# how do i date a stihl chainsaw?



## stihldrivinman (Jun 10, 2013)

i just went to stihls website and looked under frequently asked questions and one guy asked how can i tell when my stihl chainsaw was made? the only explanation was stihl does not encorporate production dates into our serial numbers. so does anyone know of anyway to tell the exact year that a stihl chainsaw was made?


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## RiverRocket (Jun 10, 2013)

The only way is to take the serial number to your dealer...They can tell you....Usually..
They'll look to see when it was registered (Not necessarily when it was made/ just when it was registered)


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## mattthompson (Jun 10, 2013)

You buy some flowers and some nice wine.


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## RiverRocket (Jun 10, 2013)

No kissing on the first date...These are classy saws :msp_biggrin:


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## nmorton (Jun 10, 2013)

mattthompson said:


> You buy some flowers and some nice wine.



Took me a second on that one. 
:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


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## H 2 H (Jun 10, 2013)

You can also email in the serial # to Stihl - Technical Support 

I have done this several times and it took about 3 working days


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## jus2fat (Jun 10, 2013)

This question has been asked sooooo many times..

I just don't get it unless..it's a real antique or something
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Maybe a dealer will see who the warranty was issued to....but they're under NO obligation to do so.

Bottom line..(unless antique) what difference does it make..?? - - it's now yours..!!

If it is a transition saw..I can get that..need to know approximate manufacturing date.

Any good dealer should understand and do a "warranty date" check which will put you in the ballpark.

For just "recreational" curiosity..sort of a waste..can't change anything..and it makes no matter generally

because if even you know sale date..you still don't know manufacturing date like you can with Husky.

Some saws sit on a shelf for years...example here...066 dealer sold at cost after 2 years....NO buyers..!!
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You can ask your Stihl dealer to 'run' the serial number...maybe he will...maybe he won't.

J2F


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## Stihl-man (Apr 22, 2014)

Well, for one reason, I would like to know what year my used 025's are so I know what size the piston is, because I understand that they changed the bore from 42mm to 42.5mm at some point.


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## nmurph (Apr 22, 2014)

For 025's before S/N X162 154 676, use the 42mm where the X stands for the country of manufacture (Germany, US, Brazil).


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## zogger (Apr 22, 2014)

Kevlar Kondoms


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## Stihl-man (Apr 22, 2014)

nmurph said:


> For 025's before S/N X162 154 676, use the 42mm where the X stands for the country of manufacture (Germany, US, Brazil).



Many thanks, nmurph!


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## tree monkey (Apr 22, 2014)

promise big wood, should be a sure thing


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## audible fart (Apr 23, 2014)

mattthompson said:


> You buy some flowers and some nice wine.


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## milkman (Apr 24, 2014)

RiverRocket said:


> No kissing on the first date...These are classy saws :msp_biggrin:



Oh come on, everybody knows they put out...


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## Stihl-man (May 6, 2014)

nmurph said:


> For 025's before S/N X162 154 676, use the 42mm where the X stands for the country of manufacture (Germany, US, Brazil).



nmurph, if you see this, I have one more question. Is the "x" in your example a tenth digit, or did you mean it to indicate the "1" in "162" in that serial #? My serial is 226 097 357, which would be after 162 154 676, but if you meant a tenth digit, mine would be before 2162 154 676 (if your above example were say made in the US and the "x" was a "2"). Am I being as clear as mud?

I need to order a piston, is why I am so interested. I don't have a micrometer to measure the old one. Thank you!


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## jus2fat (May 6, 2014)

nmurph put the "x" there because there is a number there that indicates the country the saw was made in.

You don't need to use the serial number to order parts for a saw..just the model number..hope this answers your question.

J2F


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## nmurph (May 6, 2014)

jus2fat said:


> nmurph put the "x" there because there is a number there that indicates the country the saw was made in.
> 
> You don't need to use the serial number to order parts for a saw..just the model number..hope this answers your question.
> 
> J2F


 
Yes, and no.

You are correct about the meaning of the X, but the SN dictates whether or not that saw has a 42 or 42.5mm bore.


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## Stihl-man (May 6, 2014)

nmurph, did you see my new question above "jus2fat"s post, please


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## AKDoug (May 6, 2014)

Stihl-man said:


> nmurph, did you see my new question above "jus2fat"s post, please


Your serial number is simply 226097357 which is an FS55 registered in May of 2004. The difficulty comes in that there are two engines for that same model number. I dug around and cannot find serial number ranges for them. I haven't serviced one, so I cannot help figure it out.


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## Kfd518 (May 6, 2014)

Many times you can look at the little plastic piece molding marks, many times there is a date stamp month and year molded in. Not sure fire but if you have several parts with close dates it gets you in the ball park. Mag parts have them many times too on older saws.

Edit: only my experience so far which is limited. Won't help with part numbers though.


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## Stihl-man (May 6, 2014)

I will try to summarize for clarification.

- Stihl 025 models were produced with two different cylinder bores = 42mm in earlier models and 42.5mm in later models.
- nmurph kindly informed me that 025 serial #'s before "X162 154 676" were 42mm, after "X162 154 676" were 42.5mm.
- my confusion = does the "x" represent another digit = a ten digit serial #? If so, my number would be earlier rather than later.

I don't care what year it was made, I need to know what size piston to order based on which model I have, which can be determined by the serial number.


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## AKDoug (May 6, 2014)

I'm not sure what nmurph meant by the X, but any 025 is going to have a 9 digit serial number. nmurph has access different information then what I have because the piston change serial number is not listed in the technical information I have.


