McCulloch Chain Saws

[heimannm]

Labor Day weekend is the Cedar Valley Engine Club event about 50 miles north of my home. I was invited by Ron Olson (met Ron at the Iowa GTG last spring) to come this year and bring a few saws which I was happy to oblige.

The club has a few saw on permanent display (hanging from the ceiling or wall), Ron brought a nice selection of his Homelites and a Mono that he's restored, I brought mostly McCulloch saws and the other GTG models...KMS4 and Solo twin as well as the BP-1 and the Poulan 54 I recently got cleaned up. We ran a few this afternoon and will run a few more tomorrow just for good measure.













I may even try to strike an arc with the welder tomorrow if we can find a scrap of steel to work with.

We share space in a building with a 3,300 In3 three cylinder two stroke Fairbanks-Morse crude oil diesel engine.



Mark

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

Are the LRB 125 pistons a no go?

If they make one , its definitely an option, but I dont have 4 or 5 of them ,and if I did I'd wait for an OEM to pop up.

 

[edju1958]

Are the LRB 125 pistons a no go?

After what happened with 2broke's saw & the flimsy piece of sh*! I got for a Homelite piston,I'll only put the LRB pistons on display as an example of what not to buy!

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

After what happened with 2broke's saw & the flimsy piece of sh*! I got for a Homelite piston,I'll only put the LRB pistons on display as an example of what not to buy!

What happened to 2brokes saw? I know for some models they can be ok

 

[Syncop8r]

This thread seems quiet lately, how about some carnage?
You guys may remember my project "Scrap heap" SP81........ well it didn't even make one tank of fuel and blew up, pulled it apart tonight to see what failed.
I am going to blame the Lil Red Barn piston. The wrist pin bearing backed out of the piston and dropped its needles causing all hell to brake loose. The piston was new and came with a parts lot I purchased, the bearings where NOS. I had heard of problems with the LRB pistons but figured I'd give it a try since I had it, now my otherwise perfect cylinder is toast. Oh well, it was an experiment anyway.
Also, this is the first saw that I have actually had blow up lol.

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

@Jethro 2t sniffer

 

[matt_lamb_160]

Would be good to measure one up and see what went wrong there. Perhaps use some good bearing retaining compound before using one if the measurements look ok.

I tried asking Lil Red Barn some pretty simple questions. I didn't even get a reply, but I also never followed up.

 

[edju1958]

LRB is terrible when you have a problem with their merchandise.Seems like customer support is non-existent.As I remember,XL-130 (a member here) had a helluva time getting a refund for a guide bar he bought that was supposed to fit & it didn't fit.I bought a bar & chain combo a few yrs.back for an Olympik saw & it wasn't the same combo that was advertised.Other than that the only other thing I bought from LRB was an electronic ignition module for several XL-12s & SXLs,& they've held up very well.The "Homelite" piston that I acquired was advertised on Feebay as an OEM Homelite piston,when I got it I found it was a LRB piston kit that was missing the circlips.Since the seller was in Canada it wasn't worth my while to return it.I think I paid $27.Lesson learned!
What worries me now is LRB has had someone start making aftermarket cylinders for some saws (mostly Homelites I believe).If the "quality" of their cylinders is as bad as their pistons then they'll end up taking more saws out of circulation than what their project was designed to do - keeping older saws running.

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

Real sad for that cylinder.

It seems LRB are 80 percent there and onto a good thing but just not quite nailing it on a few things. Might be our only hope on a Mac cylinder getting reproduced

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

Real sad for that cylinder.

It seems LRB are 80 percent there and onto a good thing but just not quite nailing it on a few things. Might be our only hope on a Mac cylinder getting reproduced

I think a quality clam shell is out of their league.

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

I think a quality clam shell is out of their league.

Yeah probably right

 

[Marvin Booysen]

The insulating sleeve on my 5-10’s spark plug wire is ratty, and doesn’t cover the entire length that passes between the cylinder fins. I suppose the wire could be routed around the back like the newer saws, but I quite like it this way.
What do you guys use on these older 10 series saws?

 

[Woodslasher]

The insulating sleeve on my 5-10’s spark plug wire is ratty, and doesn’t cover the entire length that passes between the cylinder fins. I suppose the wire could be routed around the back like the newer saws, but I quite like it this way.
What do you guys use on these older 10 series saws?

I buy the proline kit for a Stihl 041 (I think). Just see if your wire is 5 or 7mm and get the corresponding wire/boot kit.

 

[Marvin Booysen]

@Woodslasher, would that be a new spark plug wire & boot combo? The actual wire and it’s insulation is fine for now, I’m referring to the sort of sheath (appears to be some sort of fabric) covering only the part that runs between the cylinder fins.
It’s #4 in the figure below from the 10 series workshop manual. Appears this was not necessarily installed, because the manual states that it’s to be installed in case absent.

 

[Marvin Booysen]

Ps. I found a fiberglass/PTFE heat resistant tape online, might wrap the wire with that?

 

[Woodslasher]

@Woodslasher, would that be a new spark plug wire & boot combo? The actual wire and it’s insulation is fine for now, I’m referring to the sort of sheath (appears to be some sort of fabric) covering only the part that runs between the cylinder fins.
It’s #4 in the figure below from the 10 series workshop manual. Appears this was not necessarily installed, because the manual states that it’s to be installed in case absent.

View attachment 928463

Ah, okay. I'd see if your Stihl dealer can hook you up with that stuff, I've seen that on pretty much every Stihl coil I've come across. edit: p/n 1122 442 0400 will get you 4 inches of plug wire insulation. IDK what pricing is, but I'd trust Stihl stuff more than rando internet stuff. The cheap insulation on my a/m 461 coil has worn through in maybe a tanks worth of cutting.

 

[Marvin Booysen]

Thanks @Woodslasher, I’m going to check it out!

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

Thanks @Woodslasher, I’m going to check it out!

You could try your local auto parts store for header boots, the protect the wires on hot rods from getting burned up.

 

[heimannm]

Not too many hot rods or auto parts stores on the island of Sardenga I would guess...

I know I have a few models with the wire tucked into the cooling fins inside of the shroud without any kind of insulation. I don't run those saws a lot but the wires were always in good condition as I recall.

Mark

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

Haha, I didn't realize the location.
Yup same here 2 saws with the bare wire tucked into the cylinder fins and no damage.
I relocated one and immediately realized that" yup ,I'm probably gonna step on that someday. "

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/the-14260Internets help.