Howdy all! New here. Poulan wild thing 18" issues

[JohnCC]

So I ended up finding this site researching a new saw purchase. Ended up with a Husky 460 btw, but my old saw and reason I needed a new one is my old Poulan 18" wild thing gave out after I started to cut a large tree down.

The Poulan never ran great. Ran ok, cut ok, but wouldn't idle for anything. Now it's really hosed. Starts and runs but won't idle down. Keeps going at 3/4 speed. Will go full throttle ok. Only way to get it to slow down is to manually operate choke and flood it down a bit. I just put a new 18" Oregon bar on it, so I would prefer not to junk the saw, but it's been a nickel and dime machine. Just had it serviced at a local Farm and fleet due to the tensioner screw stripping out. The chain is all over the place when using, ie too tight or too loose always. I'm not sure what the problem is with the throttle, but I did remove the top case and the throttle link is working normal. IE it operates smoothly and the carb arm is moving fully, so w/e the problem is I assume is either internal to the carb or it's running lean? Now, outside of that, the saw was acting up a bit as well. Not good power and I think the clutch may be going out. Can stop the chain while cutting and the motor is still running although bogged down.

Is this POS worth fixing for a spare saw? My brother in law has a Stihl MS260 16" saw he bought new and is willing to sell me for $200. I will probably buy it either way as we just bough this place and it's 5.5 acres about 1/2 wooded so I need some tools that work. But if this Poulan is worth fixing I may keep it around as needed. If it's a junker then I don't' want to put another penny into it.
thx

 

[zogger]

Fix it or keep it for spare parts, your choice. Quite a bit of the modern poulan stuff will swap around. They are cheap out there in the used market, and relatively easy to work on.. Go to the stickies up above, find the poulan sticky and start reading.

 

[redunshee]

There are several models of the WildThing. The 2375 is I believe the best as its non strato. There is also a 4018WT and WM that are strato. There may be other newer models but not sure of their model numbers. The older saws are fine, though non anti-vibe. They do have knurled carb adjustment screws which require a special tool. Or, you can cut slits in the Lo and Hi needle and use a regular screwdriver. I can tell you that both needles require alot more adjustment than most saws. 2 to 2 1/2 open isn't uncommon. However the special adjustment tool makes it so much easier. Go to the Poulan Lovers Thread in Stickies and you'll get more info that you can ever use.
Bob

 

[o8f150]

that is the most common saw that comes through my shop,,,,, first of all make sure the fuel line is not broke and make sure it is flexable and firm,,, then pull the carb off and put a diaphragm kit in,, that's a given on that one,, while the carb is off make sure the 2 screws holding the intake base is tight,, I find a lot of them will loosen up,,, while you have the carb and everything off go ahead and vac test to make sure the seals are not bad,,, I have never run into it but its possible,,, the big things on those are the fuel lines and carb kits

 

[TheJollyLogger]

And jump on that 260, great saw.

 

[Guido Salvage]

If you want one for parts PM me, yours for the cost of the ride. Piston is scored but everything is there.

 

[JohnCC]

Hey guys! Quick update. Reading in the Poulan thread and advice here on the forum that the running issue was carb or fuel/air related so tore into the carb yesterday to clean it up. Probably needs a new gasket/seal set, but I just wanted to see what would happen with a cleaning. Running 95% better now. Still idles fast occasionally, but it's much better. Now I find the pump for the chain oil isn't working or the chain isn't getting oiled anyway. Oh well, I can fix that I think . Good excuse to mod the saw now. Took off muffler and piston still looks good so I didn't goober it up when it was lean thankfully. Did a few test cuts after manually lubing chain and it's working well. Also the model # is 2375 so that is the better one per advice on this forum .

thx again all. I find this may be another hobby I can't afford; collecting chain saws lol. I was going to take my Husky 460 back as I could get a good used Stihl for the same price, but I'm kind of getting attached to the Husky so I may keep it and add a used Stihl down the road. Will probably get my Brother in laws 260 too. I was mistaken though, I thought he said it was an MS260, but now he's telling me it's a 260, so I don't know what the difference is, other than it's probably older model. If it runs well $200 still seems fair for it.

