Sears Craftsman 42cc chain saw

Leaks oil badly. Ran good once. SENT IT IN FOR SERVICE UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. Warranty is now off. It won't run for long enough to cut anything. It stalls repeatedly. Complete waste of money. Shame on Sears for taking my hard earned money for this piece of junk.

I bought this 18" 42cc 2-Cycle saw with the SimPul feature in Aug 2007. I have had 2 main problems, first with the SimPul and hard starting. They came up with the SimPul to make it easier to crank. But this design is severely flawed. It contains an additional spring which gets distorted, causing the cord not to rewind. I took it back while still under warranty and Sears fixed it free. But the same thing happened again out of warranty. So I took it apart and studied it, compared it to another saw as to how the pull cord mechanism is supposed to work, and then solved this problem permanently with a tube of 2 part Epoxy from WalMart for $3.00. The other problem is that this saw has been always hard to start, even folowing the starting procedure to the letter. Sometimes you just get worn out just to get it started. Once it starts and runs I try to get all cutting completed because restarting the warm saw is challenging. My buddy has an Echo from HomeDepot which starts very easily when hot on the first pull. If I were to do it all over again I would spend the money and get a Stihl.

This is my third craftsman saw.In reality one saw replaced by Sears three times.The first one would not keep bar oil in the resvoir.The second and third will not keep the chain tight on the bar no mater how tight the bar clamp is tightened.

Have been useing chain saws for the past forty years.Stay away from Sears saws!

I bought my saw new and made a mistake. I let is set for a year --- warranty ran out -- before using it. I have replaced two pistons and cylinders plus another piston ring. It becomes impossible to start because there is very little compression. I think the design is not compatible with the gas pump fuels these days. I bought another brand to replace it and have not had a single problem theirs and the gas pump fuel.

I have had one and had no problems. A few things to keep in mind with equipment like this especially when it isn't used on a regular basis. It's real easy to blame the equipment or manufacturer. But for the guys that have the notion, "I have been using the same fuel and mixing my own fuel for as long as I can remember," they've only just started putting ethanol in the fuel recently. The ethanol absorbs the moisture in the air and the longer it sits the more water you will be running through the engine. I use pre-mixed fuel-no ethanol, no hassle and it has a longer shelf life. Speaking of no hassle, that little bottle is only to be mixed with EXACTLY 1 gal. of gas-very hard to do since the little red tank can hold 1.3. Too much gas burns too rich for the 2 cycle engines and causes damage to it. As far as the chain oil: loosen the cap right after use to release the pressure and oil will not be forced out. The heat from use builds up the pressure. Ethanol, bad,very bad - for lawn equipment.

I cut firewood for a business and also I heat with a big wood furnace so it takes alot of wood. My chainsaw is a craftsman saw which I bought used. I have had absolutly no problems with this saw.Most people have a problem with not putting enough oil with the gas, and they burn out a piston.8oz of oil to one gallon of gas.I have cut firewood with it for 9 years now,no new parts put in except a sparkplug.I have cut all hardwoods many many cords and still runs like new

I purchased a brand new craftsman 18" 42cc chain saw, chain will not stay on no matter how well it is adjusted, the chain will not stay on more than 2 minutes, ruined chain and sprocket, could not get any help from service center.

This thing sucks, first the bar was the wrong size and would jam after cuting only inches. Then when that was fixed the whole thing started to break. it would jam and stop suddenly and i had to disassemble the whole thing and put it back again to fix it. After cutting 2 14" pine this thing was totally done now it can't even start right. Oh almost forgot the gas cap is impossible to unscrew with out a wrench. buy a still or at least from a company that would stand by there product

This sear craftsman saw didn't last long enough for me to cut 2 chord of wood.

It's the worse saw I've ever had ( I've had 5) and the service backup for warranty is non existant. The paint was still on the chain-bar and the muffler still shiny but no warranty available.

The saw didn't feel properly balanced and it was too hard to start. The craftsman name was an incentive for me to buy ,but never again. A totally unsatisfying experience.

Used a Sears Craftsman 42cc chain saw for years ... no prob ... cuts better than some high-end saws ... starts every time second or third pull (choke the first pull only) ... I give it a ten rating because it is what it is, a consumer, chainsaw for non-commercial use and it functions great. I have a feeling most negative ratings are coming from people who don't know how to use a saw. I like the semi-chisel chain. As long as I keep it out of the dirt, it will cut for days with no sharpening.