OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Chainsaws and Concrete Cutters McCulloch Chainsaws McCulloch Eager Beaver Carbie

Hi, Can any one help me with a McCulloch Eager Beaver chainsaw, I cannot find any model or serial numbers on it, probably just not looking in the right place. It would be more then 30 years old and described as a 14 or 15 inch saw.

It's never let me down other then a few small problems (if you shut it off or run out of fuel it gets a vapour lock in the fuel line and won't start for at least 30 minutes, but I need a break any how.) but the last two times I have gone to use it I started before I left, got to the log and it would not start. Brought it home and cleaned the air filter and it started and ran as always, got to the log next day it would not start. Left it for a few weeks and had a look at it yesterday, took the jets out and sprayed a little carbie cleaner through them (it looks like you have to split the outer case to remove the carbie). Saw started first pull, don't remember it ever doing that before, ran reasonably well I warmed it up and adjusted the low and high mixture. Started the saw a couple of times and it ran and idled with rapid acceleration.

Would not start today, pop or fired but would not run.

I am open to suggestions but if anyone has any information about the machine itself or a parts list for the carbie, (that's where I will start) it would be greatly appreciated. With any luck it is a standard Walbro or Tillitson and I can get a kit for it.

Hmmm, you are in trouble as the manufacture that made this chainsaw has been out of business for a long time. It is not the current McCulloch manufacture that brought the namesake which doe not support the older equipment.

It sounds like you have an air leak which probably is a crankshaft seal.

As for the McCulloch used both Walbro and Zama carburetors but I have yet to see one with a Tillotson. Pull the carburetor clean the exterior and look for the carburetor model numbers. The Walbro should the WT series and the Zama the C1U-M series. The first ones in the 80's where Zama that looks fairly strange then in the early 90's they switch to more familiar Walbro and Zama designs. Kits are still available for these but I need carb info to determine which kit you will need.

I had retire both my McCulloch Mac Cat and Wild Cat saws due oil pump failures but I still get McCulloch saws that just need fuel lines and carburetor work. I did a Mac 3516 last week.

I had a McCulloch 484 from the 1980s and it was revealed to be made by an Italian company for McCulloch. Not a McCulloch at all.
It went ok but the chain tensioner screw at the front kept loosening no matter what you did and the bolt retaining the air filter was a bugger to deal with.

Thanks AV and MF, it will be a little bit of work to pull it apart to get at the carbie so I may not get back to you for a few days, (probably be out shopping for a new Husqvarna).

Is there a way I can diagnose the air leak?


The saw seems a bit like myself perfectly ready to go to work until I get there. I always said I didn't mind going to work it was just the eight hours they expected me to hang around before I went home.

Yes. It is a pressure/vac test of the crankcase. This involves blocking off the intake port, exhaust port, and if present the impulse port for the carburetor. You then test though the spark plug hole; unless you have the specialize block off plates that have port for doing this. Here I use hard rubber to cover the intake and exhaust port while tightening down the carburetor and muffler then I use a modified plug adapter in place of the regular plug. Basically it is a hollow out spark plug with fitting for attaching the hose of tester to.

My tester is a MityVac 8500 but any low pressure tester with gauge will work. If pressure leak indicated then soapy water can to determine where the leak is. Note seals can leak both ways or just one way which why you do both the vacuum and pressure tests. On the vacuum test you pull a 0.5 Bar (7.25 psi) vacuum and if it holds a minimum of 0.3 bar (4.3 psi) vacuum then the system is good otherwise you have a leak. It same for pressure as use 0.5 bar (7.25 psi) pressure. If it drops below 0.3 bar (4.3 psi) then you have a leak. Good thing gauges normally have multiple pressure scales as I am use to inches of mercury for vacuum readings.

Plus like any 2 cycle these saws can be troublesome to troubleshoot even they are some simplest designs as everything must be right. But once you get the experience working on them becomes second nature to troubleshoot them as develop a test procedure that works best for you. If you hung up just set it aside until your mind fog clears.

Hopefully I not too confusing on this.

Thanks AVB
Pressure and vacuum testing appears to be a little beyond my ability and tool box. I though I would take a few bits off from it today and see if there are any obvious leaks around the crankshaft seals. Hopping they were pressed on from the outside maybe I could just relace them. I have had this thing apart before (new fuel line) and it is a little challenging getting it back together so I have been dragging my feet a little.


