Chainsaw help please! Husqvarna 450 rancher & Wild Thing issues

[newcountrygirl]

Hoping someone can help me. On my Husqvarna, when I pull the trigger, the throttle barely opens. The cable doesn’t appear to pull the lever to its fullest to open the carb. Do these cables lose tension over time? Can’t figure out why it won’t open fully. (Yes, I’ve thoroughly cleaned everything. )

On the wild thing, I am stumped. As soon as I let off the gas (trigger), it dies. I’ve checked air/fuel, spark arrestor, muffler, spark plug. Was trying to adjust the low idle but how do you do that when it won’t stay running long enough to fiddle with it? I have tried adjusting it and then restarting without success. Any assistance is greatly appreciated! (my POULON PR4218 (?) is doing the same thing…)

 

[Lightning Performance]

@newcountrygirl

Open the low till it does idol.
Check the crank case for bad seals pressure test it.
New filters?
Fresh fuel in dry clean system?
If it had tygon fuel lines clean the carb and soak it overnight.

 

[Brushwacker]

Make sure your cable is hooked to the carb correctly. If you have broken AV's or bent chassis your cable may have to much slack.
Cheap Poulans are often not worth the time or money to fix them. They have a short life expectancy. Before wasting to much time, pull the mufflers and inspect the piston- rings for wear or damage.

 

[newcountrygirl]

@newcountrygirl

Open the low till it does idol.
Check the crank case for bad seals pressure test it.
New filters?
Fresh fuel in dry clean system?
If it had tygon fuel lines clean the carb and soak it overnight.

How do I do that without the spline tool? And which way is open? Clockwise or counterclockwise?

 

[newcountrygirl]

Make sure your cable is hooked to the carb correctly. If you have broken AV's or bent chassis your cable may have to much slack.
Cheap Poulans are often not worth the time or money to fix them. They have a short life expectancy. Before wasting to much time, pull the mufflers and inspect the piston- rings for wear or damage.

Broken AV’s? What’s an AV?

 

[ericm979]

AV=Anti Vibe. It's either a set of springs or rubber dampers between the handle and the saw body/engine case. So the saw engine can vibrate away and less of that reaches your hands.

You can buy a set of carb tools on ebay or similar. The idle throttle stop adjuster should still be a regular screwdriver or hex head even if the low and high speed mixture screws are anti tamper. The throttle stop adjustment will be an obvious screw that moves a stop for the throttle linkage. On some cheap units there isn't one.

Get a copy of the shop manual before you go randomly twiddling adjustments. See the "beg for manuals" sticky thread at the top of the chainsaw section. The shop manual will also help with the throttle rod or cable.

 

[newcountrygirl]

AV=Anti Vibe. It's either a set of springs or rubber dampers between the handle and the saw body/engine case. So the saw engine can vibrate away and less of that reaches your hands.

You can buy a set of carb tools on ebay or similar. The idle throttle stop adjuster should still be a regular screwdriver or hex head even if the low and high speed mixture screws are anti tamper. The throttle stop adjustment will be an obvious screw that moves a stop for the throttle linkage. On some cheap units there isn't one.

Get a copy of the shop manual before you go randomly twiddling adjustments. See the "beg for manuals" sticky thread at the top of the chainsaw section. The shop manual will also help with the throttle rod or cable.

Thank you!!!

 

[leecopland]

Anticlockwise tool off Amazon
How do I do that without the spline tool? And which way is open? Clockwise or counterclockwise?

 

[scottr]

Hello newcountrygirl , your wilthing and PR4218 should have a idle speed 'I' adjustment screw that uses a Phillips screwdriver . If you look under the cover you'll see that the screw pushes against the throttle lever .

