Help with saws?

[Pilgrim Soldier]

Hello all, I have 2 older Stihl saws, an 018 and a 028WB. Neither runs well and our local small town hardware store who has always serviced them has told me that the carbs are bad on both and they don't recommend repair at this point as both saws are over 30 years old. I'm very happy with both when they run well, which they have mostly done while I've owned them. I've had the 018 for about 7 years and the 028 for about 5 years. I have 115 acres of trails to maintain and fire wood to cut for our own use. Since both saws are idle right now I just bought an almost new Stihl MS271, with less than a gallon of gas through it, (i was lead to believe, and I do believe it).
How can I get the other 2 saws in running order? Do you all recommend a specific carb? And then of course I don't know how to tune it. I can replace parts but I don't know how to and don't do any "service" maintenance on these.

Thank you!

 

[Johnwell]

I would try to find a carb rebuild kit, replace that and the fuel lines and see if that fixes it. Usually the rubber bits in the carb degrade and cause issues. Carb kits are pretty cheap.

If you need to replace the whole carb (I kinda doubt you do on both saws; seems unlikely) I’d try to find an OEM replacement.

I’m sure the local hardware store sells new saws and is hoping you will upgrade.

 

[Michael E]

Your local store is right: You spend the money on the carb, then the 30 year old fuel line breaks next. Then the impulse line (028). Then the crank seals. Etc... Replacing every rubber part at once is costly and still leaves you with the 30 year old mechanical parts like bearings and electrical parts like coils. If you use OEM parts and pay somebody to diagnose and do the work, it doesn't make any economical sense.

If you like to get into the maintenance yourself, it's a very different matter. Both saws are good reliable workhorses that are worth fixing.

If only the carburetor is the problem, many people had success with $15 chinese aftermarket carbs (some people didn't). It takes only a few minutes to change them. But you should learn to tune the saw afterwards.

 

[Pilgrim Soldier]

I would try to find a carb rebuild kit, replace that and the fuel lines and see if that fixes it. Usually the rubber bits in the carb degrade and cause issues. Carb kits are pretty cheap.

If you need to replace the whole carb (I kinda doubt you do on both saws; seems unlikely) I’d try to find an OEM replacement.

I’m sure the local hardware store sells new saws and is hoping you will upgrade.

You are correct, they do sell new saws and he was quite frank about investing and not knowing when to call it quits and dropping $150 into the old saw, whereas a new saw could be had for $300. I don't know which new model, but obviously something on the smaller side, maybe similar to the 018. I did get another saw, but used, the MS 271 which I'm happy with, but I'd still like my older ones running too.

 

[Pilgrim Soldier]

Your local store is right: You spend the money on the carb, then the 30 year old fuel line breaks next. Then the impulse line (028). Then the crank seals. Etc... Replacing every rubber part at once is costly and still leaves you with the 30 year old mechanical parts like bearings and electrical parts like coils. If you use OEM parts and pay somebody to diagnose and do the work, it doesn't make any economical sense.

If you like to get into the maintenance yourself, it's a very different matter. Both saws are good reliable workhorses that are worth fixing.

If only the carburetor is the problem, many people had success with $15 chinese aftermarket carbs (some people didn't). It takes only a few minutes to change them. But you should learn to tune the saw afterwards.

I wondered about the chinese carbs on amazon but I didn't want to go that route without hearing from someone else first, thank you.

 

[Johnwell]

…not knowing when to call it quits and dropping $150 into the old saw…

How handy are you? For ~$20-30 in parts you could have the fuel lines, impulse line, carb kit, and crank seals. It could be a good learning experience on how to work on your own equipment.

Look at it this way: the saws don’t currently work, so you can’t ruin them.

Tuning isn’t too hard once you see someone do it. You can usually do it by ear; I can try to write up how I do it, but I’m not an expert on it at all and others (who are experts) have spent a lot of time explaining it already.