AzRednek Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I have a Ryobi 2-stroke weed eater that has lost it's zip. I had a real mess of high weeds to cut and really put it to work. After it started losing power I did a few things. Everything seemed to help at first but with in a short time it went back to being gutless. First was cleaning out the sponge air filter and it ran good for about 5 minutes. After cleaning the filter I gassed it up. When it started running slow again I noticed gray exhaust smoke and assumed I added to much oil to the fuel mix. I dumped about half the tank and topped it off with straight gas. Took about 90 seconds to stop smoking and it started running strong again but it started dogging down again in a few minutes. Assuming I may have fouled the spark plug from the excessive oil and smoke I replaced it. Ran strong again with the new plug but after apx 5 minutes it got weak. I looked for and couldn't find any adjustment on the carb other than a screw that controls the butter fly and idle speed. The last step was a trip to the gas station, fresh gasoline, re-threaded it with smaller diameter Mono-filament and no help. The motor starts right up but is slow revving up to max or near max. As soon as I cut thick vegetation it bogs down and is real slow revving up. A week ago I spent about 3 hours knocking down 3-4 foot high and thick Dandelions. It cut through them like a hot knife through butter and ran like a charm the entire time. All advice, speculation or even long shot guess work appreciated. The weedeater is a little more than 2 years old. Before firing it up last week it hadn't been used for apx a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojelio Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I had a chainsaw that started doing the same thing after a nephew borrowed it. It would slow down until it died and the piston would be froze. I'd have to take the sparkplug out and pour a little oil in the cylinder to free it up. I got tired of messing with it and just bought a new one. You might PM Weaver. He used to work on small engines as a sideline. He might be able to help you figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiris Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 AZ, if it's not too complicated, remove the muffler and look for a partially clogged exhaust port, and at the same time, check the piston for signs of seizure. That would be vertical striations on the alum piston and rings. Sometimes the rings get stuck in the ring grooves because of a partial seizure. Certainly, it sounds like the engine is ok cold, and is heating up to the point of partial seizure. It may be due to lack of proper oil/fuel mix at one point and subsequent damage done. Unfortunately, if you have piston damage, it will need repair or replacement. Most of the time, it's not worth fixing if you have scored the cylinder. As it's dogging out on you, does it help giving it a tiny bit of choke? Spiris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I have an expensive chainsaw that started doing that after I used it hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted March 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 THX!! everybody, I'm going to try and tear it down tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimro Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 This is a long shot, but replace the fuel hose. Sometimes they get soft and after a few revs the suction causes that hose in the fuel tank to partially collapse, then when you stop it opens back up and allows fuel to flow free until suction gets strong enough to collapse it again... Jimro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted March 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Spiris was right on with the plugged exhaust. I didn't tear it down but shot some PB Blaster into the exhaust port. Let it soak in overnight, fired it up and after sending out a huge cloud of PB Blaster smoke it ran perfectly. Guess I'm going to be a bit more careful on the gas/oil mix in my 2 strokers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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