# Poulan Pro Help



## nealtex (Aug 22, 2005)

I have a Poulan Pro blower 45 days old. It has been used 3-4 times by the guys who help me with my yard.

The blower quit starting. There is no resistance when the starter cord is pulled.

I took it to an authorized service provider and received a message that the cylinder was scored and they said the reason was using improper gas.
They would not repair and I should take it up with Poulan.

My questions are:

Is this scenario plausable. I was not in a position to oversee refueling. I provided the proper mixture but someone could have put in the wrong gas. Would the machine be ruined that quickly?

Is there any point in calling Poulan? 

Should I even go get the thing? It is 14 miles away and if there is no chance of warranty repair there is probably no point in retrieving it since extensive repair of a $99 unit makes little sense.

Thanks for any help. The model is PBV200.


----------



## bbnissan (Nov 7, 2004)

I hate to say it, but the Poulan Pro blowers are bad about burning up if you are not running a perfect 40:1 mixture. This is mainly due to the fact that they are tuned from the factory to run a little bit on the lean side so they can meet emission requirements. In my experience, it usually takes a good solid season of use to burn one up with a slightly lean mix. Since you said the engine pulls over with hardly any resistance, I would have to say that the engine was probably ran on straight gasoline. If this is the case, the repair would not be covered under warranty and it definately would not be worth fixing. In my opinion it would be best to bite the bullet and buy a new unit.


----------



## mikemerritt (Dec 6, 2004)

I usually like what I see from Poulan but something about these blowers isn't right. I'll bet I have 10 at the shop that have poor or no compression. I find it hard to believe that the scoring was lean or raw fuel in every case. At least one came in for a second opinion from a dealer that said ....raw gas, cylinder scoring....no warranty. This one was my cousin in laws and I know for a fact that he never ran raw gas in it. It just could not have happened. I bought a Poulan trimmer branded as a Craftsman last spring....it didn't last the summer...I mean last summer. Scoring and poor compression. I know for a fact this trimmer never was run lean. 

I thought I would share some solid facts about these machines as I have seen it over the last year. I doubt it will help you but you are not alone in getting the shaft from a company that used to turn out some good tools.

BTW.....The blowers that I have in the bone yard now were left because they didn't want to pay the 15.00 fee for checking them out. 

Mike


----------



## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

yeah, same here, bite the bullet, but don't try the same one..... what i like to do, is mix it slightly more then 40:1. i do have a featherlite....... i abuse the heck outta it and it won't die....its 5 years old though...... but they seem to be making them worse and worse these days. i see much older models still running today.....,, oh and the only reason why i have that trimmer, 25 bucks for a barely used trimmer, is a darn good deal....... also another thing, use a oil made for air cooled 2 cycles... poulan does sell their own. but their is oil mix made for water cooled engines that some may mistake for air cooled use...


----------



## hankster (Jan 1, 1998)

Ha... Poulan blowers... don't get me started. I would say we see at least 50 a week that need rebuilding and during the upcoming "fall" season we'll be rebuilding at least 200 per week. Last fall season we went through over 1000 piston and cylinders. We now have over 400 piston/cylinders in stock waiting for the fall season to began.

Thier problems are numerous. Main problem now being as bbnissan said the carbs being set too lean. Over the past couple years they have had problems such as ring grooves too tight causing the ring to hang in the groove and an improperly designed case causing overheating.

This isn't counting the cylinder bolts that never got torqued to specs or the muffler bolt that would break (or were not torqued properly), the carbs that would come loose (stripped carb adaptors) or loose impeller nuts causing the flywheel key to shear.

If you would have bought it at Sears, we would have covered it under warranty.


----------



## nealtex (Aug 22, 2005)

Thanks for the input. 

I will probably bite the bullet on this. At least I'll write Poulan a letter.

A couple more questions:

Any suggestions for a blower under $150. Who is the best retailer to use? (Sears sounds good)

Also-if I just mix up a big can of two cycle gas, can this be used safely in a lawn mower? I'm trying to avoid the problem of having two cans where a guy can make another mistake.

Thanks.


----------



## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

ok, sears rebadges poulan engines, and sells em as craftsmans..... though they have a darn good warranty. you might want to look into something else if you can find it. also i'd buy a one gallon can, and keep some 40:1 mix for just that can, the other can, for the mower's if they are not 2 cycle mowers, keep the gas for them seperate just regular gas, no mix, if they are 4 cycles. they cannot use oil/gas mix. one good thing to do, write on that can. what its purpose is, but by having a small can for the blower, its pretty hard to mistake a 5 gallon or so can for it......but do label em good if someone else is using it.


----------



## hankster (Jan 1, 1998)

I'm not saying Sears is better (they are just rebadged Poulan and MTD brands) but that their warranty will be better then if you bought it at Lowes or Home Depot. Lowes and HD use the manufacturer warranty which is it is only covered if it is a manufacturers defect. Sears branded products are all self warranted (Sears buys them with no warranty from the manufacturer, they do the warranty work) so they are more loose (for the most part) when covering items.

Stay away from the new MTD made blowers too. They use an engine originally designed by Ryobi. The new models have been a nightmare. Besides the flywheel keys shearing, I don't know what the hell they did to the engines this year but they run rough as a corn cob!

