Stihl 015

[Dale]

My father-in-law just gave me a Stihl 015 AV chainsaw. I cannot get it to stay running. After new gas and 15 pulls or so, I finally got it to turn over, but it will run for 2 seconds and die, this is all done by just barely choking it. I suspect the carb. is gummed up, but have no manual. How do I get to the Carb. on this model ? (in other words what do I have to remove) What are the adjustments for the carb on this model ?

I do have an old 028 Super that I keep rnning, so I do know a small bit about a saw.

 

[retoocs555]

To get at the carb you need to remove the left side of the saw casing. There should be 2 screws near the front of the saw, 1 recessed screw in the air box, and a screw on the handle. You'll also need to remove the spark plug to take the casing off. Almost forgot, you also need to take the plastic choke knob off, it just pulls off.

From there I'd clean and rebuild the carb. It's nice to clean the gas tank and replace the fuel line and filter while you're at it.

 

[Dale]

Thanks for the reply retoo. Would you know the carb. seetings ? or at least where I should start out with the low/high adjustments (1 turn out ?).

The little saw looks like it may be a good pruning saw. Funny thing though. There is only one nut that goes through the cover to hold the bar on, and man that bar has a good 1/2" play up and down. I just took it as it being a cheaper end saw, and having a design flaw.

 

[Dale]

Oh... and can I use the same gas/oil mix that I do in my 028 Super ?

 

[computeruser]

Thanks for the reply retoo. Would you know the carb. seetings ? or at least where I should start out with the low/high adjustments (1 turn out ?).

The little saw looks like it may be a good pruning saw. Funny thing though. There is only one nut that goes through the cover to hold the bar on, and man that bar has a good 1/2" play up and down. I just took it as it being a cheaper end saw, and having a design flaw.

The one bar nut setup is admittedly a bit odd, but it does work. And there should NOT be that much play in the bar when it is properly installed. Take a look at the mounting point on the saw and on the bar, as well as the tensioner, to see if you can determine where the source of the wear is, because this is not normal.

And as for fuel, it should run the same mix as your 028, which should be something in the 32:1 to 40:1 range, semi- or full-synthetic, in my opinion. None of my saws, including new ones, see 50:1, and they're all still running just fine - my figuring is that oil is protection, oil is cheap, and cheap protection is good. You can read more about the ever-popular fuel mix ratio debates and synthetic vs. conventional oil debates by searching through old posts or just flipping back a screen or two. These topics come up regularly and much as been said about them.

 

[Dale]

Thanks... and ye I know of the mix debates. I just didn't know if I should run the 40:1 mix in that 015 also. Compared to my old 028 Super, this little 015 looks like a very cheaply made saw, light plastic body and all. And that crappy little screen air filter doesn't look as though it offers much dirt protection for the carb.

Do you know where the carb. adjustments should start on this 015 ?

 

[Lakeside53]

Thanks... and ye I know of the mix debates. I just didn't know if I should run the 40:1 mix in that 015 also. Compared to my old 028 Super, this little 015 looks like a very cheaply made saw, light plastic body and all. And that crappy little screen air filter doesn't look as though it offers much dirt protection for the carb.

Do you know where the carb. adjustments should start on this 015 ?

015? It has a metal body and they are built beautifully... Are your sure of the saw type? Yes, the air filter is small (felt), but so is the saw, and it is 30 year old technology. Very nice saw if you can get the fuel system working - also, the fuel filter is inside the tank as usual BUT you need to take the hose out though the body. If you pull it out of the tank it will break and you can't buy them new any more

 

[Dale]

Lakeside you have me thinking now cause the air filter is screen-type not felt, and I doubt my father-in-law wpuld have swithed from felt to screen.

As for the body, I need a closer inspection cause it mostly seems cheap plastic and in no way metal. The stam says "015 AV". I mean I'm sure it was rarely used and is in impeccable aesthetic shape. Like I said though, it doesn't appear to stack up to my 028 super in workmanship.

 

[Lakeside53]

Lakeside you have me thinking now cause the air filter is screen-type not felt, and I doubt my father-in-law wpuld have swithed from felt to screen.

As for the body, I need a closer inspection cause it mostly seems cheap plastic and in no way metal. The stam says "015 AV". I mean I'm sure it was rarely used and is in impeccable aesthetic shape. Like I said though, it doesn't appear to stack up to my 028 super in workmanship.

As soon as I sent this I realized that the last model was made in plasctic... 99% of the 015 I get to work on are metal... Even the plastic units are nice.. a great trimming saw.

The filter I get is just a piece of stamped felt (same type of felt as the 009), and we haven't been able to get these lately, so we cut our own out of 044 HD "pre-filters". Haven't see a screen type, but that doesn't mean they weren't available at some time. Get it running - you'll be impressed with how well it cuts and handles. Do you have the top or rear handle version?

 

[Chris J.]

One of our Canadian members told me that his 015AV is rear handle. Thanks to all for the info, my 015L & replacement coil are still parked on the shelf.

 

[Dale]

Yep, that 015 has a rear handle. I' going to strip it down just to get familiar with it, and give it a good cleaning along with the carb. rebuild.

Another quirky thing on it is the gas filler cap. There seems to be a small breather hole in the top, and when I was attemting multiple starts, gas would spurt out of the little hole and drip down the saw. My 028 doesn't have a breather hole on the gas cap.

 

[Lawn Masters]

Oh... and can I use the same gas/oil mix that I do in my 028 Super ?

Yes. as long as you've got oil in the gas, and sufficient amounts of oil at that, you should be ok. running multiple containers of mix or different machines is just pointless to me. 40:1 all around for everything I own.

 

[Big feller]

Thanks for the reply retoo. Would you know the carb. seetings ? or at least where I should start out with the low/high adjustments (1 turn out ?).

Hi Dale.

My service manual gives the initial settings of both high and low adjusters as 3/4 of a turn out.

Hope this helps.

Big feller.

 

[Dale]

Thanks Guys for all of the replies