Husky 136 slow death

[Bob Hedgecutter]

River and Bellarmine,

Yes I'm going to do that test today.

IRhunter,
Thanks for the video

Bob,
thx for the your interest getting me down the right path. By the way I paid $25USD for the saw, 40 miles on the car, plus a new chain, and possibly a vacuum tester. It's not a cheap saw anymore. Now being 75 I'm having to think about what to do. I'm going to try the gas cap first and see if I can find a tester to borrow if needed. If I had other uses I would be all in with getting a tester.

Thanks to all reply's here.

Yes try the blocked vent scenario, also suspect small fines blocking the filter screen within the carb body- both of these come under the heading of "fuel delivery problems" I eluded to earlier. Another one is soft fuel line collapsing flat and shutting off fuel supply.
There are many wee things that can go wrong with these wee saws and without the experience of tooling to diagnose quickly- they can become a money pit- but a new spark plug is not a huge expense, popping the fuel cap immediately after a stall and hearing air suck in through the cap- not expensive, pulling the carb, removing the covers, popping on your glasses and inspecting for areas of built up fine particles- fiddley, but cheap.
I believe there may be auto supply shops in the States you can rent testing tools from?

 

[sean donato]

Yes try the blocked vent scenario, also suspect small fines blocking the filter screen within the carb body- both of these come under the heading of "fuel delivery problems" I eluded to earlier. Another one is soft fuel line collapsing flat and shutting off fuel supply.
There are many wee things that can go wrong with these wee saws and without the experience of tooling to diagnose quickly- they can become a money pit- but a new spark plug is not a huge expense, popping the fuel cap immediately after a stall and hearing air suck in through the cap- not expensive, pulling the carb, removing the covers, popping on your glasses and inspecting for areas of built up fine particles- fiddley, but cheap.
I believe there may be auto supply shops in the States you can rent testing tools from?

Most auto shops won't rent tools, at least non around here. Hence why I suggested trying to get with another forum member for diagnostics and repair.

 

[Chevboy0167]

And for grins, re-gap that ignition coil. I have rebuilt many of these small series saws and I find the gap is bit wide or heat causes the gap to increase just a smidge. Use a regular business card for thickness.... about 8-10 thousands of an inch!

Tank vent... parts 36 and 37.

https://www.partstree.com/models/136-husqvarna-chainsaw-2003-01/tank-handle-assy-11/
How to gap the coil...

 

[muddy42]

One of few saws I have owned that I eventually gave up on was a husky 135. I felt like I stripped and tested everything - fuel lines, carb, fuel tank, intake boot, tested compression, tested spark. It would run but never very well. Although I tested for air leaks, maybe I missed something. They are small saws that are awkward to work on. Eventually I sold it on ebay.

 

[9050lx]

While in there check the impulse hose.They tear eventually.

 

[HumBurner]

Inspect all the wiring for frays. I let go of a good saw that had a failing ground-wire and it would stop the saw just like a bad coil but without any erraticness.

 

[Beauman]

Unfortuantely, several things can cause this. Others have already pointed you down possible paths. Intake air leaks can also cause this if they are sealed when cold but then pass air when everything expands. I had this very problem with a 136 that I got free and upgraded to a 141. I had the carb bolts too far under torque but felt right by hand. When I took a torque wrench to it I got a better seal and ran fine thereafter.

I’ve also had the identical issue you’re having with several other husky saws (55, 440, 335XPT) that turned out to be the base gasket. Breaking the saws down and resealing or replacing the gaskets (in the case of the 440 and 55) completely solved the problem. Also had one fella bring in a brand new 440 one time that he had never used and warranty had expired with the same issue. Popped the cylinder off and one half of the gasket was completely missing - how the heck did that happen at the factory? Saw would run for a few minutes until warm and then stall out. New gasket solved the problem.

Of course if your saw is old it may need everything from new crank seals (on the 136 this would require taking the cylinder and pan apart), reseal the cylinder and pan, new fuel lines, intake boot, impulse hose and possibly new plastic cylinder/carb box partition. Those Poulan style husky saws are notorious for intake side air leaks but replacing the rubber intake boot, impulse line and the plastic partition (if it’s old and brittle) will usually solve……not the best design…..but when repaired/rebuilt properly will run fine…..but you’ll likely spend more than the saw is worth.

Another cheap and quicker way to check for air leaks while the saw is running is to use brake cleaner and spray a little of that as precisely as possible on different locations (intake boot, impulse hose, intake gasket, cylinder base, crank seals/bearings). If the spot you spray isn’t passing air, the saw will continue to idle, and you can squirt a little on a different area and continue to progress with that until you find or completely rule out an air leak. As soon as you spray it on an area that’s leaking then the saw will quickly die.

Also, make sure the exhaust side is tight and has a functional gasket…if that passes too much air the saw will run poorly and may even die.

But these are OK saws to learn on if you like tinkering and learning.

 

[Chevboy0167]

One other sneaky thing to look at is the impulse tube from cylinder to the carb partition. It likes to rub against the intake tube and rub a hole in it, causing a lean condition along with poor vacuum to run the fuel pump circuit in the carb.... more lean condition!

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