I have a 6 yr old weedeater ( Poulan XT200) which has begun to run badly. It stopped running all together due to a faulty spark plug. Replacing the plug did not restore it to good health, it runs with little power. I can rebuild the carb if necessary but have no idea how to check the compression. I'm concerned that at 6 yrs it may be worn out and not worth fixing. Any tips on how to assess compression? Any other advice?
Poulan, in my experience has disposable carburetor.............But, I have also had several experiences with clogged up exhaust ports (mufflers) on several different brands/models of two stroke engines.
Your best bet is disassemble and clean, and re-assemble and try it out. Low cost way of doing it anyway. It's your money.
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MUADIB®
Spark arrestors -screens can become clogged on the exaust , I remove mine and always get more power. Also carbon can build on the motor exaust port, use wood to scrape it clean remove muffler fitst. Buy a compression tester apx 15$ . Or the carb could be out of adjustment. Look at spark arrestor screen removal first.
I did hose the carb down with Gumout recently. Carb looked OK. I will try the spark arrestor cleaning. I never would have thought of that and I do frequently use a gas mix with more oil than the recommended mix. Thanks for the advice
Dave M.
Remove the arrestor, it is just a screen that gets carboned up. Unless of course you are in a high risk fire area, But I have never heard of a fire from small equipment. My 6 mo old Sthil I took back it would not rev to power, they just pulled out the arrestor screen and it was like new again.
I checked the muffler/spark arrestor and it's clean. A small amount of build up at the engine exhaust port. Does anyone know what level of compression indicates a worn out engine?
Dave M.
I had the exact same problem with my poulan feather light. Thought it was the fuel but when i took it all apart is was the exhaust and spark deflector.
A spark arrestor will always Look clean, remove it anyway to see, and look for carbon buildup. Id guess 140 is new compression at 60- 80 lb its shot . 100-110 it is still ok. My arrestors looked clean also, but removing my Echo yesterday helped it spool up faster. My Sthil would not ranp up at all after 6 mo, It "Looked " clean. And this is not commercialy used equipment, just bi weekly
Dave you E mailed me, my response to you was blocked- returned by your system
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