Stihl 034

[Fish]

I doubt that the bar oil is the culprit. Remove the
bar and run the saw to check its output. Rinse the oil
tank out a couple of times with mineral spirits, then
refill with mineral spirits and run the saw. Sometimes
that will break up any clogs. Then refill it with bar oil
[cheap or otherwise], and compare the flow. Is this a
Stihl bar? Or another brand that someone sold you
telling you it was for a Stihl?

 

[ArborView]

Well, I finally gave in and took it to the Stihl dealer to look at. Fish, I did what you said with the mineral spirits but no luck. The bar still got real hot real fast. Must be something with the oiler. And it still bogs down once I get the bar into the wood. Changed the fuel filter, and even started out with some fresh gas. Maybe it's the lines or the carb or as someone mentioned, the rings. All I know is I spent enough time fooling with it. Hopefully I'll get it back soon.

 

[chainsawworld]

by any chance did you try toclean the small screen in the carb?

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Carb screen can be really easy fix; as some of the others.

One thing i was wonderring about; is if you were running 3/8 chain over that bar length or .325? In a tougher wood at that length and horsepwer that would make a diffrence, even when you get the oil delivery/bar right.

And even if that 'fixed it' i would still think about checking the other pieces of the puzzle presented here! And the other saws too; look for things like clogged muffler screen or filters that don't allow the machine to work correctly, for all the research and experience that has been poured into good equipment..

P.S. My favorite bar cleaning tool and grime scraper is an old linoleum knife with bulky wooden grip; with a nice point for getting into the sprocket and oiler hole on bar.

 

[treeclimber165]

The 2 things I picked up on were that the bar got hot just testing it out, and that there was a ton of crud around the clutch/ sprocket. Sounds like the oil isn't getting into the bar groove. Might be either blockage or else the bar holes don't line up with the oiler hole.
Clean out the groove in the bar, if you haven't already. A tine snapped off of an old metal leaf rake works excellent for this. And there is usually an old POS rake laying around.
The chain might be too tight also. Not as noticable on shorter bars, but you should be able to spin the chain on the bar by hand without the chain sagging (engine OFF of course!).

 

[sonny]

Arborview, Its been a week you havent got the saw back yet ?

 

[Fish]

Run the saw without the bar/chain on to check the
oil output. If there is not a stream of oil running out
then you know what the problem is. The saw must
be revving enough to turn the sprocket.

 

[ArborView]

I got the saw back a few days ago, but have just been too busy to get in here. Anyways, when I left the saw I told them how it bogged down, etc. They were supposed to call me when it was ready, which they didn't. My wife picked it up on her way home from work. All they did was replace 2 screws and charged me $50.00. I was pissed. They said they looked it over and "tuned it up", but didn't find anything major. I took it out with the 20" bar and it still had no power. So, I tried the 16" bar with a good sharp chain and it cut real nice. I used it wed. and cut up a 3 foot maple with no problem. Except I had to use the 20" bar to get to the middle of it.
To answer some other questions:
--3/8 chain not .325
--oiler seems to be working ok now. Possibly because I cleaned and flushed everything out?
--bar grooves are clean and oiler holes line up

Using a 20" bar still has no power though. I'll check the muffler screen, I haven't tried that.
Where exactly is the screen in the carb? Is is hard to change? I'd like to check that too. Also, how can I check the compression myself? Thanks for your help.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

a .325 20" chain might work were a 3/8" 20" might not; calculating for total horse power over more teeth in wood, at a wider bite (more resistance) on 3/8" for more laod on engine.

i believe an 034 was built for .325, but can be converted over to 3/8". We either run low pro or full 3/8" and switch out .325 sprockets etc. to 3/8, to have less mistakes etc. with chain, bar matching. And i don't beleieve Woodsman Pro (Bailey's house brand) doesn't come in .325..........

Muffler screens i believe are a California compliant spark arrestor; if it becomes clogged; engine can't breathe/ work right; i would check all saws and blowers for this. Especially if there was a lot of oil in fuel mix. i think i have even lost a few of them....................

But what do i know? i like an 044 with 16" bar; now that is a cutting MoFo! Less drag on engine, cheaper bars and chains, quicker sharpening, plenty of oil!

