I have similar trouble with my petrol hedge trimmer that gets used may be twice a year. You pull and yank and scream and shout for an hour or two by which time you've flooded the engine...

...I'm convinced that regular use is the answer but for most of the year I'm just fresh out of hedges!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Get one of the spark testers that is nothing more than a clip and a gap in a clear plastic tube. You really need to check for spark as the next troubleshooting step.

As far as fuel goes, if you buy the top of the line Stihl oil in the silver bottle, it will do away with your fuel storage problems. It has fuel stabilizer and will make a gallon of gas last forever.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

I had a Stihl a while back and it had a button to push that would lower the compression so pull starting would be easier if yours has that feature maybe try pullstarting without using that feature. Also full choke until it sputters then go to half choke. Did you check your air filter as they clog up easily with the chips flying around GWS (good luck with starting or good luck with saw).

Just get yourself a cheap Chinese chainsaw. I have one, 62cc Balmer, great to use & cost less that $100. When it finaly dies I will just get another one. So far its had 2 new bars & about 10 chains.

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

when will someone invent a universal(?) one-way socket (grabs in one direction, slips in the other)- that you fit to your cordless (or corded) drill.
Then, every IC engine can have the negative of this socket on the crankshaft/flywheel/someplace accessable.

Now, starting is as easy as finding your drill - I've seen cordless drills turn over riding mower engines at a good speed.

Its possible to make semi-exposed shafts safe to use, and most people have a drill of some sort around the house.... am I wrong ?

-John

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2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

JumpStart

the best advice i can give you is to buy a new carb for it. they are pretty cheap considering the hassle it saves you.

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Ben
1987 190d 2.5Turbo

Have you ever changed the air filter? My Echo chainsaw was a bear to start and then I realized I never changed the air filter. When I opened it up there was hardened saw dust and oil completely blocking it up. Once I cleaned the air filter and surrounding areas, the chainsaw fired up easily.

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Chad
2013 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL

Did ya'll know that once Stihl purchased the company that built the carbs for them?

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Jim

I went to get it serviced... the guy at the counter told me it would be about 3.5 weeks because of the backlog, but he was willing to check my ignition on the spot.... He put in a new spark plug and it fired right up! I was pretty embarrassed that I didn't try that, but we were out of there in 5 mins. Runs like new again!

Simple fix - it's all good.

Nice pile of fresh cut aspen wood seasoning as I type this... Have a good summer, everybody.

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1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

In December of 2008 they purchased Zama because of quality control problems. Stihl has always strived to be vertically integrated- over the years, they have purchased many of their independent distributors. They're also the only saw manufacturer that makes their own chain.

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'83 300D, 126K miles.