Joe , you could put your dads bar , chain , and sprocket on your saw and run it . That wouldn't cost you anything . While you have the clutch and sprocket off your saw give the crankshaft the wiggle test .
Craftsman project saw - need help
- Thread starter joecool85
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joecool85
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That's a good point I guess. Now, how do I take the sprocket off?
To remove the sprocket , you need to remove the clutch .
joecool85
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Right...and you do that...how? I've never taken a chainsaw apart. I'm good with a wrench, but looking at this has me a bit stumped.
Joe , if you look at the clutch you'll see an arrow pointing clockwise and the word 'OFF' . The clutch has left hand threads . You turn it to the right to loosen . Take out the spark plug and put some rope in the cylinder to stop the piston . You can make a tool to grab the two notches in the clutch spider or you can buy one .
joecool85
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Wow, it's that easy huh? Awesome. I won't have time to try it for a few days, but I'll give it a go. I'll dismantle mine and see what I find out, hopefully I'll be able to figure it out without dad's saw, since that is 1.5 hours away. I'd love to get this saw going, it cut really well before I stopped because of the hot clutch. Kinda surprising really.
What method did you use to adjust your chain before you started cutting ? I know that after looking at your sprocket that it couldn't have been the 'no sag no drag' method .
joecool85
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What do you mean? I tightened it like normal.
- Loosen bar nuts
- Adjust chain until it is tight enough that a decent pull reveals 2/3-3/4 of the tang at mid bar
- Tighten bar nuts while applying slight upward force on the bar tip
The chain was perfectly tight and still rolled quite well. The grooves in the sprocket look deeper in the picture than they are in real life.
When my sprocket was as worn as yours , I noticed that when pulling the chain across the top of the bar that the chain underneath would bounce . Meaning that it would tighten then become slack . When adjusting the tension try for no sag no drag . Not perfectly tight and still rolled quite well .
joecool85
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No sag or drag here man, and it cut well. It adjusted just the same on the 2375 when I ran the bar/chain on that 2 weeks ago.
You will not convince me that you had a lot of heat from the clutch and had no drag . The grooves in your sprocket from the tie straps go all the way across the tips of the spurs . Is it possible that you stuck your saw and tried to power it out causing the clutch to slip and over heat ?
joecool85
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Nope. The chain never even slowed down. Also, if it was just the wear on the sprocket, explain to me how when the chain brake is engaged it bogs the engine. Keep in mind, as I said before, that the chain was not rotating before I engaged the chain brake, and as soon as I engaged it, it would bog. Obviously the wear on the sprocket is bad, but that isn't my primary problem right now. The biggest problem (I think) is why the sprocket has so much play in it.
You talk about the wiggle or play that you feel on the clutch drum and when you engage the chain brake the saw bogs . That would tell me that the chain brake is moving the clutch drum to contact the clutch shoe . So you could say that not only the outside of the drum/sprocket is worn but also the inside is worn . Are you calling a bog a slight decrease in idle RPM ?
joecool85
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Yes I was refering to "bog" as a slight drop in idle rpm. And it sounds like you are in agreement with me as to whats wrong with the saw.
Now, I know I need to replace the sprocket, I just don't know if the sprocket being worn is what's causing the wiggling. So I need to know/find out what is making it jiggle, and replace that too.
Joe , you need to reread my last post .
joecool85
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PB
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Did you try to turn the idle down a bit and then engage the brake? If your engine rpm's don't change, you might have a worn out clutch spring or worn out clutch shoes.
joecool85
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Didn't think to try that, but with the amount of wiggle on the drum right now, I'm 99% sure that is my issue. Looks like I need a new sprocket/drum and apparently it comes with new bearings. That should take care of me.
**edit**
Ok, so I haven't taken the saw apart yet, and I will before I order parts, but it looks like it's the sprocket bearings causing all the wiggle. I also found out that it is only $4 for a new clutch assembly and $1 for the spring. So I think I'll order that as well since this other clutch got pretty smoked anyway when it was getting hot.
So it will cost me $33 to fix the saw:
Sprocket/drum with bearing: $10
Chainbrake side cover: $8
Clutch and Spring: $5
Shipping: $10
Last edited:
joecool85
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I'm guessing the problem is the clutch is boned, it is REALLY blue on the engine side. It's been real hot before. Judging by how dull the chain was when I got the saw, I'd say it was run dull for most of it's life.
I took it apart using a 2" x 2ft PVC pipe with two 3/8" bolts in it spaced 3/4" apart. Worked like magic. I held the piston still by taking off the exhaust and placing a screwdriver in a piece of plastic hose above the piston. Worked fine, but then I was thinking, why can't I just take off the recoil and hold the flywheel still somehow? Wouldn't that make more sense? When I've had to do work on my sled that's how I do it.
Regardless, it'll be getting all the parts I mentioned above as well as two new washers, the old ones are pretty worn.
**edit**
btw, zero play on the crankshaft.
I took it apart using a 2" x 2ft PVC pipe with two 3/8" bolts in it spaced 3/4" apart. Worked like magic. I held the piston still by taking off the exhaust and placing a screwdriver in a piece of plastic hose above the piston. Worked fine, but then I was thinking, why can't I just take off the recoil and hold the flywheel still somehow? Wouldn't that make more sense? When I've had to do work on my sled that's how I do it.
Regardless, it'll be getting all the parts I mentioned above as well as two new washers, the old ones are pretty worn.
**edit**
btw, zero play on the crankshaft.
joecool85
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I was ordering parts and found out that while my craftsman is a 2250, it uses the 2150 throttle assy. Also, I didn't know, but you can get dawgs for it, #530014381. Almost worth it for $3.88, but I think I'll not bother. If I decide I really want some, I can make some of my own that would be much better anyway. Just kinda neat. I had forgotten about my throttle lockout not working properly, and for $3 I can fix it and get rid of the ugly red throttle assy at the same time. I'm also ordering a scrench so I can have one with me, since this saw didn't come with one.
Total of $40.76 shipped to my door. Here is what I ordered:
CHAIN BRAKE ASSEMBLY $8.25 USD
WASHER-THRUST $0.49 USD
ASSY-CLUTCH DRUM W/ BRG $10.01 USD
WASHER-CLUTCH $0.87 USD
ASSY-CLUTCH $4.80 USD
KIT-TRIGGER & LOCKO $3.01 USD
WRENCH-BAR $3.34 USD
SHIPPING: $9.99 USD
Total of $40.76 shipped to my door. Here is what I ordered:
CHAIN BRAKE ASSEMBLY $8.25 USD
WASHER-THRUST $0.49 USD
ASSY-CLUTCH DRUM W/ BRG $10.01 USD
WASHER-CLUTCH $0.87 USD
ASSY-CLUTCH $4.80 USD
KIT-TRIGGER & LOCKO $3.01 USD
WRENCH-BAR $3.34 USD
SHIPPING: $9.99 USD
