Excess compression Stihl 041?

[msjanket]

A friend has an 041 and the starter cord comes out about a foot before it binds severely. Powerful men have not been able to pull it out farther.
On examination, there is no obvious cause for this. Take out the plug and it pulls more normally, but still somewhat more difficult.
Does it have a sheared flywheel key? He hasn't looked at this possibility. Is it out of time as a result of this?

Hope to hear from you,

Mike

 

[Dan Forsh]

Bar oil seeping into the crankcase?

Tip it upside down and see what comes out of the spark plug hole.

 

[Sethro]

Just a question,when has the saw been run last?

 

[msjanket]

041 distress

The saw was last run about 4 weeks ago. There does not seem to be any oil where it shouldn't be. It took a stern effort to start the saw at that time 4 weeks ago but once it was going, it appeared to be OK. Now, it's durn near impossible to even pull the cord far enough out.

Mike

 

[Sethro]

Well I don't thinks its a flywheel issue. Take the recoil assembly of and pull it,if thats ok. Then the the piston and cylinder have became one.

 

[grossm]

Ok,
I know this sounds really stupid, but it has happened...
Have you changed the plug recently? Sometimes people will put a plug in that is a touch too long...resulting in contact between the spark plug and piston. It would explain why you can pull it over with the plug out. Just a thought.

 

[Scooterbum]

Pull the muffler and look for excessive carbon buildup.

 

[Pollock777]

041av

I have a 041av and had this same problem. I sent the saw to the stihl dealer and had some work done it ran when I dropped it off. They couldn't get it running after they did the work. They didn't charge me because they couldn't get it to turn over. Took it home and pulled the plug and cleaned the cylinder out with reg. gas put the plug in and pulled it over a few times and it started ,smoked for awhile then cleared up adjusted the carb and runs great.

 

[Kenskip1]

Hard to pull 041

I own the same saw. Mine has had this happen. Nothing to worry about. Here is my take on the situation.Seeing as the carb is above the cylinder at times gas may flow down inside the cylinder. As you are aware gas will evaporate but the oil will not.It sounds to me as if this has happened to you.Oil will not compress and this is the cause of your query.Simply pull it over a few times and the oil will work it's way out the exhaust port. I would NOT pull the muffler as this can be a job on this saw. The next time you start it, take notice how much smoke comes from the exhaust. Question? What is your oil ratio? What brand of oil are you using? I have been using 40/1 amsoil and have not had this happen in over two years.This is a good old saw. Take care of it and it will take care of you, Ken

 

[turnkey4099]

Just a quick note: Not likely to be the timing. If it was timing, you would have no problem pulling it over with the switch off.

Harry K

 

[Lakeside53]

Take out the plug. If it turns over, swish some gas mix around in the cylinder/crankcase and pour it out. If it works, then you have a bar oil leak into the crank case. Usually it's just the grommet around the oil pump. Easy fix.

 

[andrethegiant70]

Great advice here.... I had the 'bar oil in the crankcase/cylinder" thing happen on my 041. If the leak is not too bad you can get away with dumping the bar oil prior to storage and/or storing the saw upended (bar down). I didn't want to disassemble the saw with the firewood season coming to a close. It gave me fits until I figured out the problem.... same symptoms as yours!