Chainsaw Repair

I've been using this 025 saw. I've been encountering difficulty also.

The ignition was missing and intermittent. You know that the original situation with the saw was that the engine unit was loose and jiggling around in the case. The flywheel was hitting the coil. Also the coil wire wasn't routed correctly and the cooling shields had almost cut the plug wire in two. You could see the bare wire. Up inside the spark plug boot, there was some kind of deterioration or oxidation. It was like full of black powder up in there between the boot and the wire. So I put a new coil and wires in the saw. This wasn't easy to do for I had to take the top cover loose except for the buffer on the front and pry for all I was worth between that plastic shield on the intake side of the engine unit and plastic crankcase to get all the wires through a little channel right above the coil so the wires will be on the operator side of the plastic shield. If you do not do this the air flow shield extension on the starter cover will try to cut the wires in two.

I've had trouble with the pull starter coming apart. Something caught and when I jerked on the cord a second time, I pulled the knot in the cord through the handle. Wasn't too bad for the knot caught on the bushing of the starter cover. I cut the knot off - rethreaded the cord up through the handle and tied a fatter knot in the cord.
A couple times later I went to start the saw, it sounded like a 22 rifle shot and the starter would not grab the flywheel.  I took out the starter and the pawl fell off onto the ground. I found the little spring clip hair pin pulley retainer on the ground also. With these parts off the pulley I observed that the post for the pulley on this early starter housing was only like 12mm in diameter whereas the hole in the newer style pulley was some 16mm. You could wobble the pulley all around. There is a raised area on the pulley that fits around a raised area of the flywheel to shield the pawl mechanism from wood debris. But the shield part was worn off on one side of the starter pulley even though it had been recently replaced. Now remember this is the saw with the engine originally jumping up and down inside it. I re-installed the damaged pawl, stainless washer, and pulley retainer clip and started the saw.

Thinking later and pricing the parts I would need, it was cheaper to get another starter assembly. For there wasn't anything any good about the old starter except the spring. It would work but not reliably. The old 1991 025 now has a MS 250 starter assembly. Nothing left of the original chainsaw except the cylinder, flywheel, and crankshaft?

It sure starts, runs, and cuts good now. It has taken a awful lot of parts to make this saw reliable over time by me and the original owner.

Makes you want to think about staying away from another project saw this old?