Chain Saw Kicks when starting

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2school2

2school2

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Jun 30, 2013
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KCMO
Hello:
When I pull the starter rope it kicks very badly, jerks the handle out of my hand, hurts my shoulder. (Yes I did the unforgivable and left the fuel in 3 or 4 years, bad, bad, very bad!) new fuel not. Does a chain saw have some type of retard mechanism that is suppose to come into play when it is started? It is a Poulan Green Thing.
How to fix it?
Thanks
 
zogger

zogger

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Nov 23, 2010
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Cleanit out and up real good. dump that old nasty stuff out. Rinse it out twice more with clean fresh mix, dump that stuff as well. Clean the carb and install a carb kit and new fuel lines and filter. Pull the muffler, look for major blockage (do this!) and also inspect the piston and cylinder at that time for scoring/damage..

I don't think your timing changed just sitting there, but too far advanced will make it harder to pull it over. I am guessing that isn't the problem, but might be...

There are no easy fixes with two strokes that sat around for years and deterioriated with rank fuel in them. Especially if you used ethanol contaminated fuel, e10 from the pump. Usually anyway.

But, new lines/filter/carb kit are cheap. Just sit down take your time and do it. Pay attention with disassembly, and clean the saw first before working on it, don't get grunge in where it isn't supposed to be.

With carb and muffler off and plug pulled, you might also invert the saw and try pulling then, might have gunk down in the crancase as well.

Good luck, not near as difficult as you might think, and it should run again as long as the rings aren't stuck or scored bad. I'd do that muffler inspection first, then kit it and lines. That muffler might be seriously plugged up, I have pulled complete full hard clay mud dauber nests out of mufflers after the machine (trimmer) wasn't used for only a few weeks! no workee.....
 
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w8ye

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If you dilly dolly around when starting, it will surely kick back on you.

Pull it with GUSTO as if you are the BOSS.
 
AKDriveSprocket

AKDriveSprocket

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Saw could be flooding and gas in the crank case. I was working on a green thing awhile back and the gas tank held a lot of pressure. When the needle in the carb opened it would dump a lot of fuel fast and flood the crank case. Open and close the gas cap before trying to start it.
 
Festus

Festus

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Kick backs suck. If you're drop starting a chainsaw it can cause the bar to nose down into your knee or mess up tendons in your hand or arm. Three years ago I had my pressure washer try to pull me back in to the recoil. It hurt further up my arm and it didn't go away quick, like stuff usually does. Ended up with tendonitis (tennis elbow). Of course I waited a couple months before going to the doctor. They sent me to therapy for a few weeks. Finally another doctor gave me a shot of cortisone in my elbow and it turned the corner and eventually healed. Now I leave the spray wand disconnected until I get the engine started. My MS250 can be a bear sometimes too. I know its a small saw, and I don't use it much, but the problem is real. My 394 starts easier than my MS250 because it has a compression release.
 
bplust

bplust

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Hello:
When I pull the starter rope it kicks very badly, jerks the handle out of my hand, hurts my shoulder. (Yes I did the unforgivable and left the fuel in 3 or 4 years, bad, bad, very bad!) new fuel not. Does a chain saw have some type of retard mechanism that is suppose to come into play when it is started? It is a Poulan Green Thing.
How to fix it?
Thanks

Is the starter pulley broken? A broken pulley can cause pulling the saw over to be very difficult.
 
a. palmer jr.
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If a chainsaw is hard on your tendons, elbows and such why not equip your saw with a Stihl Elastostart rope and handle. I put one on my 064 and it seems to be much easier on the arm. It gives a little bit rather than your tendons giving. Costs about $20 for the Stihl brand, about half that for a knock-off, much cheaper than an operation...
 
alderman

alderman

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Of all the Shindaiwa saws I have run, a couple of the 500's were the worst for kicking back. Stings the hand in cold weather and broke some starter ropes.
Pulling it around slowly to get the piston up to the top and then pull it with a good healthy jerk to avoid the kickback seemed to work on these.
 
Joined
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West of the Mississippi
Of all the Shindaiwa saws I have run, a couple of the 500's were the worst for kicking back. Stings the hand in cold weather and broke some starter ropes.
Pulling it around slowly to get the piston up to the top and then pull it with a good healthy jerk to avoid the kickback seemed to work on these.

"Of all the Shindaiwa saws I have run", heck you own most of what was ever made!!
 
a. palmer jr.
Joined
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Southern Indiana
Of all the Shindaiwa saws I have run, a couple of the 500's were the worst for kicking back. Stings the hand in cold weather and broke some starter ropes.
Pulling it around slowly to get the piston up to the top and then pull it with a good healthy jerk to avoid the kickback seemed to work on these.

That seems to work on the larger Stihl saws also. I had to drop start my 044 to lessen the kick. Still don't know why they didn't put a compression release on those saws...
 

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