Help With Echo Weed Whacker

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L

Lcback

Feeling the Heat
Feb 21, 2016
364
Pennsylvania
I have a pretty big bank that is too steep to mow. Every year it gets out of hand because I hate weed whacking. This year I want to change that. My main frustration with it is I fight like a dog to get my old echo started. This echo was given to me by my father in law. Long ago he used it to cut retention ponds. It's got wide handle bars and the throttle moved to them, A nice harness. It's good for doing big heavy duty areas which is what I need. But it's never worked right for me. I have no paperwork and the only thing I have to identify it is the data plate. The problem is when I google search what the data plate says I get a big nothing. Not even some unrelated crap just no search results. What I want to do is a complete over haul minus piston and rings. I will post a picture of the data plate. Can anyone help me find what parts I need?

bf3acd0e3f8874a175a9b31095f149c4.jpg


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Do you know what's causing the hard starting issue? Once it's started does it run properly? The motor looks like it's made by kioritz , it's Japanese. Probably a carb issue if it's sat awhile. Take a look it's probably a Zama carb, easy to find parts for those.
 
jrems said:
Do you know what's causing the hard starting issue? Once it's started does it run properly? The motor looks like it's made by kioritz , it's Japanese. Probably a carb issue if it's sat awhile. Take a look it's probably a Zama carb, easy to find parts for those.
Click to expand...

I'll try to get some more pictures of that helps. It will stay started if you keep it revved high. But if you leave off the throttle she dies. You can't just get it started and take your time putting the harness one. Once it fires you have to be pulling the throttle in seconds. And you can't just rip on it either. You have to feather it nice and easy until it reaches the top end. It's a real basket case. I think it needs new fuel lines air filters and plug too. I don't know how helpful echo dealers are but I will probably call one, maybe take it over to them to look at.


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Dealer would be a good start.
Ask a lot of questions .. if you get him to fix it.
It does sound like a fuel/carb problem .. he might clean the card or rebuild it.
Good luck and keep us in the loop!
 
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Well that's a Walbro carb ..==c
 
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My parents have an old echo like that. I have a 2 year old one with dual string head (came stock). The power difference is not even in the same ball park. It must have 2-3x the power..is lighter and runs way better.

Try running a newer one and see if you think the old is worth spending any money on at all.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-2-Cycle-21-2cc-Straight-Shaft-Gas-Trimmer-SRM-225/100675439

I'm not saying this because i'm in the "just buy a new one" camp all the time. I'm certainly not. But for a tool that you sling around for hours in hot weather, the quicker the job is done, the better. I run mine very hard in tall grass and growth and it performs very well. I'm usually in a rush..after dinner before it gets dark.
 
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sportbikerider78 said:
My parents have an old echo like that. I have a 2 year old one with dual string head (came stock). The power difference is not even in the same ball park. It must have 2-3x the power..is lighter and runs way better.

Try running a newer one and see if you think the old is worth spending any money on at all.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-2-Cycle-21-2cc-Straight-Shaft-Gas-Trimmer-SRM-225/100675439

I'm not saying this because i'm in the "just buy a new one" camp all the time. I'm certainly not. But for a tool that you sling around for hours in hot weather, the quicker the job is done, the better. I run mine very hard in tall grass and growth and it performs very well. I'm usually in a rush..after dinner before it gets dark.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that 22cc will keep up with my 34cc?
I need to find a parts list to get pricing. If I'm going to be putting in more then $100 of parts then that would be tempting. But only if it will keep up with the 34cc. If $100 gets me my bigger trimmer with more power then I'll go that way.


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Last edited:
Well the dealer said they can identify Anything by the engine family number. Not sure what good that is. He said I could take it in and it would be $62 an hour to fix.


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Lcback said:
Well the dealer said they can identify Anything by the engine family number. Not sure what good that is. He said I could take it in and it would be $62 an hour to fix.


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Click to expand...
you could try your local Home Depot Tool Center. They actually repair stuff pretty cheap sometimes.
 
Sounds like a carb issue, it's always a carb issue (nearly). Take off the carb and get the #'s off of it. Walbro's web-site has info you need to determine which one it is. Often it's cheap enough just to buy the whole carb, if not do a simple rebuild with recommended kit.
 
jatoxico said:
Sounds like a carb issue, it's always a carb issue (nearly). Take off the carb and get the #'s off of it. Walbro's web-site has info you need to determine which one it is. Often it's cheap enough just to buy the whole carb, if not do a simple rebuild with recommended kit.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking. I still need to get air filter fuel lines etc. filter shouldn't be to hard to find. And I imagine that I can use fuel lines and fuel filter from the hardware store. I was just hoping I could order it all up and tear it all down and install at one time. I'll just have to be more organized.


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We have a Jonsered bush saw. Thing stopped working right all of a sudden. Acted kinda like yours. Then couldn't even get it to start. I put quite a few very frustrating hours fiddling with the thing - came to the conclusion the crank seals were done. Put it on a shelf & got a Stihl. I might go back at it some day, but every time I look at it my BP starts going again - lol.
 
my troybilt kept crapping out on me. it turns out the fuel line was completely cracked.
 
