Stihl 028 WB bar and chain size

[SteveSr]

I worked a few summers wrenching at a Honda/Suzuki dealership. One of the tools that was essential for splitting cycle cases, without stripping the phillips screw heads, was a hand impact driver. They work better than an air impact as the striking force of the hammer blow keeps the bit in the screws head, and that striking force also loosens the screws threads.

Back in the day when I rode /wrenched on bikes the first thing that we would do is replace the Philips with allen head screws.

 

[ZeroJunk]

Pretty sure the screws are 5 mm .8 . About the only 4's you see are on some ignition coils and a few plastic pieces on new saws.

Oregon did have a sprocket conversion kit. Would be cheaper than Stihl I'm sure.


Also, pretty sure they are Allen. Torx came a little later, although it may have been in the transition

 

[Mad Professor]

Back in the day when I rode /wrenched on bikes the first thing that we would do is replace the Philips with allen head screws.

Those were customer bikes.

We used to get people coming in with whole motors apart in a box asking, "how much to rebuild this?"

 

[ZeroJunk]

BTW, if it still has points and they give you trouble it a straight conversion to an 029 or whatever generic ignition module.

 

[gggGary]

Pretty sure the screws are 5 mm .8 . About the only 4's you see are on some ignition coils and a few plastic pieces on new saws.

Oregon did have a sprocket conversion kit. Would be cheaper than Stihl I'm sure.


Also, pretty sure they are Allen. Torx came a little later, although it may have been in the transition.

Yes M5 .8 bolts, the heads are 4mm hex/allen
Got the muffler screw out, managed to drive a T27 bit in good enough so that the hand impact then the Milwaukee m18 impact driver and some lube got it out. chased all the threads and reassembled. Piston, rings, look good,

Guess I'm mostly looking into an intake port when the piston's down. Couldn't get a pic in that deep. Saw has good power, an easy starter, and has "good compression".
still debating the 325 3/8 bar chain thing.
Wish I had posted here before making the trip to the dealer................
shrug.
Thanks again for all the input.

 

[Mad Professor]

Yes M5 .8 bolts, the heads are 4mm hex/allen
Got the muffler screw out, managed to drive a T27 bit in good enough so that the hand impact then the Milwaukee m18 impact driver and some lube got it out. chased all the threads and reassembled. Piston, rings, look good,
View attachment 1102273
Guess I'm mostly looking into an intake port when the piston's down. Couldn't get a pic in that deep. Saw has good power, an easy starter, and has "good compression".
still debating the 325 3/8 bar chain thing.
Wish I had posted here before making the trip to the dealer................
shrug.
Thanks again for all the input.

You got a load of carbon built up in that ex port. Piston still looks OK, any pictures of the skirt?

 

[wildwes]

Personally I wouldn't sweat the 325 vs 3/8 thing. Either one will work well in a 16 or 18 inch bar with that saw. I am partial to 3/8, but in green wood there really isn't much performance difference imho. 3/8 does start to shine a little more in dead wood in my experience.
I am sorry in advance if you already said, but what bar and chain do you have on your 044?

 

[SteveSr]

View attachment 1102273

Looks like you have a LOT of carbon buildup. What kind of oil are you using?

 

[gggGary]

Personally I wouldn't sweat the 325 vs 3/8 thing. Either one will work well in a 16 or 18 inch bar with that saw. I am partial to 3/8, but in green wood there really isn't much performance difference imho. 3/8 does start to shine a little more in dead wood in my experience.
I am sorry in advance if you already said, but what bar and chain do you have on your 044?

I have 20" and 28" 3/8 .050 bars for the 044. Mostly hardwood cutting.

Looks like you have a LOT of carbon buildup. What kind of oil are you using?

The muffler was clean inside, spark screen didn't even need brushing. Stihl conventional 1 oz gray bottle to a gallon of premium.

