Poulan S25DA

[Timothy]

Hello, i bought a Poluan S25DA on Ebay about a month ago. (60$, does that sound reasonable) i did some research and found out this model was made in the early to mid '70s, that surprised me because mine is in pretty good condition, i guess it hasn't been used much. anyway, today i noticed the chain oiler was not providing oil to the chain, even though the oil resivoir was full. after pumping the oil button for 5 minutes, i figured there was a wood chip or something clogging the tube that takes the oil out of the resivoir, so i began looking for what bolts to unscrew to get inside the oil resivoir, to clean it out. two hours and half the saw in pieces later, i hadn't found how to get to the oil resivoir. i put the whole thing back togather. what i'm a little worried about, is that the saw started for a second and died afterward, and would not start again, i think this may be because the gasket between the carburator and engine block came apart, although i tightened the piece that the carburator sits on pretty well, or maybe i screwed something else up. does anyone know how to get to the oil resivoir? also, is the manual for this saw available online or elsewhere? i'm going to work on it some more tomorrow, i'm determined to get this fixed, since i've gotten kind of attached to this saw.

Thanks

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Lay the saw on its side with the bar on the bottom. The oil reservoir is on the front with the small cap. Bend a piece of wire into a small hook and fish out the oil tube. Don't yank on it. Make sure that there is a screen filter on the end. Since you emptied the oil reservoir before you started you may as well rinse it out. Use fuel oil.

Take off the bar and chain. Look for the oiler hole by the mounting studs. With the cap off and the reservoir empty, give the hole a gentle puff of compressed air. Don't go nuts! You're checking to see if the tube might be clogged. More later...

Now you have to go to work. The oil pump is located behind the flywheel. Not too hard to remove. I did it many times without a flywheel puller. Be careful! You can use an air impact tool to loosen the flywheel nut. If you don't have impact tools the nut can be loosened. Be sure that your ratchet is set the right way. Look at the flywheel. You'll see the smaller fins and then you'll see that there are two big blobs. One of the blobs holds the magnet for the ignition. Take a beefy screwdriver and slide it in against the blob and brace it against the side of your socket. Using a deep well socket works best. Turn the wrench. If you don't keep the screwdriver low you'll brake off a fin and unbalance the flywheel. Junk...

After you have the nut loose, run it up so that the top of the nut is flush with the end of the crank. Take a beefy screwdriver and pry gently under the blob again. As you pry, smack the nut with a small ball peen hammer. The combination of prying and a smack will pop the flywheel off the tapered crank shaft. If the key comes out of the crankshaft, put it on the magnet on flywheel. If you misplace any pieces look there first.

Now you'll see the oiler buried back in a little hollow. The manual pump rod goes in the top. Remove the bolts that hold the pump in place. Slip it out. Open up the pump and see if there is crud inside. Clean with carb cleaner. Look at the pump. There were a couple of configurations. You might be able to flip an o-ring upside down to get a little more life out of them. Now you can use some compressed air to flush the tubes again. When you put things back together pay attention to the gasket under the pump. If the gasket shreaded take a very thin layer of form-a-gasket and spread it in the ripped layers. The oiler relied partially on crankcase pressure to operate. You don't want any leaks.

Reverse order to get things looking like a saw again.

Fill the reservoir and pump it up. Does anything come out the side? You might have to pump a little with the engine off. Most of the time a little dribbles out. Start the engine and keep pumping.

I ran 25's for over 20 years. They were great saws in their time. The oilers were a weak item though. I found that if an oiler quit working I went to a bucket of junk parts and swapped in a new one.

Keep us posted.

 

[Timothy]

awesome, thanks for typing that out. i am going to do that first thing in the morning, i would not have thought to look behind the flywheel.

 

[Mange]

Wery good reply Tom Dunlap.

 

[Lust4saws]

Those are good instructions...but I have to offer a correction. The flywheel nut on this saw is not left-handed.
Thanks,
Dave

 

[glens]

I was wondering about that.  Usually a threaded device on the end of a crankshaft will self-tighten under normal crank rotation.

Glen

 

[Tom Dunlap]

OOOPS....

It's been a couple of years since I worked on those saws. I'll go back and edit my post.

Let us know if you get the oiler working.

 

[Mange]

Still think that was one of the best replyes I read here so far.

 

[Timothy]

i can't get the flywheel off, i'm not seeing the blobs, tapping the crankshaft alone didn't work

 

[glens]

Looks to me like the "blobs" would be centered at 5:00 and 11:00.  One is the magnet and the other is mass to counterbalance the magnet.  You'll be able to identify the magnet because at about TDC for the piston the magnet will "latch onto" the coil pickup.