I noticed the spark plug was loose. Tightened it up and the saw ran perfectly. Thinking it must be Christmas I put the bar and chain back on put some oil in and found a log. Saw started but would not run. It ran as though it was flooded initially but just would not clear itself. Full throttle was getting about half revs with a small amount of stuttering. When it got warmed up it would idle.


Back to the shed thinking that a little mixture adjustment would be the answer. Nothing seemed to improve it, and after several adjustments it would no longer start, would fire but would not go. Now it does not even fire. I seem to have lost spark, when I first tested the spark it seemed OK but I thought possibly a little erratic, so I tried it again and now I get nothing.


Certainly gives me a new avenue of possibilities. I will take a few bits off next weekend and hopefully find something simple is wrong with it.

Hi Guys,
It has been awhile as I got distracted with a few other things, finally found the time to pull this apart and discovered that I can be lucky sometimes but generally compensate for that with stupidity. It was missing a mounting bolt which must have rattled out of the bottom at some point. This may of may not have contributed to the problem which was the engine had been rubbing against the shell and worn through the insulation on the kill switch line. That coupled with an accumulation of oil and sawdust allowed it to short out sometimes and not others

Unfortunately I could not help myself and had a little fiddle with the carburettor. I put the motor in the vice and tried to start it with a drill, with no success so I disassembled the top part of the carb and found there was no fuel getting through the main valve. I used up the rest of my can of carbie cleaner trying to clear it then rather foolishly I bent the float valve arm a little bit, which did not help. I pushed a tip cleaner down the float valve seat, probably foolish as well as not helping, eventually a tip cleaner through the feeder hole to the float valve moved some thing. Reassembled it put it in the vise and it started first time and ran but very loud. I fiddled with the mixtures a little bit and although the high one did not seem to make much difference I imagined it was about right. (I was reluctant to try this with any revs as it was pretty noisy)


It only took a day and a bit to put it back together (they must have had some special tools and a jig of some sort at the factory) The missing bolt although 1/4 inch was not UNC or UNF and was not metric either. I tapped one hole (where I can put a nut on the other side if necessary) with a 5M metric tap.


Started it up, and it was necessary to keep working the choke back and forth until it got warmed up and seemed to be running fine, but as soon as you touch the accelerator it dies. I let it warm up and fiddled with the mixture a little bit but keep getting the same result.


I don't know if any of this points to anything specific, the diaphragm was in fairly ordinary condition but I would think it would either work or not work with no in-between.

The carbie is a ZAMA M7 3YB I cannot get anything for it locally but I can get a kit from China (sometime in the new year). The kit does not have the mixture screws or the float valve arm, just the float valve and spring.


The $5.00 investment for the kit is probably worth it but I am not sure about the day to take it apart and put it back together again. (I am assuming It will only take half the time as originally)


Any suggestions are welcome

That would be a Zama M1-M7 carb that used the RB-19 rebuild kit but that Zama OEM kit is no longer available here in the US.

Edit:
Or I should say not at a reasonable cost.

It also you the following chainsaw.

11-600156-02 EAGER BEAVER 2.0AV IPL

I think I might have the ZAMA RB-19 rebuild kit currently not listed.

I have gone ahead and ordered the M1-7 carbie kit from China, it says it is all genuine zama parts but you do not get new mixture screws or the needle valve arm, just the gaskets, needle valve and off all things the pivot arm?

It is not due to arrive until the middle to the end of January, If I don't forget everything I have learned so far I should be able to take it apart and put it back together in one day. You need to remove the coil to get the carbie off so that gives me a little more opportunity to mess things up. I will go with the business card adjustment for the flywheel gap and will try a coal chisel mark before disassembly for the timing. There may not actually be any timing adjustment.


The $99.00 saw from ALDI is looking better all the time.

.I will let you know how it works out.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and assistance.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy Prosperous New Year[/size]

Just an update,
The carbie kit arrived, minus the needle valve, so I put the new gaskets in. I thought rather then reassembling it and discovering I had a problem I would put it in the vice and start it first. Did this last time to set the idle mixture. This time when giving it a few revs to try and set the high mixture the extra torque twisted it out of the vice. Fortunately I was wise enough not to try and stop it as the head would have been pretty hot, and luckily it landed on the spark plug snapping it off so it did not go far.

