help! Dropped my Husky in th creek.

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bcnu

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Dec 1, 2006
495
Don't ask :red: but it did go completely under before I could rescue it. I took the chain and bar off and emptied all the water I could. Took of the muffler cover and wiped it dry. Then put in new gas and oil. Still won't start. My mechanic skill are limited so wonder what else I could do before taking it to the shop.
 
Was it running when it went under? I have been known to drop a motorcycle in the creek and they will run again so long as the engine didn't inhale water because as that piston goes up and tries to compress the water it pretty much is stopped by the uncompressible water and things bend.
 
Take the sparkplug out and use a benzene torch to dry out the cylinder head and clean the spark plug up with a wire brush. Maybe even take the air filter off and use the torch on the carb. Keep the torch well away from the saw it does't take much heat to dry things out.
 
hairdryer works.
try getting it going w wd40 or premix into the carb. if water drops got into the fuel tank/line it may not work right
and try getting it going asap so any water in the crankcase doesn't have time to cause rust. I don't like alcohol blended fuels becaue of that, they codissolve water into the alcohol, the alcohol drops out, and loses lubrication in spots.
 
Wow, ya. I bet you have water in all kinds of places. If you have access to compressed air that would be handy. Remember to make sure the spark plug cap is really dry, as well as the carburetor and fuel line like kevin said. Otherwise, drain all the gas and set it by the wood stove for a day or two.
 
Thsnks for the ideas. I'll get right on them. No, it wasn't running - it was pinched in a splint limb I was trying to undercut - should have cut more on the top. I was over a small creek so used my other saw to free it. I even roped it, securely I thought, just in case. Guess I learned two good lessons from this one.
 
Did you crank it with the plug removed? Its possible you hydrolocked it and bent the valves already. When you try to start it, does it pull normally?
 
Didn't remove plug. Dried out as much as I could. It did start this morning - but didn't want to keep running. So, took it to the shop, Larry, the saw guy, said water in the carb. I'll send a post mortem when I get it back.
 
water in the carb should not be a big deal. I bet you will come out looking pretty good, all things considered.
 
bcnu said:
Thsnks for the ideas. I'll get right on them. No, it wasn't running - it was pinched in a splint limb I was trying to undercut - should have cut more on the top. I was over a small creek so used my other saw to free it. I even roped it, securely I thought, just in case. Guess I learned two good lessons from this one.

....did you rope it to the limb you were cutting off???? :cheese:
 
cmonSTART said:
bcnu said:
Thsnks for the ideas. I'll get right on them. No, it wasn't running - it was pinched in a splint limb I was trying to undercut - should have cut more on the top. I was over a small creek so used my other saw to free it. I even roped it, securely I thought, just in case. Guess I learned two good lessons from this one.

....did you rope it to the limb you were cutting off???? :cheese:

:exclaim: THAT WAS MY FIRST THOUGHT....but didn't want to rub salt in the wounds!! LOL
 
]

....did you rope it to the limb you were cutting off???? :cheese:[/quote]


No, but I might as well have. New carb kit and a little tune up and it cost $30 and change. It runs like new and I'm ready to get out there again. As for rubbing salt in the wound - nothing much you could say would make it hurt much worse than when I heard the saw plunk in the water. But I did have ther rope still tied on so I could pull it out! Experience is a great teacher - but with only two years of cutting behind me I'm afraid I still have alot to learn.
 
$30 for P&L;would be a pretty good deal around here.
on the plus side, maybe yu found a good shop in this deal, and that is worth $30 by itself !

k
 
Interesting...I had no idea there were no valves. Learn something new every day.
 
mayhem said:
Did you crank it with the plug removed? Its possible you hydrolocked it and bent the valves already. When you try to start it, does it pull normally?

His 2 cycle chainsaw does not have valves.

I'd drain the fuel and oil tanks, flush both out with mixed fuel. Take the plug out and crank the saw over while blowing copressed air into the plug hole, this creates turbulance in the crankcase and will get a lot of the water out. Then sparayWD-40 down the throat of the carb while cranking the engine (2 people). Fresh fuel and a little prayer. Get the saw running as soon as possible and let the heat from the engine dry it out.
 
kevin j said:
$30 for P&L;would be a pretty good deal around here.
on the plus side, maybe yu found a good shop in this deal, and that is worth $30 by itself !

k

Bought the saw there a few years back. It's and Ace Hardware store - small place but I've gotten to know Larry, the saw guy, pretty well. He's good and the price is right. I cut a little wood in the Fall of 06 and cut a lot last summer. Learning as I went - and I went to the saw shop more than I wanted. Two bars for the Rancher 55 and a couple of chains, a new muffler for the 141 and a few times to get the chain sharpened. Most of that was from my early cutting - like when I thought I was keeping the chain off the ground etc. Learned how to sharpen the chain and did a much better job using the saws. Biggest problem now is knowing where to make a cut, especially in a tree that is partially split(uncut). I've use the second saw to free the first more than once. Looking forward to this summer to gain more experience. 99% of my cutting is on downed trees. I have taken down a few standing trees, with almost all landing where I intended, and the couple that didn't , well, I had lots of room for error :bug: My wife's cousin has around 75 years experience and I'm gartefully learning from him.
 
mayhem said:
Did you crank it with the plug removed? Its possible you hydrolocked it and bent the valves already. When you try to start it, does it pull normally?
I am sure you are right on the spot.. 2 cycle valves in a chain saw bend pretty easy. It could have broken the timing chain too.
 
^^ Apparently it was just a bad carb, he had it rebuilt and its running nicely now I guess.

Apaprently chainsaw motors do not use valves...at least not the same way a 4 stroke motor does...so we're both wrong.
 
mayhem said:
^^ Apparently it was just a bad carb, he had it rebuilt and its running nicely now I guess.

Apaprently chainsaw motors do not use valves...at least not the same way a 4 stroke motor does...so we're both wrong.

Mayhem - I think Eric was havin' a little fun with ya.
 
Jags said:
mayhem said:
^^ Apparently it was just a bad carb, he had it rebuilt and its running nicely now I guess.

Apaprently chainsaw motors do not use valves...at least not the same way a 4 stroke motor does...so we're both wrong.

Mayhem - I think Eric was havin' a little fun with ya.

He forgot the smiley.

Really i was just trying to be helpful. Oh well...TS for me.

:)
 
Really i was just trying to be helpful.

:)

And that, my friend, is what makes this a great website.
 
Hey Mayhem, my knowledge of valves stops with a trumpet, so I still would have taken it to the shop. Appreciate you and all the others for helping out. It's almost like we're sitting around a wood stove in the same room - except we probably never could agree on what stove(or chainsaw) to have...and here's a smiley :ahhh: (never used this one yet)
 
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