To me carbs are rather an elusive creature!

 

[treeclimber165]

Open up the muffler, pull out the screen, and THROW IT AWAY. Then when you put the muffler back together, take a wide screwdriver and shove it in the exhaust hole and twist it around to pry the outlet open further. If you do this, or at least try taking out the screen, I can guarantee the saw will run stronger.

My neighbor has a cheapo Homelite (Home Depot version) that wouldn't even rev up enough to turn the chain. After carb adjustments, tuneup and everyuthing else, it still ran like ****. I pulled the muffler deflector off and pulled out the screen, so clogged we couldn't see light through it. Threw it away and closed it up, ran like a scalded dawg!

 

[sedanman]

How about a seized sprocket tip on the 20" bar? If you run the saw with the 16" combo and then switch to the 20" on the same size logs the perfomance should be close as you still have the same number of cutters in the wood (same size log). You didn't say where the bar was hottest, I'll bet it was the tip. If it were an oiling problem the bottom of the bar nearest the saw would be hottest as this is the furthest from the oil supply. I'd clamp the bar in a vise (gently) and run a chain on the sprocket to check drag, wear gloves!

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Good point, i like to take bar in hand and force sticky nose sprocket to turn on flat 2x4. then get so loose and clean air compressor nozzle makes it fly!

 

[ArborView]

I've got a brand new 20" bar so the tip is good.
I took off the muffler screen today and ditched it, but it wasn't clogged at all anyways.
I also took the top screw off the carb and took that plate off. There was 2 little ports in there that had quite a bit of sawdust in them. There was a little screen in there too that looked fine. Is this the screen you guys are talking about? There are two tiny holes on top of this plate that were plugged with sawdust also. What exactly was I looking at here? I told ya' I don't know much about the mechanical end, but I'm learnin'.

 

[TonyM]

You may have a twisted bar. I had a 20" bar on an 036 that got twisted (probably happened sometime the bar was pinched). If I tried to bury the whole bar, the tip would cut one way, and at the saw it would cut the other way. After a couple inches it would be all bound up and would just stop cutting and create a lot of heat. If you have access to a surface plate, lay the bar on one and see if it's straight and flat. If not, gently tweak it in a vice with a large crescent wrench untill it is (be careful not to collapse the groove). Also, take a small precision square and lay it on the side of the bar and and across the bar groove and check it for squarness. If it's not square, use a disk or belt sander with a good solid rest that is set perfectly square and true it up. Finally, check the bar groove depth to make sure it is deep enough so the chain is not bottoming on the drivers and the groove bottom. If all that sounds like too much work, buy another 20" bar and try that new chain again.

 

[chainsawworld]

send me the saw. marty

 

[sedanman]

What was the outcome of this problem?

 

[stihltech]

034

You may not be a great mechanic, but you are on the right track.I have seen sawdust fill up the space between the metering diaphragm and cover. Can cause the carb to lean out when real power is needed.
Does this carb have a plastic plate where the inlet needle is? I have seen these Run too rich on the high side and kill the power. After that just check everything the others here have said. They got it pretty well covered.
I use an 034 to cut my firewood. Runs a 20 inch bar fine in hard maple, BUT, must be kept very sharp or power wil fall off fast. Also ,let the motor stay up on revs. Power band is up there on this saw. I never push on the saw with the 20 on. Just hold on and watch those big chips fly.
Let us know the outcome or if we can help.

 

[ArborView]

Beats me what the problems was. I've done everything you guys suggested and it seems to be running better. I used it yesterday to cut up a big birch I took down for a customer and it ran great with a 16" bar. The time I used it before that it wasn't accelerating well. I adjusted the low speed and idle screw and it was fine and has been since. I haven't had a chance to try it with the 20" bar yet.
Still going to get a new saw soon. Need a backup anyways.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

034

I never liked the 036, but I've heard nothing but good things about the 034. In all actuality, the 036 should run better, it is a bored out 034. In regard to your problem. The 034 and 036 came with .325 chain. There is a big difference over 3/8. Have you tried .325 with a 20" bar. These saws makes all of it's power up high and doesn't like to be lugged.