I looked at various ways of securing it a little better and came to the conclusion that back in the saw housing was probably best. Must have bent the throttle linkage as it was obvious when assembled that it would not go back to idle. Assembled and reassembled about five more times finally getting full movement of the throttle. Started the saw and the throttle linkage popped out of the trigger. Disassembled and epoxy glued the connection closed on the trigger. (it was just a slot or a crook that the linkage fit into) reassembled another two times as the throttle would not go back to idle again. Tested it numerous times tightened everything up and started the saw. The linkage popped out again. Must be the extra vibration when it is running. Thought about it overnight, and next morning with a piece of spring steel wire I made a new linkage. I only needed to reassemble twice to get it just right. Set the mixture and cut some wood. It is very noisy but I can't imagine finding a new exhaust for it. May need to give it to someone who lives out of town. It could also use a new bar and sprocket. That Aldi $99.00 one is looking better all the time.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed.

That why many good saws end up in the parts bin or recycle centers. By the time we put parts in and add our time, end if it is a flat rate, there times it is simply more economical to simply replace it. It is like a handheld blower here I killed off last month. Parts were $25.00 and my labor is $40/hr (charging for one hour only) but a complete new unit is $69. Just not worth my time to taking 2-3 hours to short block it as it is a complete disassembly and rebuild.

I do rebuild the low end stuff for myself as newer equipment junkier than the older equipment but just can't justify it for my customers.

Just remember that Aldi one is probably a Chinese clone at that price considering currency exchange rate which make it around 71 usd.

That why many good saws end up in the parts bin or recycle centers. By the time we put parts in and add our time, end if it is a flat rate, there times it is simply more economical to simply replace it. It is like a handheld blower here I killed off last month. Parts were $25.00 and my labor is $40/hr (charging for one hour only) but a complete new unit is $69. Just not worth my time to taking 2-3 hours to short block it as it is a complete disassembly and rebuild.

I do rebuild the low end stuff for myself as newer equipment junkier than the older equipment but just can't justify it for my customers.

Just remember that Aldi one is probably a Chinese clone at that price considering currency exchange rate which make it around 71 usd.

But anyway glad you were able to get it running. I like older equipment.

A mate of mine bought one of those Aldi chainsaws about a year ago and he seems happy with it. He only has wood heating and lives out of Ballarat and that is a cold place in winter. Admittedly he has other saws so this is only a backup one but so far so good

Thanks Norm and AVB, I think if I was in the USA I would probably buy a small Husqvarna for about USD 150.00 over the cheap Chinese one, well worth double the price but here for various reasons the difference is 3.5 times ($350.00 but it does come with a 5 year warranty).
Sometimes the Chinese stuff is identical to the Homelite, Ryobie Craftsmen and probably the Aldi and several other home brands. They are willing to put on it what ever you want and often it is just as good or just as bad but there is no way of knowing which until you buy them. It is unfortunate that we are finding some brand name companies lending their name to lower quality products. On my other post with the reel mower there is a comment about someone's Stanley branded multi metre.

At the same time it is hard to blame them as they are loosing market share to the cheap stuff, (which is often good enough for the home handyman) meaning their sales volumes are down with no option but to increase their prices to maintain viability. It seems cheap tools are getting cheaper and good ones are getting more expensive. If you are going to use them to try and make a living the better ones are by far the best value.

That bloody Stanley multi meter - the one time I spent a bit more (than a $18 cheap one) and got something of a good name is the time the thing craps out. The $35 18v drill, $20 angle grinders and jigsaw cutters from kmart (admittedly not precision instruments) last year upon year though (touch wood).

For anyone thinking about buying this or this, don't waste your time or money.

I usually buy from companies that only make multimeters and other testers of course not directly. I got to admit though I had a few el cheapo over the years. Most are just that. Before I got my current meter I had a Beckman for 15 yrs. One day for it just fail to work. I don't know if it was the fact I ran over it with a heavy truck had anything to do with it. My Tenma meter was over 100 usd and has been problem free. Now of course I can get one now for 90 usd that is a 6000 count instead 4000 count but as long as the current one works I just wait. I did need to a 400 amp clamp to the setup as I do measure currents in the 200 amp range here.

I still however like the non auto ranging meters both digital and analog. The analog ones are still very useful intermittent problems.

Mine biggest problems with the newer meters is the auto ranging and the lousy leads that I end up upgrading to better leads. Boy I miss our local electronics parts stores. I have to order everything in electronics parts now out of Texas.

I am just going to grab one of these and see how it goes.

As a mate pointed out to me - these are what you find in just about every high school technology/physics classroom. The meters get absolutely thrashed from day dot, yet schools get a couple of years out of them.

For $10 (paired with my little use of a meter) it's worth a shot