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Stihl 031av chainsaw won't start

Started by Brian25, May 08, 2015, 04:29:30 PM

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Brian25

Hi everyone,

I recently got a chainsaw from my father. It's a stihl 031av. It hasn't ran in years but as far as I know it was running when it was put away.

It was left with fuel in it so eveything was gummed up. I took it apart and cleaned out the fuel tank, put a new fuel tank gasket in it, new filter and pickup fuel line, mixed new fuel and it still wouldn't start. So I rebuilt the carb, blew out all the passages with compressed air and put a carb kit in it and it still won't start. I checked and it has spark. If I put some fuel in the cylinder through the plug hole it will run for about 1-2 seconds and die. I have the high and low adjustments set to the manual spec of 1-1/8 turn out. Since it runs for a couple seconds when I put fuel in the plug hole that makes me think I have good spark and compression.

I'm completely out of ideas and hoping someone here could help me out, thanks!

kellysguy

Did you soak it in carb cleaner or just blow it out?

Brian25

I just blew it out but made sure air came through all ports. Should I take it apart and put all the pieces in a cup of carb cleaner?

JohnG28

Don't use a lot of compressed air, too much can damage the carb. Usually just blowing through a straw like on a wd40 can is enough. Otherwise I'd say go through the carb again, does sound like a fuel issue. Check the impulse line as well if there is one, not sure if those saws use a line or passage through the intake block. Welcome to the forum as well!  :)
Stihl MS361, 460 & 200T, Jonsered 490, Jonsereds 90, Husky 350 & 142, Homelite XL and Super XL

Brian25

Thanks for the replies! Ok so I took the carb off, and checked th impulse line. It looks good and has suction when I crank it over. I took the carb apart and all the ports are clear. I did notice the needle valve was not returning when i pushed on the spring so I put the old one back in. Put it all together and it fired up! The thing is now that it dies at idle, stumbles at full throttle and makes a lot of smoke. I've tried messing around with the adjustment screws but it doesn't help. Any ideas? Thanks!

dougand3

Husky: 372xt, 272xp, 61, 55 (x3)...Poulan: 315, 4218 (x3), 2375, 2150, 2055, 2000 (x3)...Stihl 011AVT...Homelite XL...Saws come in broken, get fixed or parted, find new homes

kellysguy


IndianaJoe

Don't drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out. When all else fails your local stihl dealer has a mechanic that gets paid to go crazy for you. :o :o :o

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