Sure, it's old but so am I and my frugal German nature prevents me from giving up on anything that still has life in it. This saw has gotten plenty of maintenance over the years ... including regular carb rebuilds, but my tendency to overdo things got the better of me this time. Using the slightly larger fuel line that fit too tightly wound up causing an unexpected problem. I'd never even noticed that the fuel tank had no actual vent in it. I'd rather put a vented cap on it though, as opposed to dealing with the persistent fuel line leaks common with these cheap small engines as the fuel line ages and shrinks. The compression on this saw is good and the piston, while not perfect, looks OK. If I do a vacuum test and find significant vacuum leaks, then I'll probably wind up doing the crank seals, at which point the cylinder and piston might get some work too. I've already ordered the seals. Whatever it takes ... this issue with the fuel line really had me stumped though. I had a similar "tear my hair out" moment a while back with another small saw that was working perfectly until one day when it just wouldn't start. They always say "compression, fuel, spark" right? I checked everything I could think of but the damn thing just wouldn't start. I finally gave up on it in favor of more important tasks but one day as it was lying on the bench begging for my attention I glanced over at it and noticed something strange. The exhaust port was brown, not black. A mud dauber wasp had built a nest in the exhaust port. I cleared that out and it ran like new on the first pull. Now, I've amended my troubleshooting process ... it's " compression, fuel, spark, and EXHAUST" ... live and learn.