 

[zogger]

Here is a vid on getting the clutch off using the rope trick

HOW TO Remove Clutch & Sprocket on Poulan 2150 Chainsaw - YouTube

with the muffler off it is easy to see that the piston is up high enough in the stroke to not get the rope you stuffed in caught in a port.

Oiler is the black thing you see in the vid behind the cluitch and little guide plate. Cheap part to swap out. Used on one buhzillion models of poulans, cheap huskies and some others I believe. The plastic gear thing in the oiler gets trashed from running in grunge eventually. Although there is a possibility just taking it off and cleaning everything up good might "repair" it. Also you can try using some mix (dump bar oil out first), using some mix and rinsing the oil tank out, or with the oiler out you can pull the line and screen, the oiler pickup thing, out and clean it, shove it back in.

These cheap poulans are out there in such numbers that it is easy to accumulate a lot of them and mix and match parts all the time to make good runners. Just about the easiest and cheapest saws to work on, too.


Now you still don't know if you have any other leaks. You can try tightening up the screws in the bottom of the saw as another cheap do it anyway repair. Then there are always crank seals, which are behind the clutch and flywheel. clutch side is reverse thread, flywheel side is normal thread, rope trick will work both ways. And you can cob a clutch tool, just look at it, you will see a variety of cobs. sometimes just a stout drift stuck in at an angle at one of the turn points and sharp whack will loosen them up. some guys just use a low powered impact and the tool and no rope. You could also grind down a scrap socket to make it fit, or flat bar stock, drill two holes, add some bolts that stick out and fit into the removal area, etc. I have done them a variety of ways, one way was two bolts, lock them together with a flat licking pliers, rap the end of the handle with a rubber mallet. Must be two dozen easy cobs to get them off, or..buy the tool, like ten bucks.

Did you put new fuel lines, etc on? Those can "look" good but still have cracks that let air in.

anyway, ain't it slick now that you have done one carb? Just knowing how to take a carb off, clean it, and put it back on and tune it can keep you in running firewood saws at free to ten bucks forever!

 

[greyghost]

Here is a vid on getting the clutch off using the rope trick

HOW TO Remove Clutch & Sprocket on Poulan 2150 Chainsaw - YouTube

with the muffler off it is easy to see that the piston is up high enough in the stroke to not get the rope you stuffed in caught in a port.

Oiler is the black thing you see in the vid behind the cluitch and little guide plate. Cheap part to swap out. Used on one buhzillion models of poulans, cheap huskies and some others I believe. The plastic gear thing in the oiler gets trashed from running in grunge eventually. Although there is a possibility just taking it off and cleaning everything up good might "repair" it. Also you can try using some mix (dump bar oil out first), using some mix and rinsing the oil tank out, or with the oiler out you can pull the line and screen, the oiler pickup thing, out and clean it, shove it back in.

These cheap poulans are out there in such numbers that it is easy to accumulate a lot of them and mix and match parts all the time to make good runners. Just about the easiest and cheapest saws to work on, too.


Now you still don't know if you have any other leaks. You can try tightening up the screws in the bottom of the saw as another cheap do it anyway repair. Then there are always crank seals, which are behind the clutch and flywheel. clutch side is reverse thread, flywheel side is normal thread, rope trick will work both ways. And you can cob a clutch tool, just look at it, you will see a variety of cobs. sometimes just a stout drift stuck in at an angle at one of the turn points and sharp whack will loosen them up. some guys just use a low powered impact and the tool and no rope. You could also grind down a scrap socket to make it fit, or flat bar stock, drill two holes, add some bolts that stick out and fit into the removal area, etc. I have done them a variety of ways, one way was two bolts, lock them together with a flat licking pliers, rap the end of the handle with a rubber mallet. Must be two dozen easy cobs to get them off, or..buy the tool, like ten bucks.

Did you put new fuel lines, etc on? Those can "look" good but still have cracks that let air in.

anyway, ain't it slick now that you have done one carb? Just knowing how to take a carb off, clean it, and put it back on and tune it can keep you in running firewood saws at free to ten bucks forever!