Hey folks, this is my first post and hopefully someone can help me out. I am 34 and not very familiar with engine repair of any kind. However, I am very mechanically inclined and can pretty much disassemble, repair, and correctly reassemble anything I put my mind to.
Now for the problem. I have recently purchased a Poulan Pro 131 31cc heavy duty straight shaft trimmer from Goodwill for the very high price of $12.99, I figured at that price why not take a chance, what could it hurt. After getting it home and looking at it I saw that the fuel lines were done for. I replaced them with a kit from Lowes. The trimmer started right up. I stopped it and restarted it right away with no problems. I stopped it again and let it sit for a few minutes while I cleaned up the head. Tried to restart it...no go. I double checked to make sure the fuel lines weren't kinked and they were fine. I delved further into the engine, foreign territory. I paid very close attention to how things went and snapped pictures along the way.The carb looked clean but I took it apart to clean it anyway. It was spotless in every way, the diaphragms even looked new and flexed just fine. I delved further, the spark plug had a little buildup on it but sparked fine. The cam and piston moved freely and the piston was clean. The cylinder was spotless, no scratches to be seen, though I didn't disassemble any further on that part. The muffler was clean with no buildup whatsoever. There is no spark arrestor screen over the spark plug, but there is a screen in the muffler that I assume acted in the same way, it had no buildup either. Pretty much everything looked practically new. I reassembled everything correctly according to my memory and the pictures I took. The engine will start right up when it is cold, however, if I stop it for any reason, it will NOT restart until the engine is cold again, usually an hour later. I have fiddled with the two screws on the carb while it was running in order to get the idle smooth and the acceleration (right word?) smooth. Now, the fuel/oil mix is just barely oil rich, I mixed 4 ounces of oil into 1.25 gallons of new, clean gas, trying for a 40:1 mix like the trimmer stated.
Now, like I said, the engine starts fine when cold, but will not restart when hot. I only have 30 bucks invested in this thing, but I really want to get it running. I can't afford a new trimmer and I hate my dad's battery powered Black and Decker. With all of the above in consideration, what else can I do, or needs to be done, to get this thing running?
Now for the problem. I have recently purchased a Poulan Pro 131 31cc heavy duty straight shaft trimmer from Goodwill for the very high price of $12.99, I figured at that price why not take a chance, what could it hurt. After getting it home and looking at it I saw that the fuel lines were done for. I replaced them with a kit from Lowes. The trimmer started right up. I stopped it and restarted it right away with no problems. I stopped it again and let it sit for a few minutes while I cleaned up the head. Tried to restart it...no go. I double checked to make sure the fuel lines weren't kinked and they were fine. I delved further into the engine, foreign territory. I paid very close attention to how things went and snapped pictures along the way.The carb looked clean but I took it apart to clean it anyway. It was spotless in every way, the diaphragms even looked new and flexed just fine. I delved further, the spark plug had a little buildup on it but sparked fine. The cam and piston moved freely and the piston was clean. The cylinder was spotless, no scratches to be seen, though I didn't disassemble any further on that part. The muffler was clean with no buildup whatsoever. There is no spark arrestor screen over the spark plug, but there is a screen in the muffler that I assume acted in the same way, it had no buildup either. Pretty much everything looked practically new. I reassembled everything correctly according to my memory and the pictures I took. The engine will start right up when it is cold, however, if I stop it for any reason, it will NOT restart until the engine is cold again, usually an hour later. I have fiddled with the two screws on the carb while it was running in order to get the idle smooth and the acceleration (right word?) smooth. Now, the fuel/oil mix is just barely oil rich, I mixed 4 ounces of oil into 1.25 gallons of new, clean gas, trying for a 40:1 mix like the trimmer stated.
Now, like I said, the engine starts fine when cold, but will not restart when hot. I only have 30 bucks invested in this thing, but I really want to get it running. I can't afford a new trimmer and I hate my dad's battery powered Black and Decker. With all of the above in consideration, what else can I do, or needs to be done, to get this thing running?
