Any experts on the little cheapie Poulans?

[Old2stroke]

These are the green body saws that range from an advertised displacement of 33cc to 42cc. Box store specials that most people consider disposable saws that aren't worth spending time or money on but I have lots of time and these saws are simple, easy to work on and abundant. Good entertainment. Different searches turn up a confusion of part numbers and the general opinion that they all use the same piston and cyl. However, chasing down part numbers, it would appear that there is one basic saw body but 2 different p/c combos. One cylinder has a 38mm bore and the other has a 41mm bore but they both use the same crankshaft, so my question is: Does anyone know for SURE if the larger cyl is an exact fit replacement for the smaller one? How about the Poulan Pro saws of the same size with the nice chromed bore for a replacement fit? Can't seem to find any listing that gives the bore and stroke information for most of the many different models.

 

[HarleyT]

You probably won't find any source for info like that, there are too many variation besides.
Way too many variations, over too many years of cheap green plastic.

 

[HarleyT]

And also yellow, orange , and red plastic too. You need to look up the saws involved, and compare part numbers, which will be the same over all of the brands/colors.

 

[Chris-PA]

I don't know much about the later strato engine versions, but for the earlier ones there are two basic variants in two displacements. The Poulan Pro versions had chromed bore and bare piston, and all other branded saws are the opposite. They were made in 36cc and 42cc, and all other marked displacements are marketing BS - look at the EPA tag on the back for confirmation. There are however some changes in port shape and timing, and combustion chamber volume on the later models with a cat muffler, right before they went strato. Those are sometimes marked "LE" for low emissions. The early Poulan Pro 42cc engines are the best for power and durability, but you can make the later ones run well too.

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/exhaust-delayed-scavenging.292902/

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/reducing-squish-on-a-poulan-clamshell.273087/

For the strato versions my understanding is that they are all 42cc and none have chrome plated cylinders - but I have not worked on any of those yet.

 

[Wood Doctor]

A friend gave me a non-running 4218 Craftsman that Poulan made about 18 years ago. It had a broken pull cord from a frustrated owner who gave up on it. He said, "Edwin, you can keep this thing. It's junk."

Amazingly, the only thing wrong was the spark plug was loose. I started it on the third pull after fixing the pull cord, cleaning the plug, and tightening it down. I used it for awhile and never had any trouble. Good little limbing saw. I should sell it, but for some strange reason, it's still on board and resting in its storage case.

I'm certainly not an expert, but I have learned a lot about these saws through the years. There was one straight-gassed Poulan Pro that I tried to save by rebuilding the top end. While bolting the new cylinder tight to the case, it cracked right down the side. It was a sickening sound. The local Stihl dealer said I was nuts to even try to save it.

 

[Conquistador3]

For what it's worth the last Poulan I saw was a 2150, rebranded as a McCulloch (MAC335) for the European market. Most parts are shared with the 2050, 2175 and 2375 and the MAC435.
In my opinion it's not a saw family worth fixing: most common cause of death is by air leak and Poulan parts here are impossible to get, so you need to order them from the US. Cylinders for most of these older cheap Poulans have become impossible to find and while parts like piston kits and seals are cheap enough, shipping and custom duties will just make it too expensive to be economically feasible.

 

[radio]

If you're talking about the P3314/P3816/P4218 that you find at walmart and not the PP versions, then they are all the same engine - 42cc. Search for P3314 on this and other sites. Basically for this series Poulan makes 1 saw with 3 different external visuals/packaging to keep manufacturing costs down.

 

[HarleyT]

If you're talking about the P3314/P3816/P4218 that you find at walmart and not the PP versions, then they are all the same engine - 42cc. Search for P3314 on this and other sites. Basically for this series Poulan makes 1 saw with 3 different external visuals/packaging to keep manufacturing costs down.

So the PP versions are different?

 

[radio]

From what I've seen the PP series has AV, the P's do not. As far as engines I don't know. I haven't looked at the IPLs.

