw belongs to my dad and I remember back in the early eighties this saw just would not run right and his frustration with it. Pulled it out of his garage the other day and I'm gonna go through it to see what's the problem and hopefully have it done by Christmas to wrap up. I can't wait to hear which cuss word comes out soon as he unwraps that yellow saw box. Not digging at the brand its just that this saw gave him the speaking in tongue the likes of which a young fella never heard before.

Anyway, pulled plug and has good fire, poured some mix in the cylinder and it fires off nicely. Hoping maybe just some seals need replacing and carb kit. Haven't worked on one of these and have read/seen they aren't the simplest to do but it'll be fun. What I learn with this one, I hope to carry over to a similar sized eager beaver that belonged to an old friend of mine.
I sure can relate to your post! I fixed up my Dad's Mini Mac that he had a severe hate for. I got it running after several fixes and learned a lot along the way. It was the saw that started my chainsaw fixing/collecting hobby.

You've come to the right place for help. Several good guys here who are knowledgeable of these saws. Ask any and all questions so they can help limit your frustration.

Two things I would look at are checking the fuel line and rebuilding the carb. Good luck!

Sent from my SM-S367VL using Tapatalk
 
Wasn’t that the POWER Mac 6 and not the MINI Mac 6?
Most of my Mini Macs use the lousy plastic / metal recoil spools that Mark referenced, recoil pawls are narrow and will dig up the newer all-plastic spools pretty good, although that's what I currently have in my SP40 and it works perfectly even though the spool is all gouged up. You can actually buy a new-production replacement plastic recoil spool (made in Europe I think, of all places) for about $30, which is painful since it's a 50 cent piece of plastic.
I don't have a single example of the plastic / metal recoil in any of my running saws that I HAVEN'T had to fix with JB Weld.
 
Opened up the saw last night. Took some wiggling to get motor out past the starter but no issues. Didn't remove carb from its mount but not really sure I need to. More familiar folks can advise freely if it does. I'm moving on the principal of caution in that I don't want to break parts that are most likely NLA. For instance trying to remove fuel line off carb, which the wire clip holding it was the hardest part of the whole process to me, seemed like I would destroy it trying to pry it down. So I Iet it alone.

Now looking through the ebay site for some carb kits. Looks like an MDC carb, and that's what 35 year old mix looks like untouched in the last pic.
 

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that's a Mini Mac alright, looks in good condition too. That carb needs a thorough cleaning, it's up to you whether you replace the check valve, but I have a Mini Mac on my bench that sat for quite a while and I believe the check valve is bad. It will not run right even after replacing the diaphragms, needle, gaskets, etc.
 
In looking for a carb repair kit, I see some kits are not for mdc -1 carbs. So what carb is this? Is it a 5 or a 1?
I'm gonna guess that its a 5.
 

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All of the MDC carburetors used the same kit parts. They are very, very similar to the Zama M1-M7 carburetors used on later versions of the Mini Mac saws but the parts do not interchange. You may not realize that laying one diaphragm on top of the other, but it becomes evident if you try to assemble one with the others parts.

Mark
 
Do these plugs need to be replaced? I generally have never replaced them in the carbs I've dealt with but this is the first McCulloch saw for me. I ask because some kits are in the $10 range without them and double the cost with them. (edit Ok, just received manual and see the check valve is under the right side plug or smaller 7/16)
Also, I'm wondering about this check valve needing replacement. I've asked for a manual on this saw to become better acquainted. Saw is blown out and washed ready for some parts. I may go ahead and take the advice above and forgo pressure/vac test till I get the carb kit in. Easy enough to take apart, I may sing a different tune on stuffing it back together.
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Do these plugs need to be replaced? I generally have never replaced them in the carbs I've dealt with but this is the first McCulloch saw for me. I ask because some kits are in the $10 range without them and double the cost with them. (edit Ok, just received manual and see the check valve is under the right side plug or smaller 7/16)
Also, I'm wondering about this check valve needing replacement. I've asked for a manual on this saw to become better acquainted. Saw is blown out and washed ready for some parts. I may go ahead and take the advice above and forgo pressure/vac test till I get the carb kit in. Easy enough to take apart, I may sing a different tune on stuffing it back together.
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If it were me I would pull the welch plugs and make sure the passages are clean behind them. You could also determine the condition of the check valve and give you some piece of mind.

Careful choosing a carb kit. Lots of cheap aftermarket ones out there of questionable quality. I use genuine Walbro kits so I know I have a good one. You probably will use either the D1-MDC (gasket and diaphragm kit) or the K1-MDC (major rebuild kit).

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