old Shindaiwa saw running rough

[RustyShackleford]

I have an old Shindaiwa 415 chainsaw. It's the only chainsaw I've ever owned. I bought it 41 years, being told it was superior to a Sthil (which I believe). For reasons known only to the company, they stopped selling and supporting them not too long after, despite still selling weed whackers and such if I'm not mistaken. I cleared my house-site and 300+ft driveway with this saw, and cut every piece of firewood I've burned (and I heat almost entirely with wood). So I love the saw and would love to keep it going. Fortunately quite a few parts are still available, either NOS or cross-referenced with Echo parts.

Recently it startd running very rough. Would start right up, but I had to "coax" it out of idle by "goosing" the throttle repeatedly. Once it got going, it'd run at seemingly full power for awhile, or not. Obviously carburetor, right ? Nope. Replaced it - absolutely no difference. So gotta be spark, right ? I took the thing apart enough to see where the magneto sits, and the whole thing was full of nasty wet dirt. So I cleaned it up good, and now the saw runs better, but not great (similar symptoms but not nearly as bad). I think this supports the notion that the spark was my problem; a lot of the wet grunge that I cleared out was on the sparkplug cable, so partially shorting it out I'm thinking.

So I'm wondering where to go next. Here's a picture of the ignition system:

from. https://www.partstree.com/models/415-shindaiwa-chainsaw/ignition-system-7/.

Unfortunately the coil assembly (#6 in the drawing) is absolutely unavailable. But my buddy gave up on his awhile back and gave it to me for spare parts, to I could put in the coil from it. But I'm not sure it's the coil. Maybe it's part #8, which is attached to the primary wiring; is it like the condenser (capacitor) in an old-fashioned car ? How would it's failure manifest ? Burned points ? And speaking of points, where are they ?

Seeking advice, TIA.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Put parts-saw coil in, seems to run great now. Assuming part#8 was a condensor (capacitor) I measured 0.4nF. One in spare-parts saw measured the same. Is that a typical condenser value ? Search suggests that's orders of magnitude low, yet it's very similar to one in spare-parts saw. Hmm ... Tempted to just throw a capacitor in there from electronics lab.

 

[Jags]

Capacitors typically dont "degrade". They fail. That's not a definitive statement, but mostly true. You should be able to get the numbers off of the capacitor and find out what the microfarad rating should be

 

[RustyShackleford]

Probably should start another thread, but ... if I give up the ghost and buy a new saw, is Husqvarna the best ? Or Stihl ? And if I get at least as many cc's of engine displacement as the old saw, can I assume (a) it'll be at least as powerful, thanks to technological improvements (b) less powerful because of noise and emissions controls, (c) neither. I'm aware that Husky (and probably Stihl) give horsepower ratings, but I don't have a number for the Shindaiwa.

 

[qwee]

Rubber degrades, though. On an old saw check all of the rubber parts - in carb, crank seals, fuel line, impulse line, connecting boot, and? Maybe air leaking in somewhere.

By the way, Shindaiwa was bought up by Echo. Echo chainsaw design improved after this - probably due to their new Shindaiwa engineers.

 

[EbS-P]

Probably should start another thread, but ... if I give up the ghost and buy a new saw, is Husqvarna the best ? Or Stihl ? And if I get at least as many cc's of engine displacement as the old saw, can I assume (a) it'll be at least as powerful, thanks to technological improvements (b) less powerful because of noise and emissions controls, (c) neither. I'm aware that Husky (and probably Stihl) give horsepower ratings, but I don't have a number for the Shindaiwa.

What’s your budget? What bar length do you like? Husky 562 or a 550 since I have a big saw already would be my choice.

 

[RustyShackleford]

I like 18" bar. I don't feel I need anything significantly more powerful than the Shindaiwa. Not real price conscious, but I don't see any reason to spend over $500.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Rubber degrades, though. On an old saw check all of the rubber parts - in carb, crank seals, fuel line, impulse line, connecting boot, and? Maybe air leaking in somewhere.

Well, I put a brand new carb in, with no effect, thought I suppose if it'd been sitting on a shelf for some decades ... Put a new fuel filter. And the coil from the other spare-parts saw. All this has definitely improved things, but the problem remains, just to a lesser extent; and the power is decent but not what it should be. Hmm, where might air be leaking in ? There is a rubber seal that the carb bolts up against; it looked good to me, but I'm not sure how it interfaces with the cyclinder.

By the way, Shindaiwa was bought up by Echo. Echo chainsaw design improved after this - probably due to their new Shindaiwa engineers.

Ah, that explains the parts cross-referencing.

 

[EbS-P]

I like 18" bar. I don't feel I need anything significantly more powerful than the Shindaiwa. Not real price conscious, but I don't see any reason to spend over $500.

Then probably an echo

 

[stoveliker]

I've been happy with my echo 4910, after putting on a different air filter, by a2design. (Original echo air filter clogs too quickly).
Starts easily, enough power for me, light weight. I have. 20" bar on it but 18 would be great too

 

[Pinesmoke]

In a 18" bar I am very happy with my stihl 290. I ran it for years with a 24" bar and added a 18" to the mix last year. Down here I don't cut the big wood like I did up north and didn't want to deal with the extra weight. 10ish years back I drilled the baffle in the muffler and removed the limiters on the A/F screws so I could retune it where it needed to be with the non-resticted exhaust.