At any rate, you'll want to apply any pressure to the flywheel in a balanced manner so it won't attempt to pivot along the axis of its bore.  The crankshaft end and bore in the flywheel are tapered, gradually getting larger toward the back of the flywheel.  You only need to get it un-wedged and it'll come right off.  You'll have better success with the "rapping the (protected) end of the shaft" method if you hold the saw off the table so it can move with the blow.  It wouldn't have to be a terribly hard blow, but it must be quick, so the flywheel inertia will attempt to overcome the stickiness of the tapered interface.  You want the flywheel to attempt to stay in one place momentarily much like the coyote does after he first goes off the cliff chasing the roadrunner, with the crankshaft immediately accelerating out of it.

I have to say that I don't necessarily think it's a good idea to be whacking the end of the crankshaft, though.  Most especially with the saw sitting immobile on a hard bench.

If there aren't threaded holes in the flywheel to attach a puller, you best bet would be a double-armed puller pulling at the thickest points on the perimeter of the flywheel.  If you don't have access to a puller, then the method Tom described should work, but be careful; and it would be best to have two hands prying up on the thick parts of the flywheel perimeter simultaneously; maybe you can get a helper for a few minutes.  The threads on the end of the crankshaft aren't the only parts of it you can damage by pounding on its end.  And hunks of flywheel have been observed to break out of the perimeter because of imprudent prying.

Glen

 

[Mange]

I sometimes hold up the saw in the flyweel with some powerfull grabbing tool,
like Multy grip or whatever you call it.(and put 2 nuts on the crank) the weight of the saw is better than bending.
Usually it does not take much effort, but then there is always the trcky ones.
Do not use exessive forse!!!
The other replyers explain better, but that was my 2 cents..

 

[spacemule]

Wow! Since when did everyone become so helpful around here without using any sarcasm? Is this Arboristsite? lol I did just skim the thread, but I didn't notice one mention of the search feature. It must be the new software, eh?

 

[Al Smith]

Kind of nice,isn't it.

 

[Timothy]

tomorrow i'm going to take the rest of the body off the engine to try to find a spot where i can get some leverage under the flywheel with a screwdriver

when i pump the oil button air comes out of the hole next to the bar mount, even though the resivoir is full of kerosene, i wonder where that air is coming from

 

[Mike mandry]

Sometimes when I cant get a flywheel off, i heat up the area around the nut.

You have to heat it very quickly & be really carefull. You dont want to let the heat on it too long or you will damage the crank seals.

Just use your head.

I have done this many times & never done any damage.

I leave the heat on it for about 10 seconds or so & then give it a quick, sharp smack & they usually come right off.

I will probably catch some heat for this, but it works for me.

If you try it & it does not work, let it cool before you try it again.

Moderation is the key.

I use a propane torch, obviously, make sure the fuel tank is empty of fuel & vapors.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

With the bottom plate off the saw you'll be able to slip a screw driver or pry bar under the flywheel. It'll go in at about 4:30 in your picture.

I think that saw is one with points not a CD ignition. Might be wrong.

With a firm prying motion and the jam nut loosened you should be able to pop the flywheel. Be gentle! When I did this I used a 12 oz ball peen hammer. Give it a "Short, sharp shock" and it will move.

It's encouraging that you're getting bubbling at the oil tube!

 

[glens]

Might I suggest a brass hammer, or maybe a dead-blow mallet instead of steel?  Something definitely softer than the nut/shaft would be nice.

Glen

 

[Hexan]

You could also try loosening the nut but not getting it completely off of the threads and hit the nut instead, thus protecting the threads from possible damage fromm the hammer blow.

 

[Mange]

I use a small copper sledge, 0,5kg and just tap on the nut's.

 

[Al Smith]

Chances are,you have a stuck check valve,in the discharge side.In other words,it could be simpley moving air,back and forth.My suggestion,is to saturate the oil hloe area with WD-40,let it soak a bit,then blow,through the oil hole, toward the oil tank,with air[reduced pressure].If it is stuck,it may take several treatments.My way to get the flywheel off,is to use a small gear puller.Apply pressure,with the puller,then a bit of heat,around the hole,with the puller still in tension .This should pop it off.I never use any thing harder than a lead hammer,on a crankshaft of any kind.If you don't have a soft hammer,use a block of wood,to soften the blow.I have had a Poulan [ in disguise as a Dayton] of this model,since about '74,and it's been a great little saw.An interesting thing,is that Poulan made them for several companys,and they all sold them for less than the Poulan brand.Back then,a Poulan sold for $169 ,and I payed $139. for mine,which is the most I ever payed for any saw that I own.Picture shows the saw,dressed in orange