Talked to my father in law today. He said it is a SRM 3100.
Does that mean anything to anyone?


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Try a rebuild kit ..carb looks a little gunky ..and go with new lines for shure!
 
Sean McGillicuddy said:
Try a rebuild kit ..carb looks a little gunky ..and go with new lines for shure!
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking. New carbs are $48, kits are $15. So I'll try a kit first if that doesn't work a whole new one.

Also planning on new lines from echo and filters. They sell all these "repower kits" with the 3 lines fuel filter and grommet already assembled. Hoping they are all pretty much the same I can't seem to find one that specifically calls out the old srm-3100


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sportbikerider78 said:
My parents have an old echo like that. I have a 2 year old one with dual string head (came stock). The power difference is not even in the same ball park. It must have 2-3x the power..is lighter and runs way better.

Try running a newer one and see if you think the old is worth spending any money on at all.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-2-Cycle-21-2cc-Straight-Shaft-Gas-Trimmer-SRM-225/100675439

I'm not saying this because i'm in the "just buy a new one" camp all the time. I'm certainly not. But for a tool that you sling around for hours in hot weather, the quicker the job is done, the better. I run mine very hard in tall grass and growth and it performs very well. I'm usually in a rush..after dinner before it gets dark.
Click to expand...

Engine firing regularly can output more power than bigger one which is not. A larger, heavier machine is heavier, not a plus. I still regularly run an Echo SRM-200, from late '70s. Still runs great with thousands of hours runtime on it. A few years ago it ran like OP describes. Carb diaphragms get cracked and cranky, a cleaning and full kit restored it fully. It works fine now with 12" 3-knife or 11" 4-knife Husqvarna blades or 9" Forester chainsaw-cutter blade, besides line head. A 20-tooth 10" carbide blade works great also on woody stuff to 3"+.
For big whacking jobs, a blade is sooooo much better, taking much less work input from the engine and not bathing you with debris. I use line head ONLY near walls & such. You'll need a "brushcutter kit" to clamp blades onto arbor.
My antique Echo came with solid steel shaft, not to be found today on smaller Echos, and a necessity for brushcutting. Common on Hitachi/Tanaka. FWIW I've a 27 cc Tanaka, which is way more powerful than needed to spin 12" 3-knife blades. Line-trimmers suck power, NOT a plus. Brushcutters with sharp blades don't. Simple, no?
And ... OP's machine looks like it's been "rode hard & put away wet". Clean engines run cooler also, especially when abused with extended line-trimming.
 
CTYank said:
Engine firing regularly can output more power than bigger one which is not. A larger, heavier machine is heavier, not a plus. I still regularly run an Echo SRM-200, from late '70s. Still runs great with thousands of hours runtime on it. A few years ago it ran like OP describes. Carb diaphragms get cracked and cranky, a cleaning and full kit restored it fully. It works fine now with 12" 3-knife or 11" 4-knife Husqvarna blades or 9" Forester chainsaw-cutter blade, besides line head. A 20-tooth 10" carbide blade works great also on woody stuff to 3"+.
For big whacking jobs, a blade is sooooo much better, taking much less work input from the engine and not bathing you with debris. I use line head ONLY near walls & such. You'll need a "brushcutter kit" to clamp blades onto arbor.
My antique Echo came with solid steel shaft, not to be found today on smaller Echos, and a necessity for brushcutting. Common on Hitachi/Tanaka. FWIW I've a 27 cc Tanaka, which is way more powerful than needed to spin 12" 3-knife blades. Line-trimmers suck power, NOT a plus. Brushcutters with sharp blades don't. Simple, no?
And ... OP's machine looks like it's been "rode hard & put away wet". Clean engines run cooler also, especially when abused with extended line-trimming.
Click to expand...

What blades work well for tall grass and weeds? I have tried one or two from hand me downs. They always seem to move the grass out of the way with air.


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A modern rebuild kit can actually get it going better than the original parts were. The materials they make the diaphragms and such out of are always getting better at enduring ethanol poisoning.

Are you comfortable tuning those guys? Gonna need to do that too. (Guessing that the answer is yes since your limiter caps both have screw holes in them, but just checkin'.). ;)
 
My guess would be that it sounds lean. You could try turning out the idle screw a 1/4 to 1/2 turn. The idle screw is the one on the carb. closest to the engine. Carbs on eBay are usually a lot cheaper.

Good luck


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jetsam said:
A modern rebuild kit can actually get it going better than the original parts were. The materials they make the diaphragms and such out of are always getting better at enduring ethanol poisoning.

Are you comfortable tuning those guys? Gonna need to do that too. (Guessing that the answer is yes since your limiter caps both have screw holes in them, but just checkin'.). ;)
Click to expand...

Well I haven't tuned anything well. My father in law is who messed with that one. So I have been watching YouTube examples of it, and hoping I can figure out.


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