With the 18" bar and full chisel Oregon chain it screams.

For full disclosure I am not a shihl fanboi but they are what I've always run, since back in the 70s. They all have been run hard and and have never failed me. After all the years on the 290 it still cools starts with 2 pulls on choke, choke of pull lights it.

 

[qwee]

On this saw she vac and pressure checks the crankcase. She mostly works on Stihl saws but it is the same for any saw. At first she thought it was a blocked vent in the fuel tank - it was blocked. Check the cylinder/piston, too - maybe it just wore out (just look in the hole with light). New plug? They go bad, too.

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[RustyShackleford]

Then probably an echo

How come ? I',m pretty committed to Husky, or possibly Shindaiwa, believeing they are the best quality brands.

 

[salecker]

Echo will be the cheapest of the three...
Stihl. Husky, or Echo
I am a Stihl guy. Have seen then perform for years without issues, my Dads 031 was impressive for durability. Followed by a 026 that was just as durable.
I fix saws, then use them for cutting wood for a year then sell them.

 

[salecker]

How come ? I',m pretty committed to Husky, or possibly Shindaiwa, believeing they are the best quality brands.

Myself new would be Stihl, Echo, then Husky

 

[bigealta]

My Stihl 029 super is pretty old but still runs like a champ.

 

[hedge wood]

I like 18" bar. I don't feel I need anything significantly more powerful than the Shindaiwa. Not real price conscious, but I don't see any reason to spend over $500.

If you don't want to spend over $500 a Echo it will probably be. I run mostly Stihl but do have a top handle Echo that I used in my bucket lift its been a good saw. Buy your self a Stihl 261 and it will probably be the last saw you buy. I have two now and really like them and the two guys that help me with wood liked the first one so much I bought the second one so they both have one to run. The one guy used to run my 461 all the time but he's getting older too and likes the 261 now.

 

[EbS-P]

How come ? I',m pretty committed to Husky, or possibly Shindaiwa, believeing they are the best quality brands.

It’s prosumer quality IMO. I think it slots in above the homeowner/rancher lines and below the pro saws. Quality varies so much within a brand now it better to research and compare individual products and not get hung up in brand allegiance. Service during any warranty period is also worth considering.

 

[RustyShackleford]

So cleaned out the fuel line good, and replaced the fuel tank vent with the one from spare parts saw.

Also wondered about a second rubber hose attached to carb, and it turns out to be this:

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So I blew it out with compressed air.

Saw runs pretty well now, but still a hesitation when transitioning from idle to cutting power.

 

[Asmodai650]

So cleaned out the fuel line good, and replaced the fuel tank vent with the one from spare parts saw.

Also wondered about a second rubber hose attached to carb, and it turns out to be this:

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So I blew it out with compressed air.

Saw runs pretty well now, but still a hesitation when transitioning from idle to cutting power.

That’s the impulse line from the crankcase to the carb that drives the fuel pump in the carburetor. When you say you cleaned the line out, did you blow compressed air into the hose and into the carburetor, or into the engine, or just the line? If you blew into the carburetor there is a good chance that the fuel pump is damaged and will need to be replaced. It should be flat like paper, and not rounded. If it’s rounded or domed into dry or wet side of the carb then replace it.

Also the hesitation could just be from the new carburetor needing to be tweaked to that engine.

 

[RustyShackleford]

That’s the impulse line from the crankcase to the carb that drives the fuel pump in the carburetor.

I disconnected the hose from the carb and blew INTO the cylinder.

Also the hesitation could just be from the new carburetor needing to be tweaked to that engine.

Main problem now is it takes at least 20 pulls to start; then it runs great. It seems exactly like what happens if you allow the saw to run out of gas. Like maybe the fuel line is leaking out and you have to suck fuel all the way up into it again (with the 20 pulls) ??

 

[qwee]

The fuel line is bad. This is a common issue on old Shindaiwas. I got a Shindaiwa 575 for some firewood because of this. I would get a new fuel line that is what I did.

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Donny Walker likes these old Shindaiwas.

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[RustyShackleford]

I totally agree with you. But my fuel line is two-part, and I can't figure out how to change out the one that's inside the fuel tank. This parts diagram sorta shows why. Part #11 (or #19 for my model) and everything attached to it, go INSIDE the fuel tank and somehow secure to the inside of where the hole in the top of the fuel tank is, so pieces #9 and #10 can plug into it. It's firmly attached somehow, because it takes a little force to plug the outside hose into it. I have some NOS parts though, so if I can just figure it out ... Duh, maybe you just insert it thru the hole in the fuel tank and put the filter on once you have the tube installed.

The fuel line in the first video is really different. The saw in the 2nd video is virtually identical to mine.

 

[Asmodai650]

Might be easiest to remove the tank, insert the lower half of the fuel line assembly then connect the upper. If the filter will fit inside the hole that the lower assembly goes into then insert it all as one piece. If not, just add the filter at the end. I use long surgical forceps to get into these small fuel tanks and clamp onto the wires. Should be able to find them cheap on Amazon or even flea markets

 

[RustyShackleford]

I use long surgical forceps to get into these small fuel tanks and clamp onto the wires. Should be able to find them cheap on Amazon or even flea markets

I have a few of those lying around, if you know what I mean