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## Stihl-man (May 6, 2014)

Thank you AKDoug, that is exactly what I was asking. So, if all 025's have 9-digit serial#s, that would make my serial# come AFTER "162 154 676", which means that I have the 42.5mm bore! Many thanks!


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## Eddy_t (May 7, 2014)

Kfd518 said:


> Many times you can look at the little plastic piece molding marks, many times there is a date stamp month and year molded in. Not sure fire but if you have several parts with close dates it gets you in the ball park. Mag parts have them many times too on older saws.
> 
> Edit: only my experience so far which is limited. Won't help with part numbers though.


The 1106 series saw dates can be found on the muffler
1111 saws are dated by the flywheel, PITA to find!
Easy answer, buy husky, you can find out the week it was assembled then!


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## Eddy_t (May 7, 2014)

Stihl-man said:


> I will try to summarize for clarification.
> 
> - Stihl 025 models were produced with two different cylinder bores = 42mm in earlier models and 42.5mm in later models.
> - nmurph kindly informed me that 025 serial #'s before "X162 154 676" were 42mm, after "X162 154 676" were 42.5mm.
> ...


The first digit of the 10 numbers represents where it was made, if it starts with 1 it's German, so disregard the first number and use the next 9
So if your saw is #1234567890 and the stihl technical bulletin reads that all saws after X234567889 are gutless turds, all saws ending with the last 9 numbers are that, regardless if it's 2234567890, 3234567890, etc. but saws 223456788 or 3234567777 are good


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## glock37 (May 7, 2014)

If its 2008 and Some back too 2003 and Newer the Media cat will look up saws by Serial number and tell ya whats in it !


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## jus2fat (May 7, 2014)

OK...you want / need to order a new piston. Break the saw down..take piston to Stihl dealer..have him measure it and order appropriate size piston.

You're gonna have to break it down anyway to install it...you could have had all this done in less time than questioning the freaking serial number.

Clowns to the left of me...Jokers to the right...here I am...Stuck in the middle with you.

J2F


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## AKDoug (May 8, 2014)

Eddy_t said:


> The first digit of the 10 numbers represents where it was made, if it starts with 1 it's German, so disregard the first number and use the next 9
> So if your saw is #1234567890 and the stihl technical bulletin reads that all saws after X234567889 are gutless turds, all saws ending with the last 9 numbers are that, regardless if it's 2234567890, 3234567890, etc. but saws 223456788 or 3234567777 are good


 No. They are only 9 digits long, the first digit of the 9 digits is the country code.


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## Stihl-man (May 8, 2014)

jus2fat said:


> OK...you want / need to order a new piston. Break the saw down..take piston to Stihl dealer..have him measure it and order appropriate size piston.
> 
> You're gonna have to break it down anyway to install it...you could have had all this done in less time than questioning the freaking serial number.
> 
> ...



It's AssHats like you that keep those of us with less experience from asking what you consider dumb questions on these forums. Excuse me, and other newbies, from cluttering your forums with "clown" questions. I was trying to learn something here from the experienced saw men/women.

Who said I haven't already torn down the saw?

Who said I live anywhere near a Stihl dealer?
Who said I was retired and have all the time in the world to sit around and play with saws?
Just because we are not all professional saw men and have all the fancy tools like micrometers and left-handed spark plug benders, etc., does that mean that an average-joe homeowner can't take on a project of fixing up a saw for the fun of it?
Like I said, I was just looking to learn something. I thought this was a newbie friendly forum, but I guess I was wrong.


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## SawTroll (May 8, 2014)

nmurph said:


> For 025's before S/N X162 154 676, use the 42mm where the X stands for the country of manufacture (Germany, US, Brazil).



Yes, and such "cut-off" numbers usually are listed in the IPLs (only the ones issued after the change of course).


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## SawTroll (May 8, 2014)

Nation codes etc;


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## jus2fat (May 8, 2014)

Stihl-man said:


> I was trying to learn something here from the experienced saw men/women.
> 
> Who said I haven't already torn down the saw?View attachment 349194
> 
> ...


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OK...if you don't have a Stihl dealer near you...then take it to a machine shop or an auto parts store or a hardware store...etc. for measurement.

You surely must have someplace near you that could measure that piston for you..?? - Sooo just go do it and order the freaking piston..!!

You're making something that is easy into something hard...or you're just messing with the members...or you're just a bit of a "numb-nuts"..??..

This is a very newbie friendly forum and I help many newbies...but I admit that my patience can run thin when an obvious solution is not seen or ignored

J2F


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## Eddy_t (May 10, 2014)

Stihl-man said:


> It's AssHats like you that keep those of us with less experience from asking what you consider dumb questions on these forums. Excuse me, and other newbies, from cluttering your forums with "clown" questions. I was trying to learn something here from the experienced saw men/women.
> 
> Who said I haven't already torn down the saw?View attachment 349194
> 
> ...


Get some callipers and measure the piston pin, you'll be able to find what you want on eBay


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## mike047 (May 10, 2014)

You can measure a half millimeter with a scale/ruler, you don't need calipers.


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## noooool (Aug 11, 2014)

Stihl-man - I know I have arrived late as usual to this but just a quick note to maybe help answer your question.

All Stihl serial numbers for the past lots of years have all been nine digits total length, so as other have said, the first of those nine digits is the "country code".
So your serial number of "226097357" would mean it was made in the US (1=Germany 2=US 3=Brazil 4=Austria 8=China 9=Hungary) made before the number that nmurph quoted.
(X26 097 357 < X62 154 676)
So if I was ordering parts for that, I would go to the older 42mm edition.
I could not find *any* Stihl Tech Document here in Australia that designates the changeover number so I cannot confirm it other than lending you some calipers!


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