 

[82F100SWB]

Sounds like all my crapsman branded ones have been PP based. Last one was 42cc, current one says 40cc on the tag but sure runs the same.

 

[HarleyT]

 

[brandonstc6]

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I have really nice one like the Poulan pro. I tried to sell it locally with no serious interest. I guess it's just worthless or something.


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[GeorgiaVol]

I have fixed probably 15 or so of the older versions. Real easy and cheap to fix. Just about all of them just needed a fuel line, carb kit, and air filter. The newer ones get burned piston a lot more often. Out of 10 I have recieved, at least half have toasted pistons. I'm beginning to wander if the 2nd air intake gets weak at the cylinder connection and causes an air leak. There is not a clamp holding the boot to the cylinder.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I have fixed probably 15 or so of the older versions. Real easy and cheap to fix. Just about all of them just needed a fuel line, carb kit, and air filter. The newer ones get burned piston a lot more often. Out of 10 I have received, at least half have toasted pistons. I'm beginning to wander if the 2nd air intake gets weak at the cylinder connection and causes an air leak. There is not a clamp holding the boot to the cylinder.

That could very well be what happened to the one I worked on that I thought was "straight gassed". This was a Wally World special and only lasted about three tanks of fuel, if that. No clamp is holding the boot tight to the cylinder. That's an invitation to disaster.

 

[brandonstc6]

That could very well be what happened to the one I worked on that I thought was "straight gassed". This was a Wally World special and only lasted about three tanks of fuel, if that. No clamp is holding the boot tight to the cylinder. That's an invitation to disaster.

I'm not too pleased with the intake boots on the box store Husqvarnas either. They seem loose to me.


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[Chris-PA]

most common cause of death is by air leak

Air leak where? The crank seals are reliable, and there is no intake boot - not many places to leak. The fuel lines are randomly crap though, depending on where they were sourced on any given production day.

Parts are cheap on eBay and elsewhere here.

 

[fearofpavement]

I've seen very few of the Poulans with bad pistons/cylinders. However just about 100% of them need fuel lines and sometimes carb work. Usually the fuel filter is broken off the line and laying loose in the tank. Just fixed one for a friend yesterday.
The problem with these saws (for me) is that they are only worth about $50 when repaired, tuned, chain and bar serviced and so forth. So there's no margin in them at all for us saw flippers. I figure on average on these saws I net about $15.00. That's not much for all the labor involved. I do this as a hobby and not a business but the saws just have no resale market. And in this area, Husqvarna isn't much better. Everyone wants Stihls.

 

[svk]

I have really nice one like the Poulan pro. I tried to sell it locally with no serious interest. I guess it's just worthless or something.


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They sell these saws as refurbs online so you just about need to give them away if you are selling a used one.

These saws are not very impressive however if a guy needs to cut one or two trees a year they are a great choice.

 

[brandonstc6]

I've seen very few of the Poulans with bad pistons/cylinders. However just about 100% of them need fuel lines and sometimes carb work. Usually the fuel filter is broken off the line and laying loose in the tank. Just fixed one for a friend yesterday.
The problem with these saws (for me) is that they are only worth about $50 when repaired, tuned, chain and bar serviced and so forth. So there's no margin in them at all for us saw flippers. I figure on average on these saws I net about $15.00. That's not much for all the labor involved. I do this as a hobby and not a business but the saws just have no resale market. And in this area, Husqvarna isn't much better. Everyone wants Stihls.

I do see many of those with good compression. I picked up a junk Poulan with thing the other day and it had some scoring on the piston but it looked very light. I pulled the cylinder and it looked pretty bad. The plating looked a whole lot thinner and cheaper than a stihl or husky. That's pretty much to be expected I guess.


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[brandonstc6]

They sell these saws as refurbs online so you just about need to give them away if you are selling a used one.

These saws are not very impressive however if a guy needs to cut one or two trees a year they are a great choice.

The unusual thing is I had a lot more interest in two ryobi chainsaws (rebadged homelite) than the Poulan pro. In my area, it's very hard to sell a Poulan.


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