Solo 680 Problem

[OldPartnerJim]

If you saw earlier postings of mine, I'm a former Partner saw dealer (late 70s - early 80s) and never saw a Solo before I bought this one last week. The previous owner said it ran well 2 years ago, but hadn't started it since. I got it cleaned up, the carb was dry and looked clean, so I changed the sparkplug, fueled it and tried to start it. No go--wouldn't even try to suck fuel.

Ok, yeah, I should have checked/replaced the fuel filter(s) and been more thorough, but it's single digit temps & I have no heated garage to work in!!

Anyway, the pictures below show what I found when I took the carb off. Now I've never seen a Solo design before, and have no paperwork or service manuals, but I doubt they intended to have a screw in that other line! Is that a tank vent? Also, is it supposed to connect to the little nipple that appears partially plugged at the bottom right of the manifold?

Giving a shout out to Arrowhead also....

 

[Arrowhead]

Jim, I've been sick with the flu the last few days. I grabbed one of the 680's off the shelf, removed the carb, and sure enough it had a screw in the vent line.
The IPL actually shows it's supposed to have it. #23 in the second pic. I'm not sure what the nipple is coming off the intake block? I'll have to tear into it more. It sure looks like an impulse nipple, but the carb gets the impulse through the block, to the back of the carb. Maybe that was designed originally for the vent line to hook to. That has me curious now.

 

[OldPartnerJim]

Jim, I've been sick with the flu the last few days. I grabbed one of the 680's off the shelf, removed the carb, and sure enough it had a screw in the vent line.
The IPL actually shows it's supposed to have it. #23 in the second pic. I'm not sure what the nipple is coming off the intake block? I'll have to tear into it more. It sure looks like an impulse nipple, but the carb gets the impulse through the block, to the back of the carb. Maybe that was designed originally for the vent line to hook to. That has me curious now.

Yep---it's the damnedest thing I've seen if that's the way they came from the factory!

I'll try to spend a little more time checking it out if I get back early enough from my echocardiogram.

Thanks for your help Arrowhead, & hope you feel better soon.

 

[Arrowhead]

I took the intake block off. That nipple is no concern and should be open. It's molded into the the block for a carb that uses a tube type impulse.
It's probably used on a different model. It's not drilled into the intake passage, so it does not need to be blocked.

There is no hole leading to the nipple. It would have to be drilled to use the external tube type impulse. Most likely for a different model the factory would drill it.

 

[OldPartnerJim]

I took the intake block off. That nipple is no concern and should be open. It's molded into the the block for a carb that uses a tube type impulse.
It's probably used on a different model. It's not drilled into the intake passage, so it does not need to be blocked.

There is no hole leading to the nipple. It would have to be drilled to use the external tube type impulse. Most likely for a different model the factory would drill it.

Very Strange, Ed! Thanks for the quick check, but I'm still confused by the screw in the vent tube. I emptied the fuel tank leaving the gas cap off, and blew back through the fuel line and it is clear of any obstructions. However, when I try to suck through the fuel line with the gas cap on, I get a vacuum lock. Take the screw out of the other line, it's fine! I can't imagine how the damn things ever ran if they had a screw in the line!? I had been expecting a one-way check valve of some sort like the Partners used to use.

Bright blue spark and good compression though!

We're looking at below zero to low teens again today, so it's still too cold to work on this thing outside, and with the saw so cold, too hard for me to crank over. One week short of five months later, and I still don't have my strength back.... Maybe next week. Hope you're feeling better.