 

[JP7]

Best tune I have found for the Poulans is to richen the low until it doesn't hesitate, then rev up and let off quickly and completely. If the saw stumbles and dies, keep doing 1/16 to 1/8 turns until it will idle after a snap rev up. The high I usually listen for a ever so slight 4 stroke at max RPM. Then test in the wood by lifting it up for a second for a good 4 stroke sputter to it. Most cheap Poulan 40cc and 42cc make peak hp and torque around 8,300 to 9,200 RPM, so leaning it out to scream is pointless and does nothing but destroy a great little saw. If you want them to cut faster, a 14 and 16 inch bar with a full house chisel chain makes these little saws run with the rest of the pack with much more HP and larger price tag...lol

 

[MacAttack]

Best tune I have found for the Poulans is to richen the low until it doesn't hesitate, then rev up and let off quickly and completely. If the saw stumbles and dies, keep doing 1/16 to 1/8 turns until it will idle after a snap rev up. The high I usually listen for a ever so slight 4 stroke at max RPM. Then test in the wood by lifting it up for a second for a good 4 stroke sputter to it. Most cheap Poulan 40cc and 42cc make peak hp and torque around 8,300 to 9,200 RPM, so leaning it out to scream is pointless and does nothing but destroy a great little saw. If you want them to cut faster, a 14 and 16 inch bar with a full house chisel chain makes these little saws run with the rest of the pack with much more HP and larger price tag...lol

My 4218, I can get the idle, throttle response, max rpm "4 stroke" all just perfect. Then make a cut, let off the throttle and it wants to stall.
Ok more adjustments.... idle is perfect. Snap the throttle a few times, idle is too high. But then at least it doesn't stall, but idle is kinda high and chain keeps moving with brake off. Reduce idle until perfect, fine tune hi and low needles...seems great until I make a few cuts and it's stalling again.
Repeat....repeat....repeat....
Get the job done and set the piece of crap in the corner of the shop.

 

[JP7]

I would bet it has a small air leak or the compression is starting to fall off. Its sounds like its getting to operation temperature, and some compression or vacuum is being passed. If it has a 100 or a little more on compression, it should still run properly. Then I would look at the seals or gaskets. Don't let a high idle bother you, they don't chug like my Husky 266 or a Stihl. They all have a higher chattering idle to them, it's just in the design. I had a 4218AVX with that symptom, and just kept leaning out the low jet until it acted decent, then I knocked a 1/2 turn or better off the idle screw as the clutch was engaging the chain to much. They are a touchy little saw, but thankfully not as bad as a few new Echos I have worked on. When you get it running good I can't emphasize enough to run Husqvarna LS oil or any Echo oil in those strato Poulans, and always give those saws a break after 15 to 20 minutes of running, they are notorious for rupturing crankcase seals. You can even see them popping out from the case most of the time. They were never designed as a heavy duty saw, most are medium and light duty and are labeled so on the back like 50 hours, 125 hours or 300 hour saws. Of course you will double those numbers with proper care and maintenance, but they are usually the cheapest option on the shelf, but come with the cheapest parts too.

 

[J D]

My 4218, I can get the idle, throttle response, max rpm "4 stroke" all just perfect. Then make a cut, let off the throttle and it wants to stall.
Ok more adjustments.... idle is perfect. Snap the throttle a few times, idle is too high. But then at least it doesn't stall, but idle is kinda high and chain keeps moving with brake off. Reduce idle until perfect, fine tune hi and low needles...seems great until I make a few cuts and it's stalling again.
Repeat....repeat....repeat....
Get the job done and set the piece of crap in the corner of the shop.

There may be something preventing the throttle from fully returning reliably

 

[JP7]

Possible, but those are a steel linkage setup. It could be that secondary intake that flips up on the top if it is worn or warped. I still believe that saw got overheated, most I have worked on have that problem. I also check out the Muffler for excessive buildup, as it would keep pushing back waves to force a charge of fresh air into the cylinder. I always Muffler mod and retune to a richer mix, and never have had issues. The ones with a decent air cleaner setup get a small window cut into the top cover and I plastic weld a piece of screen over it. Not really for more air, but more for cold air to keep it running smoothly and more efficiently.

 

[coffeebrk]

 

[jerrycmorrow]

I was told that to slightly richen the low circuit will sometimes stop it’s high idle and allow return to normal idle after letting off throttle. Found it to be true unless there are leaks