A McCulloch Model MT2026 Corded String Trimmer

The trimmer hub is a disaster, and replacement parts are no longer available. There'll be no restoring this item to operability. I figure I'll take it to pieces just for the heckuvit. Maybe there'll be something of it that's worth salvaging.

The Hub

The hub's outer shell is a piece of wreckage. It appears that a repair to the torn out trimmer line exit holes has been attempted, to poor effect. The hub spring is an ill-fitting kludge -- not the original spring. I don't know what to make of the translucent sleeve over the trimmer line spool. How that arrangement could ever bump-feed trimmer line is beyond me.

The Business End

There's a steel rod bail holding the safety guard in place. (The bail rod is 4mm diameter.) With that bail pried loose and removed, the safety guard can be removed. The motor housing can then be opened up.

Opening Up The Motor Housing

The motor housing is fastened together by ten 4mm threading screws, No. 2 Phillips recess. One of the screws is concealed under the ID label. The two uppermost screws are 13mm long. The other eight screws are all 18 mm long.

Opening up the motor housing reveals two prominent features of the machine -- the handle length adjuster and the motor itself.

Handle Length Adjuster

There's a latch/detent affair that enables the handle shaft to have one of four different lengths. The length increments are just shy of one inch.

The latch and the detent lever are spring loaded by coil springs. (I'll salvage the springs.) It's a diabolical thing to reassemble if it springs apart on you, which it's very likely to do.

The Motor

The motor is quite robust looking. (It still works, by the way.) Motor rating is 120 VAC, 3.2 A, 10,000 rpm.

The motor mount bracket is fastened to the housing by two 4mm threading screws, No. 2 Phillips recess. That fan/hub on the output end of the motor appears to be press-fitted on. I can see no non-destructive way to remove it.

Motor Fan/Hub Removed

I bored into the centre of the plastic fan/hub so I could get a puller's nose to contact the motor's shaft. That got the fan/hub started coming off. From there, I was able to pry the fan/hub off the rest of the way. Here's a view of the motor out of its housing along with its detached fan/hub.

The motor's shaft is 8mm diameter, with splines that make for an interference fit with the fan/hub's bore. Shaft length is 15/16".

I rigged the motor for a no load current draw measurement, and a photo-tachometer reading. I got about 650 mA  at about 27,000 rpm. Evidently, the 3.2 A, 10,000 rpm rating represents full load values.

Anyway, I now have a very nice little universal motor that I can think of no possible use for.

The Handgrips

The lower handgrip is fastened by a single M6 x 52mm carriage bolt and wingnut. There's a flat washer under the wingnut.

The upper handgrip is held together by six 4mm threading screws, No. 2 Phillips recess. The two screws nearest the trigger are 13mm long; the remaining four screws are 18mm long

The Trigger Switch

The red trigger acts on a momentary slide switch. The slide switch is made by Defond. It's rated at 11 A, 125 VAC, 5.5 A, 250 VAC. Its terminals are 3/16" male spade terminals.

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So there we have it -- the whole thing dismantled. Here's what all I salvaged:

• Three compression springs.
• Motor.
• Slide switch.
• An M6 x 52mm carriage bolt with wingnut and flat washer.
• A 25 1/4" length of 7/8" diameter steel tubing.

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Some Dollar Store Tools

The local Dollarama store has some remarkably neat stuff.

The 9mm utility knives are excellent; they even have spare blade storage for two spare blades.

I was only in the store for the sake of the knives, then the screwdriver and bit set caught my eye. I'm a sucker for such things, so I figured I could gamble $4.00 CDN + HST. There's no exchange or return at the Dollarama, so I'm hoping that the screwdriver bits are the real deal -- not overly brittle or soft. We'll see.

The socket wrenches are all metric -- 4mm to 14mm. The handle would really be something if it had ratchets, but it doesn't. The handle attaches to the shank in either a 'T' or an 'L' configuration. The 'L' configuration should provide an abundance of turning force.

'Looking forward to having need of the set.

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Another Poulan 260 PRO 42cc 18" Chainsaw

My last attempt at getting one of these running was a washout.

We'll see how I make out with this one. It's another machine that was given to me by the small engines place that I frequent. It's a saw that wasn't worth the shop's while to repair, so the owner just abandoned it. It's in pretty rough shape by the looks of it -- the chain appears to be off its sprocket and jammed. I'll want to attend to that first thing.

I'd really like to get this saw going. I have three sickly cedar trees at the foot of my backyard that need to come down.

Anyway, here's the saw's ID label data:

FAMILY 2000US EPA PH1
                YPWES.0424CS:EM
DISP. 42CC
SERIAL # 00075D 100235-3

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Jammed Chain

Clutch/sprocket/bar access is by way of a single cover that's held on by the two bar clamp nuts. The nuts are hex washerface items, M8 x 1.25, 13mm A/F (across flats). Note that the chain brake must be disengaged in order for the cover to be removable.

The chain on this saw may have been run out of oil -- it had many seized links that wouldn't traverse around the sprocket without jamming. With penetrating oil and a good deal of persuasion, I've gotten the chain to where it will traverse complete circuits. On with examination of the saw.

Bar Oil Reservoir

It's bone dry. That may explain a lot. I won't fill it unless and until I can get the engine to run.

Fuel Tank

There's some fuel in it. The fuel takeup tube is iffy, but its filter is still in place..

Top Cover Removal

Three obvious screws, T25 Torx recess.

Spark Plug

The spark plug had been installed very tightly. I had to take an impact wrench to it to get it loose.

It's a Champion RCJ7Y. It's a bit sooty, but not in bad condition at all. Hex is 3/4" A/F. Gap is a loose 0.025". A spark test revealed that I do have spark.

Priming

The primer bulb is a bit stiff, but it appears to be intact. The thing won't prime, though.

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Problems/Solutions:

• A stiff metering diaphragm. The diaphragm in my scrapped Poulan 260 PRO was ok, so I swapped diaphragms.
• Embrittled fuel line tubing. The fuel takeup tube looks to be virtually impossible to replace by squeezing it through its hole in the top of the fuel tank. I drilled out that hole to 5/32" diameter so I could slip-fit a replacement tube through. The tube's interface with the fuel tank is no longer fluid-tight, but the arrangement will get me going.
• The bar and chain are past it. The bar and chain on my scrapped saw are good, so I swapped the bar and chain.

And after all that, I'm still getting nowhere. I can't get the saw to start, and I'm getting weary of putting in seemingly futile effort.

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Update -- MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019

My son pointed out to me that I have plenty of time on my hands. So, I decided to return to the chainsaw and keep on attempting to get it running, however futile the attempt might be.

After an outrageous amount of fiddling, I got the thing to run for awhile. Now I'm back to being unable to start it again. It's exhibiting high compression -- compression so high that I can't get a decent pull on the starter cord. 'Next visit to the small engines place in Pickering, I'll ask about that. I'm hoping that they'll have an answer.

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Further Update -- TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019

I took the saw with me to Pickering yesterday to show it to the senior man at the shop. He deemed the saw to be normal. So, I have to confess that the problem is not excessive compression; the problem is my lack of upper body strength. When I got the saw home, I rigged a method whereby I could get both feet holding the saw down while I tugged on the starter cord with both hands. That got the saw started. Here's a view of my 'both feet' rig.

Right foot goes in the handle as per usual; left foot goes on the stick of wood. I can hoist the starter cord's handle with both hands, and away we go.

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I got my three ailing cedar trees taken down and limbed. Cutting up the trunks will have to keep for another day; it's raining today.

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