Author Topic: McCullogh Mini Mac 30-cord hard to pull with spark plug in, easier to pull with spark plug out  (Read 1350 times)

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Offline PS85

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I had no experience with chain saws until inheriting my father's Montgomery Ward TMY 24062B three years ago, which I am informed is really a McCulloch Mini Mac 30, 10 incher.  I went to Home Depot and the guy got it going, and I used it several times until the chain wore out.  I could not find a new one, so I put it down.  Otherwise, it functioned fine.

I finally found a new chain a month ago, the Oregon S39.  When I put the new chain on, the cord became incredibly hard to pull.  I opened it up a little and turned the hex screw to the drum a little, but it didn't seem to help much.  I came across some advice that you should take out the spark plug, (new three years ago and little used), and see how it goes.  The cord moved much, much easier.  The spark plug was all oiled up, the gap was filled with oil.  When I put the spark plug back in, the cord went back to being almost impossible to pull.

I don't have the manual for either the Wards TMY24062B or the McCulloch Mini Mac 10, just a parts list I came across online.  So I filled the oil reservoir to the top before I changed the chain. I don't know that is too much .  SAE 30 weight oil.

The unit was running great 3 years ago, for the several cutting sessions I used it for.

Where do I go from here?

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Offline 3000 FPS

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Did you put oil in where the fuel goes?     These are 2 cycle engines and you mix a very small amount oil with the fuel.

There is a place for oil but that is for bar oil that oils the chain and bar when using the saw.   That would take 30wt oil ok.

The fact that you have oil on your spark plug and that it is hard to turn over sounds like you put oil in the wrong place.     L

Look at the caps and see if one indicates fuel and one indicates oil.
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Offline PS85

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Thanks for the reply.  I put the SAE 30 in the compartment labelled "Chain Oil" and TruFuel 50:1 in the compartment labelled "Fuel Mix".  With this setup, three years ago I had several successful cutting sessions until I needed a new chain, which I couldn't locate until now.  The 50:1 fuel was recommended by the guy at Home Depot, but he admitted that it was his best guess-the saw was manufactured well before he was born.  But his advice got the saw functioning quite well for several sessions.

What's next?  I read around about something called "de-carbonizing".  My only experience with that term was in the repair book for an MGB some years ago, they recommended taking out the spark plug of the suspect cylinder, dropping a ball bearing in there and running the car for a little bit to break up the carbon.  Don't think it works on single cylinder units, though.

What do I try now?

Offline 3000 FPS

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I am still concerned that the spark plug was filled with oil and that it is hard to pull over.

Pull the muffler off and pull the spark plug out and then pull the rope very slow while watching the piston go up and down.
The piston should have a nice surface to it and not any vertical score marks.    Also look to see if there is any excess amounts of oil.

Let me know what you find.
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Offline 3000 FPS

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I would not run 50-1 in that saw.   40-1 is about as light as I would go.
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Offline Al Smith

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Mini  macs were known for having the oilers go bad and dumping  oil into the crankcase which gets in the cylinder .This makes them next to impossible to rope over .Fact that's why most mini's ended up on the shelf,the oiler went funky .You can block off the automatic pump and just use the thumb oiler .
That's what I did on either a 110 or 120 Mini .The thump pump puts out plenty of oil for those short bars .
Try as I might I could not get that little oiler to work properly .I even had the rebuild kits that came in a pile of Mac parts I got off e-bay .Lost my patience and just blocked off the pump.
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Offline 3000 FPS

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Thanks Al I did not know about the oilers on those.
PP 505, 475, 445.

Offline Al Smith

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Minis by and large was just an inexpensive saw .Competition was the Homelite xl2 ,single or double trigger .I've seen both with the original chains on them never been filed ,stopped running .They were a little less than 100 bucks new,often for 89 on sale .
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Offline brokenbudget

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When I was at benton farm equipment, we'd give them away with the purchase of a new 10 10, titan model or bigger. We rarely sold them separately.
when I grow up, i wanna be an adult.
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Offline Al Smith

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That saw has no middle ground .If it runs it runs well ,If it doesn't it doesn't run at all .
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