 

[SteveSr]

The muffler was clean inside, spark screen didn't even need brushing. Stihl conventional 1 oz bottle to a gallon of premium.
View attachment 1102327View attachment 1102328View attachment 1102329

I hope that it is more than 1 oz to a gallon. That would be 128:1. Well, there is carbon scoring on the piston above the top ring. The previous photo showed what looks like a considerable thickness of carbon in the exhaust port which should probably be carefully cleaned out.

The clean spark screen just says that the saw is tuned and being run properly.

I am assuming that this is the Stihl orange bottle oil. What is the JASO F? rating on the bottle? FD is the current spec and has detergents to prevent carbon formation

 

[jhellwig]

You do have to use 4mm hex on older stihls and the 028 is one of them. Not all the screw though.

 

[gggGary]

Oil is fresh stock from a major retailer the gray six pack of one bottle per gallon oil.

Guess that's the synth. anyway what I've been using for several years 'tween the saws and trimmers mebby a six pack a year, year and a half. But I sometimes go through a six pack of beer in a month if weather's hot. Pics were shot through the plug hole.

 

[wildwes]

Oil is fresh stock from a major retailer the gray six pack of one bottle per gallon oil.
View attachment 1102330
Guess that's the synth. anyway what I've been using for several years 'tween the saws and trimmers mebby a six pack a year, year and a half. But I sometimes go through a six pack of beer in a month if weather's hot. Pics were shot through the plug hole.

My personal guess is that the HP Ultra oil is exacerbating your carbon problem. If it were mine I'd switch oils after cleaning some of that carbon up. It wouldn't be hard to pull the jug and do a proper job of it.
And personally, if I were running 3/8 on my other saw, I'd run 3/8 on my 028 as well.

All of that is just my opinion though, for what it's worth.

 

[Mad Professor]

You do have to use 4mm hex on older stihls and the 028 is one of them. Not all the screw though.

?

My 028S has T-27 screw heads.

 

[cookies]

Next time get the stihl orange bottled oil, the silver bottle causes rapid carbon buildup. At minimum get a new chain with your new sprocket, you do not want a damaged chain damaging your new clutch drum sprocket.

 

[ZeroJunk]

?

My 028S has T-27 screw heads.

Yeah, they changed them at some point. But, they made that saw in some iteration a long time.

Most 028 WB's were Allen and just flat head combination. Allen on the cylinder to case and muffler.

Same with an 041 .
I usually change them all to Allen. Buy 5mm by 20mm a hundred at a time.

Although, I would probably replace the muffler screws with Stihl torx that come with the bluish green thread lock on them.

 

[gggGary]

Doesn't seem bad to me.

Not take a good running saw apart bad anyways. ;^)

 

[stihltech]

Depending on how early model the saw is, some were actually a smaller displacement than later 028 NOT Super) actually had 15 inch bars on them. They used all allen (or socket head) screws. All other screws were a slotted screwdriver head. Do not miss those. Guess you had to be old enough to see the day these saws went on the market.
I have ran with 325 and 3/8 chain. I do mainly hardwood. .325 is my choice. That is what the saw was designed to use. If you are getting all matching (they MUST match!), I am thinking the 50 gauge setup would be a good match for an 028.

 

[ZeroJunk]

I think this will work


https://www.amazon.com/Oregon-30384X-Power-Sprocket-System/dp/B0195UIK6Q

 

[Mad Professor]

Depending on how early model the saw is, some were actually a smaller displacement than later 028 NOT Super) actually had 15 inch bars on them. They used all allen (or socket head) screws. All other screws were a slotted screwdriver head. Do not miss those. Guess you had to be old enough to see the day these saws went on the market.
I have ran with 325 and 3/8 chain. I do mainly hardwood. .325 is my choice. That is what the saw was designed to use. If you are getting all matching (they MUST match!), I am thinking the 50 gauge setup would be a good match for an 028.

I've not had an early 028 apart. But my 056 saws have allen stuff rather than torx.