I need your 2 stroke thoughts/help

[thatguy]

I have a VERY old (+15 yrs) Echo SRM210ae string trimmer that I have been tinkering with and finally got it running VERY well, except for getting it started..

The only way that I found to get it started is to pour a little seafoam in thru the spark plug hole and let it set over night.. It then fires on the first pull otherwise it floods and wont start..

Once you get it started it runs great and no longer stops after 10 or so minutes (my issue from my first post looking for help).. and it will restart very easily..

Any suggestion on why the seafoam will kick it off to start? Could I use starter fluid instead so i could get it going that day?

Here is what I have done
-seafoam in carb/cylinder head
-dismanted the carb and cleaned out the screens/ports with Seafoam and brake fluid (to flow the junk out
-seafoam in gas
-new fuel filter
-checked and the gas lines are not deteriorated
-a few new carb gaskets

The seafoam did an excellent job of cleaning/loosening the gunk that built up in/on the carb ports and screens..

Ideas are welcome

Brian

 

[Egon]

The compression may be getting a little low.

 

[oldmech]

Hi! I have Echo SRM230. I must push on Primer button 4 to 5 times before cranking. Do you use your Primer and how many time. May be you need a new button. Good luck Oldmech

 

[JB4310]

I agree with Egon, sounds like low compression. can you still get a set of rings for it.

I have alot of tired old motors, even with low compression they still start though. I usually give a shot of starter fluid or gas in the carb or cylinder to help start ornery engines. But your saying yours is getting flooded.

If you're getting fuel and good spark they should fire up.

I have yet to find a small combustion engine I can't start, I bring junk home from the dump or side of the road and as long as there isn't a hole in the side of the motor I can get it going.

JB.

 

[thatguy]

This unit is so old it does NOT have the primer button..

I say that it is flooded because after trying to start it for a while, when you remove the plug it is dripping wet.. I tried for 15 minutes to get it started and it wouldnt even fire.. Which was not unusual for it BEFORE I started tinkering with it (which is also one reason i started tinkering with it)

The first time I used the seafoam and let it stand overnight it fired up on the first pull.. So that is what I did again - and it worked.. First pull this morning and it was off and running..

Am I correct in assuming that if it has low compression that the seafoam fills the gap around the piston and help to decrease the cylinder blowby?

Brian

 

[JB4310]

This unit is so old it does NOT have the primer button..

I say that it is flooded because after trying to start it for a while, when you remove the plug it is dripping wet.. I tried for 15 minutes to get it started and it wouldnt even fire.. Which was not unusual for it BEFORE I started tinkering with it (which is also one reason i started tinkering with it)

The first time I used the seafoam and let it stand overnight it fired up on the first pull.. So that is what I did again - and it worked.. First pull this morning and it was off and running..

Am I correct in assuming that if it has low compression that the seafoam fills the gap around the piston and help to decrease the cylinder blowby?

Brian

Yes, that's what would make one think there's low compression.

JB.

 

[lightninboy]

I have a 2006 (not old) Echo trimmer that I have had to use ether to get it started when it is cold, which was a letdown because the Echo had been a pretty good-starting engine. I was experimenting with spark plugs today (I figure any spark plug that fits in the cylinder is interchangeable with the original NGK) and got the engine to start without using ether. It could be that the spark plug didn't have a good enough ground to the engine and the spark plug had to be tighter than I had it and it is good to keep the rim around the spark plug hole clean.

 

[Travelover]

..........(I figure any spark plug that fits in the cylinder is interchangeable with the original NGK).........

While it is true that spark plug threads are interchangeable, using the wrong heat range spark plug can burn a hole in the top of your piston. Use a spark plug cross reference chart to make sure that you have the right heat range plug.

 

[lightninboy]

The trimmer won't start without ether again, but it only needs a whiff of ether and it starts.

I'm thinkin' it's a fuel/carburetor problem instead of an electrical problem.

The easiest way to fix it is to always have a can of ether with the engine.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

If it has low compression, it won't heat up the air/fuel mixture to the flash point. The compression heats the mixture, much like a diesel, and the spark merely pushes the mixture over the edge (except, of course, for ether). Try warming up the cylinder with a hair dryer before you start it. It works for me on an old blower.

 

[Travelover]

I have an old Stihl weed cutter with similar symptoms. I hit it with a shot of WD 40, which used propane as a propellant. The propane kicks it right off.

 

[JB4310]

I have an old Stihl weed cutter with similar symptoms. I hit it with a shot of WD 40, which used propane as a propellant. The propane kicks it right off.

Never thought of that before, I'm sure it's better than the ether for the engine too, with its lube properties.

JB.

 

[FastPauly]

I have said it before and I will say it again.....small 2 cycle engines are very sensitive to exhaust restriction. Take the muffler off and see if it will start O.K then. If so, do whatever is necessary to clean out the restriction...be it carbon build up or stuff the mud dauburs have deposited.

 

[JB4310]

I have said it before and I will say it again.....small 2 cycle engines are very sensitive to exhaust restriction. Take the muffler off and see if it will start O.K then. If so, do whatever is necessary to clean out the restriction...be it carbon build up or stuff the mud dauburs have deposited.

Yup, I've had the spark arrestor screens block up to the point of choking the exhaust.

JB

 

[thatguy]

I have said it before and I will say it again.....small 2 cycle engines are very sensitive to exhaust restriction. Take the muffler off and see if it will start O.K then. If so, do whatever is necessary to clean out the restriction...be it carbon build up or stuff the mud dauburs have deposited.

I did take the exhaust off and cleaned off a small mesh screen that was over the opening..

wouldnt any restriction also cause it to not run correctly? Once i get it started it runs good..


Brian

 

[FastPauly]

The restriction will affect starting the most....the carburetor cannot do its job on delivering enough fuel for a cold start. If measures are taken to force fuel into the cylinder chamber it may start and continue to run....but not to full potential.

If it can't freely move air out....it won't bring the proper air/fuel mix in.

 

[My Hoe]

If you can get to both sides of the crank, make sure you have ZERO RADIAL play in the crank. (Radial as in out in ANY direction that is 90 degrees to the orientation of the crank--not talking about END play here--some of that is okay).

The reason I say to check this is, I have a couple of chainsaws that have shot crank (main) bearings. This allows the cranks to "travel" and erode the seals around the crank.

On a 2-stroke, the crank seals MUST be **** near air-tight, as the incoming charge is typically routed UNDER the piston first, then up through "transfer ports" in the actual SIDEWALLS of the cylinder. The downstroke of the POWER STROKE actually "charges" or pushes the incoming charge into the combustion chamber, ABOVE the piston, via these transfer ports. (It's kind of like that back stairwell in your Grandpa's farmhouse that never got used much...except this is used constantly.)

If the crank seals are leaking, the incoming charge won't be driven up through the transfer ports with enough volume/force/whatever, to allow easy starting.

An old saw of mine, and one of my friend's, both have this problem. They'll start COLD, but not hot, as I guess the worn crank seals are more "cranky" by the time they're hot.

I know cold starting is not working for you either, but just check the crank bearings for "radial play" see.

Let us know?

My Hoe

 

[2manyrocks]

Cleaning a 2 stroke muffler isn't that difficult. You can't tell what's in the baffles inside unless you cut it apart, but you can take the whole thing off, and heat it up with a propane torch--(be sure there's no unburned gas in it first) and carbonize whatever deposits are in it. Then you let it cool and shake out the junk. That should get the muffler free flowing again.

I've got an old echo trimmer with a primer bulb. I never use the primer--just choke it once, and then it starts.