Hey guys,I've got an 034 I picked up secondhand,runs real good and has 125lb compression hot and cold,idles very well too. I wasn't looking for saws but just happened to find one and picked it up by the starter...saw came up and stayed there so I bought it,cheap.Anyway....when I pulled the muffler I saw a perfectly smooth piston,no scoring but no machining marks either,guess it's got lots of hours on it.what should I do?run it 'til it dies? rering? I don't think I want to put a whole new topend on it...suggestions?
piston wear and rings?
- Thread starter builder
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
chainsawworld
ArboristSite Guru
builder,
at 125 psi, you are getting boarderline.marty
at 125 psi, you are getting boarderline.marty
davefr
Addicted to ArboristSite
According to Madsens, re-ringing is usually a waist of time. They suggest doing a minimum of replacing the piston and ring assuming you don't want to do a complete overhaul.
As long as it runs good and strong, I'd just alter the mix to one bottle of Stihl oil to .9 gallons of gas vs. 1.0 gallon. Then I'd just run it until it has problems. It could run good for years.
If however you depend on this one saw to produce an income and use it daily, than I would probably replace it or keep it as a backup saw.
As long as it runs good and strong, I'd just alter the mix to one bottle of Stihl oil to .9 gallons of gas vs. 1.0 gallon. Then I'd just run it until it has problems. It could run good for years.
If however you depend on this one saw to produce an income and use it daily, than I would probably replace it or keep it as a backup saw.
buckwheat
ArboristSite Guru
I have the same situation with an 044 I use for weekend firewood cutting. Based on advice I got here, I took a baseline compression reading with a follow up every two months or so. I mix the fuel a little rich and just pay attention to the saw's performance. If and when things start to go south, I'm prepared to do a top end rebuild. Otherwise, the saw is cutting great.
Well I talked to madsens today,and they're sending me a set of rings and muffler and base gaskets,He said this is why you should replace your rings early,and if it wasn't scored it would POSSIBLY work out fine...and wasn't likely to hurt.Rings are cheap and I've got nothing to lose,besides I want to tear one down that I can risk before I need to do my 038M,usually they don't recommend rings after the saw shows problems,but they do recommend re-ringing.(though they did try to sell me a piston)Thanks guys,be safe.
Last edited:
update!
Finally got the 034 back together,madsens sent wrong rings first time.First off saw was suffering from prolonged overrich condition,piston looked good except for right at exhaust port where it was worn from all the carbon,put new rings in it and compression came up to 145psi. The bottom end looked like new and I couldn't feel any play in the bearings,I guess thats the good news in an overrich condition.Much easier job than I thought.I'm thinking of doing my other saws too.
Finally got the 034 back together,madsens sent wrong rings first time.First off saw was suffering from prolonged overrich condition,piston looked good except for right at exhaust port where it was worn from all the carbon,put new rings in it and compression came up to 145psi. The bottom end looked like new and I couldn't feel any play in the bearings,I guess thats the good news in an overrich condition.Much easier job than I thought.I'm thinking of doing my other saws too.