While not a secret, it is not generally known that Lowes uses a company called A&E for repairs. Sears owns A&E and we repair them in the same shop as Sears branded products.

I really don't think you are going to find a good blower for under $150. If you can swing 2 bills I would look at a Husky or Echo... I believe you can get them for that price. But since Husky has been bought by Electrolux (also owns Poulan and Jonsered) I have noticed the quality of Husky line trimmers have gone down with the newest models... haven't seen any new models of their blowers so they may be the same as in privous years. The upside is that repair parts are a lot less expensive for the newer models.


----------



## mikemerritt (Dec 6, 2004)

You might try a Stihl dealer for a blower. Stihl seems to be trieing to hang in there with some lower end tools that are priced right. I got an FS45 curved shaft trimmer for 129.00 and tax the other day, not a sale price. It has a full crank etc. which is hard to believe for the money. 

Heed the Hanksters advice on the MTD blower, they have rehashed that sorry little Ryobi/Ryan/IDC engine for far to long. The engine never was any good. 

Mike


----------



## greyheadedguy (Feb 17, 2006)

I hate to ask stupid questions, but what is a MTD Blower? Under whose names are they sold?


----------



## bugman (Aug 12, 2004)

(Modern Tool and Die Company) thats the companys name, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTD_Products this about covers what they own and have made for.

http://www.mtdproducts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/corporate/index.jsp (website of mtd)


----------



## tbound (Jan 17, 2008)

*Poulan blower repaired successfully*

My neighbor put his Poulan PVB200 out for the trash. It looked like new, so I brought it over to see if could fix it.
Tried cleaning the carb, etc. with no luck. Looked like I was getting a spark, but it wasn't as strong as it should have been in my opinion.
I read other sites noting that the 2 head bolts frequently work loose on these engines, resulting in lost compression and failure to start properly.
So I split the housing, and found both head bolts loose. Tightened those with a standard hex key wrench. While I was it, I cleaned some oily residue and leaves out of the magneto housing. Put it all back together and it starts on the first pull now.
The loose head bolts can result in a totally wrong fuel mixture on a 2 stroke, and that may have been the problem. Or possibly the oil and leaves were shorting out the magneto. Either way, it runs perfectly now, and I returned it to my neighbor before he went out an bought a new one. 
If you have a Poulan or a Craftsman that won't start, check out these fixes. I think you'll solve your problems and have a like new blower again.
Good luck!!


----------



## SqdLeader (Jun 22, 2009)

*Another Poulan Pro Problem. (Sorry Guys)*

My Poulan Pro BVM200VS 25cc Gas Blower Wont start. the start chord wont buge. was useing it then the it shut itself off. kinda like it stalled maybe. when i tryed to start it by pulling the starter chorde it wouldnt move an inch

from what ive read.. these things are nothing but trouble. but i really want to fix it instead of spending more money on sumthin that'll just break down later too


----------



## hankster (Jan 1, 1998)

Sounds like the engine seized. Pull the muffler and see if you can see any scoring. A new piston and cylinder will run about $55.


----------



## Deathrite (May 21, 2009)

on the question of a good blower for around $150, Redmax has a blower for around that price. we have one in stock at $159.99 and it is a very good blower. had to replace the recoil housing on one (the owner left it out in the rain constantly and rusted the spring till it broke) and when testing it the thing nearly ran off at full throttle.  

agree about MTD


----------



## thedunker (Sep 11, 2009)

*PoulanPro PBV200LE*

I have 4 now, all with the same symptoms. I have spark, engine turns over, sprayed starter fluid into cylinder, installed plug, no fire/joy. Compression seems weak. Might need reringed? Or crankcase gasket, or ???

Any guidance appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## hankster (Jan 1, 1998)

What is the compression? Pull the muffler and look for scored piston/cylinder.


----------



## runrunsupreza (Oct 27, 2009)

*compression fix*

thanks to tbound for suggesting checking the head bolts. my poulan pro blower wouldn't start, and there was very little compression when pulling the starter. sure enough, one of the head bolts was very loose, and after torquing it and checking the other, the engine started easily. hardest part of the job was splitting the plastic cases (just make sure to remove all of the torx head screws holding the case halves together, especially the "hidden" ones). fyi, the head bolts (hex head) are accessible only with a long allen wrench.


----------



## brzeees (Oct 30, 2009)

*Poulan Leaf Blower - Tighten Hex Bolts Fix. Now Starts*

Tried the hex bolt tightening as suggested by tbound (01-17-2008, 01:23 PM) for my leaf blower that would not start. 
Worked wonderfully!
My leaf blower is now back in business.
THANKS.


----------



## JeffSki (Nov 17, 2009)

Does anyone know what the engine compression should be on these poulan pro blowers? Mine is at about 80 psi. thanks


----------



## hankster (Jan 1, 1998)

90+ psi.


----------



## JeffSki (Nov 17, 2009)

Hmmmm. My blower will not fire at all, not even a cough.

It has 80psi after cranking 6-8 pulls.
It has spark, and the timing seems correct (pick-up and mag line up just before tdc).
It has fuel/oil, and still doesn't do anything when dripping gas directly into the carb.
The cly bolts weren't loose.


----------



## hankster (Jan 1, 1998)

Needs 90psi compression minimum


----------

