Stihl 017 clutch

[a. palmer jr.]

Trying to change the clutch on my 017 Stihl and can't get the clutch off. I've done this many times but this one seems to be really stuck. Any ideas of how I might loosen it up. I've thought about putting some penetrating oil on it and letting it sit overnight or maybe applying a small amount of heat to it but haven't done it yet. I'm using a piston stop to keep it from turning but I still can't get it to come loose. Any ideas will be considered and thanks!

 

[atpchas]

If the clutch is that stuck on the crankshaft, I'd be worried about a piston stop damaging the piston - been there, done that, not a happy outcome.

I'd give it a dose of Kroil (or similar) and let it soak in overnight, then hit it with my impact driver after removing the piston stop and screwing in the spark plug. If a few shots don't break it free, hit it with some heat (applied to the clutch, not the crank) and rattle again. I've never had a clutch that resisted all those steps.

 

[Chevboy0167]

Last year I did some work on an old TS510 concrete saw. Heat was my answer. Used some length of recoil rope down the spark plug hole as my piston stop.

 

[atpchas]

Last year I did some work on an old TS510 concrete saw. Heat was my answer. Used some length of recoil rope down the spark plug hole as my piston stop.

The rope approach is also good, especially if an impact driver is unavailable or not enough. It helps to have a deep socket that gets a good purchase on the clutch "nut." I ended up grinding flat the bevel on the end of the socket to get that extra millimeter of contact with the nut. A breaker bar is also handy.

Downside of the rope approach - gotta keep the rope out of the ports.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

In the past I've always used an air impact tool when loosening these. I was trying to find an alternate way but ended up using the impact tool on it and it did loosen it. When I put the new clutch on it it seemed like the threads didn't mesh too well, was fairly tight so I lightly used the air impact to put the new one on. It's all together so thanks for your comments.