Carburetor screws in horrible place. Any advice?

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HuskyShepherd2016

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Hello please help if you can. If I am in the wrong forum, I apologize, please direct me to the right place if needed.

I have a fully restored Sears
D-44 chainsaw i bought a few months back. It’s original Lauson Carburetor has been replaced with a carb from a McCulloch 10-10. I was stoked to know this but I unfortunately discovered a real obstacle. I finally got around to getting a closer look at it, and the carburetor adjustment screws are in a horrible place. They are flat head, and spring tensioned, and too close together to get a pair of needle nose pliers on, too stiff to turn with a finger, and the steel manual oiler tube is too close to the adjustment screws to get a screwdriver on.
Does anyone know of a precision tool that I could get ahold of to adjust these screws? I don’t even really have more than 1/8” clearance between the screws and the tube, and overhead, the throttle cable is an obstacle. And if I disconnected it, I still don't have much clearance at all. It’s a beautiful old saw, I love the saw, and I don’t want to get rid of it over this. I don’t want to run it if it’s not properly adjusted and I can’t find anything to turn the screws.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

PS. I have not cranked and run the saw yet, and I don’t plan on it until I can find a successful way to access these screws should adjustment be needed, which it’s pretty obvious it would need it, I live a mile above sea level in the desert, and the saw came from Kentucky if I remember correctly. Every saw that I’ve ever bought, new or used, needed adjustment at my altitude and environment.
Thank you good folks!

Attachments​

 

NEIKO 01323A Ultra Low Profile Offset Screwdriver Set | 5-Piece | S2 Steel | Phillips, Pozidriv, and Slotted.​


Can be had on Amazon. But these may not be small enough. Your picture shows almost no room. Carb screws are not hard to turn, so you may try to fabricate your own close-quarters slotted driver.

JQ
 
That’s what I’m thinking. Or if all possible, make some more room by removing the steel nipple on the manual oil pump and replacing it with a flexible rubber one. If that’s a possibility. May not be due to the internal pump mechanism.
 
I like the spacer idea. Where would I possibly find one of these? Or would I have to make one? If I have to make one, should I use just a thick piece of rubber? Or should I use a block of aluminum?
 
Tight spot, even the original Lauson carbs screws couldn`t be accessed for tuning, certainly a bad design by Roper.

oldparts2_043_1024x1024.jpg
 
I’m thinking of either buying or making a spacer from an aluminum or rubber puck to install under the bottom of the carb. It will raise up the entire unit to get the screws above the oil pump tube, and make them better accessible for fingers or a screwdriver. If the screws wind up in a good enough spot, I will port a small hole into the body of the chainsaw directly in front of the screws so I can adjust with screwdriver from outside the saw, like what most modern saws are like today.

As far as the spacer. Do you know if and where such a beast already exists and I could just buy one?
Or is it pretty much a guarantee that I’ll have to manufacture one myself?
 
I mean really! Why on god’s green earth would they have put the screws THERE? I can’t dig up the CEO’s of Roper from that time period and ask them why though.
Maybe for the same reasons that Poulan today doesn’t sell carburetor tools to the public, just to control the customer base into having to send it in for tuning? I’ve heard that if you adjust a Poulan carb you void the warranty….no wonder their saws never last out of the box. Different geographical places need adjustments accordingly.

I wouldn’t a guessed they did that back in such a day when most American made stuff was top quality and they encouraged people to use their own hands and brains.
Ok I’m done ranting and raving about that. Is my tiny violin out of tune?
 
Hey if you’re the pioneer guy, what’s your opinion on the FarmSaw? I’ve heard they are better than the Stihl Farm Bosses, and I’ve heard that the Stihl ones are better. So my guess is that they’re probably both just as good a saws. But I sure do like the way the FarmSaw looks!
 
I have had my share of them, both owned and rebuilt/repaired dozens of them. The blue coil debacle along with the recoil engagement problems keep many away from owing them, they cut great when in good working form. The Stihl saws had less problems and parts can still be found for them but for nostalgia reasons the Pioneer saws always won out for me. I don`t depend on my Pioneers to cut with, I have 45 or so Stihl PRO series saws for that.
 
I mean really! Why on god’s green earth would they have put the screws THERE? I can’t dig up the CEO’s of Roper from that time period and ask them why though.
Maybe for the same reasons that Poulan today doesn’t sell carburetor tools to the public, just to control the customer base into having to send it in for tuning? I’ve heard that if you adjust a Poulan carb you void the warranty….no wonder their saws never last out of the box. Different geographical places need adjustments accordingly.

I wouldn’t a guessed they did that back in such a day when most American made stuff was top quality and they encouraged people to use their own hands and brains.
Ok I’m done ranting and raving about that. Is my tiny violin out of tune?
If the tuning screws on my tiny violin are out of adjustment, it’s because I can’t reach them. Lol!
 
I have had my share of them, both owned and rebuilt/repaired dozens of them. The blue coil debacle along with the recoil engagement problems keep many away from owing them, they cut great when in good working form. The Stihl saws had less problems and parts can still be found for them but for nostalgia reasons the Pioneer saws always won out for me. I don`t depend on my Pioneers to cut with, I have 45 or so Stihl PRO series saws for that.
I’ve only got three Stihl’s. Two are 041 farm bosses, one is a 041 super. Or at least the air filter cover has a super tag on it. It could have just been a replacement cover. They look so similar that it’s hard to tell a difference. I have not had a chance to get out and cut with them to tell. Is there any kind of way to check and see the notable differences in the regular 041 and the 041-S? visually?
 
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