New to me McCulloch 610

[ccarley]

Greetings,
New to the site, been lurking for a while. I was just delivered today a nice looking McCulloch PM 610 and 28" bar/chain combo. Spent an hour putting it together and making sure everything was working properly before attempting to fire. It appears that the previous owner drained the fuel and left a bit of oil in the tank; a good sign I suppose.

I threw some 40:1 in and some bar oil in the oil tank, ran some oil on the chain and made sure everything felt OK before flipping the switch on. Seemed good enough, so I flipped the switch and yanked on the cord. And yanked, and yanked. Tried some fuel down the carb and yanked some more. If it puttered it seemed to just help me pulling the cord.

I guess I still have more work to do, but well this should be a fun project and a nice workout when it's running. I'll probably disassemble it anyway and detail it up a bit.

I'll be google-image-searching, but does anyone have any pics of the "muffler"? I'll get some pics of what's there on mine tonight. Seems a tad odd; I see an upward facing screen inside the slots on the chainbrake cover. Seems to putt putt like my '78 Yamaha 125.

Clay

 

[Dawnsman]

That's a mac for ya I've pulled my guts out trying to start those things lol

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Efisher26]

My 610 starts just fine. The muffler is on the bottom of the eng case, hard to see unless you take the bottom plate off. Hard to mod. 28in bar seems big for it, imo


-•------------------------------------------------------------


Just a home owner that likes the older better made machines

Craftsman 3.7 x2
Husqvarna 36

 

[Dawnsman]

My 610 starts just fine. The muffler is on the bottom of the eng case, hard to see unless you take the bottom plate off. Hard to mod. 28in bar seems big for it, imo


-•------------------------------------------------------------


Just a home owner that likes the older better made machines

Craftsman 3.7 x2
Husqvarna 36

I like them just fine it brings back lots of memories of me and my dad trying to cut wood

 

[ccarley]

Right on, I found some muffler pics and it's odd but it's there. I see a can of Ether in my future...

Clay

 

[Dawnsman]

Yes you will need it at first

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[dougand3]

I avoid ether in 2 cycles - washes the lube off the cyl & piston. Try a tsp of fuel mix in the plug hole. If saw has good compression, good spark and good timing, it will run for 1-3 secs after floodiness clears. If carb is clean and diaphragms are pliable, will be enough to jumpstart carb action. PM610 have big ole fuel pickups - hood over felt cylinder. Make sure fuel can get to the carb. The fuel lines are really tough and may not need changing. I usually put a Stihl fuel pickup inside the hood.

 

[happysaws]

Right on, I found some muffler pics and it's odd but it's there. I see a can of Ether in my future...

Clay

Ether is horrible for two cycle engines... NEVER EVER use it in a two cycle...EVER! Although it is extremely flammable and may get the saw to "start", it will do far more harm than good.

Get a little squirt bottle or something to help with getting fuel down the carb throat to help with starting.

 

[ccarley]

Right then, no Ether! Bad for 2-strokes and bad for Diesel.

I did see the diaphragm moving in the carb when pulling the cord. Good sign I guess, and yeah the fuel line looked pretty heafty. Hopefully I'll have time to pull the plug on it tonight and see how it looks. I've read about bad ignition modules as well; do they have bad starting symptoms, or only act up when warm?

I kind of dig the old yellow saws, but they probably won't get as much use as my Echo saws. I inherited a 3214 from my Grandfather after he passed, and although it runs it sure gives me tuning trouble as well. I suppose they will keep me busy enough so I won't get into any trouble, heh.

Clay

 

[happysaws]

BTW, welcome to the site, ccarley!

 

[djones]

Common problem for the 610 is a bad coil. Any coil from the 10-10 series will work, just have to change the wire. I've had to do it to 2 of them so far. FWIW.

 

[s sidewall]

Have fun with the 3214, got one. Runs right when it want to, will start and run good then at times not so good. Now I know why the guy have it to me, at least I have another one for parts to keep it going. Also have the little brother, pm605, good running saw and will get down and grunt but heavy as lead.

Steve, Samsung On5 using Tapatalk

 

[s sidewall]

Nice avi djones, don't get to see anyone fishing like that around here.

Steve, Samsung On5 using Tapatalk

 

[ccarley]

Have fun with the 3214, got one. Runs right when it want to, will start and run good then at times not so good. Now I know why the guy have it to me, at least I have another one for parts to keep it going. Also have the little brother, pm605, good running saw and will get down and grunt but heavy as lead.

Steve, Samsung On5 using Tapatalk

I would describe my 3214 pretty much the same way. I get it running, runs great, shut it down, and then have to re-tune it again. Depending on it's mood I suppose. It always seems to run great after tuning, but always seems to need tuning.

Clay

 

[s sidewall]

Rebuilt the carb and replacing all lines and filter didn't seem to help either, it's a saw that you adjust when you go cut limbs and take the adjusting tool with ya cause you know you are going to need it. Most the time I'll grab a 2000 Poulan and go.

Steve, Samsung On5 using Tapatalk

 

[s sidewall]

Been nice they came with electric start as much pulling you have to do with them.

Steve, Samsung On5 using Tapatalk

 

[ccarley]

Spark: check
Air: check
Fuel: questionable

The fuel line (just one eh?) is black (original?) and apparently significantly shrunken. I watched down the carb while cranking and I don't see much fuel being thrown down there (certainly not as much as the 3214 lol) so I'm guessing fuel delivery issues right now.

Who knows how much this saw was used, and how long was it sitting? It was definitely used in it's past, but looking at the cylinder through the plug hole it's nice & shiny, and the airbox is nice and clean.

First task is to get it running, and that's totally possible. Then... I'll see how it cuts. I'm thinking maybe using a skip chain depending on it's performance; I would probably have preferred a 24" bar. We'll see how it goes though. Most of the wood it will be used on will already be down more than likely.

Clay

 

[s sidewall]

I run an 18" bar with full chisel on my, cuts good, no need for a skip tooth, these saws don't scream but have good torque. Black moled hose is what's on mine with a large felt filter, has a washer in with it to for weight. May need a carb kit, mine was stiff.

Steve, Samsung On5 using Tapatalk

 

[ccarley]

Alright! Went through the carb, cleaned it all out, and checked the fuel line. Fuel line is OK it turns out, and I was able to get the carb flowing some gas. I can see it now while cranking.

Although I saw spark, it may not be enough to get it going. So an ignition won't hurt at all. I'll get that ordered and patiently wait some more.

Gas air spark... I'll get there I'm sure.

Clay

 

[s sidewall]

Then you can check to see if the oil pump is working correctly.

Steve, Samsung On5 using Tapatalk