This saw belongs to a mason, it was covered in concrete dust, and all i was told was it wouldnt start. It's an Echo, a brand I have little experience with, especilally their cut off saws, and first impressions didn't win me over. Compared to a Stihl its apples to oranges, the quality just isn't the same, very plastic-y. Anyway, checked all the basics, could tell it wasn't pulling in fuel, and it wouldn't pop or fire off with mix in the sparkplug hole. Pulled it over a few times and it felt weak, like the compression wasn't there. Threw the compression gauge on it, and it had a whopping 30 PSI. Removed the cylinder head and found the problem.
Large portion of the piston is scored really deeply on the exhaust side. I'm thinking it was run lean, with not enough 2 cycle mix in the fuel, or maybe none at all? Either way it's toasted. Not sure if the owner is going to want to repair it, or scrap it. At this point I don't think it's worth repairing, just cut your losses and move on...to a Stihl.
