Stihl 044 questions, new piston required.

[chilipeppermaniac]

I had to postpone this project for a number of reasons, but finally found the time to look into it again a week or two ago.

The saw is busted up more than I hoped for, and was definitely overheated at some point, but I'm still gonna restore it further. The amount of caked up nastiness (mixed with paint chips from the case...) I found under the clutch etc. is something I didn't expect at all, this is my first serious chainsaw project ever though (besides one of my 026's piston replacement job, but that saw wasn't in such a sorry condition).

Anyway, as said before I cleaned up the cylinder. Recently I have been taking apart, and cleaning, the rest of the saw, my air compressor and ultrasonic cleaner came in handy. Installed the Meteor piston, put on the cylinder, and plugged the carb and exhaust port with rubber, to do a pressure/vac test, using the impulse hose (as I did before on my 026).

Both were negative, although the needle creeped back quite slowly.

Removed the clutch and oiler, re-did the test and no pressure buildup at all anymore. Sprayed some soapy water on the seal, the water flew up, so that diagnosis is clear... So I guess the seal leaked less with the oiler installed? Didn't expect that, honestly, I was hoping my test setup leaked slightly somewhere (but wanted to remove the clutch and test anyway).

I'm ordering parts as we speak, also for a friend of mine's MS260. From a few places, including 'saegenspezi' from Germany, where I also found these tools for clutch side seal fitting:

https://shop.saegenspezi.de/assembl...340-MS341-MS360-MS361-MS441-MS460-MS650-MS660

https://shop.saegenspezi.de/Assembly-sleeve-for-oil-seals-fits-Stihl-chainsaws-088-MS-880-MS880
(description: "This item is suitable for mounting the clutch side seal rings on most Stihl chainsaws." - so i guess it's not just for the 088/880)

Any idea if these are good/necessary? I saw videos of people using a piece of a coke can too... No idea what's the best approach here, really.

Thanks for any advice ;-)

you have to have the clutch torqued down ,or the spacer to seal
will leak! Try the test again and you will be surprised!

I had another look at the IPL, and the worm gear I took off the saw, and understand now how part #1128 647 6600 works
Thanks again.

freeasaburt, I am glad I asked and you saw my message. It taught me a lot just from the info in the quotes above.

 

[freeasaburt]

After more cleaning, replacing some bolts, etc. I put the saw together again and re-did the pressure/vac test. Success!
I started it today, it fired second pull which made me smile

Tried to tune it, it keeps running but I can't seem to get the chain to completely stop. Guess I should have another look at the carb, or could it be the clutch, maybe?

The saw oils, not sure if it's really enough (oiler turned open), oil didn't seem to fly off the chain but it was getting dark and I didn't want to rev it too much yet, gonna leave it idling for a while tomorrow or so.

When put in the 'high idle' position, pressing the trigger doesn't release it, that's another something to look into.

But all in all, I'm pretty pleased. It's neat to tear something apart, try to troubleshoot it, put it back together, and to find out you have a running machine again!

Thanks a lot to everyone who provided my with advice!

 

[pioneerguy600]

You actually need to know the RPM to know if the clutch may be engaging or check the clutch springs for being stretched, broken or the holes where the springs mount to the clutch shoes. If the holes are worn ,elongated the shoes can move enough to contact the drum causing the chain to move.

 

[freeasaburt]

I'm sure the rpm's weren't too high, I tried to put it as low as possible just to see if the chain kept spinning. (so I guess it must be the clutch indeed, not the idle screw or sth).
Idle chain speed also kept on varying, which might indicate it's the clutch too?

I'll look into the clutch later, thanks. Guess I should have replaced the springs when I had it off...

 

[freeasaburt]

Last week I ordered new springs from my local Stihl dealer, they were delivered there today so I went to pick them up and put them on the clutch (they were stiffer than I expected, I used a loop of tie wraps to pull them on, which worked quite well).
Started the saw, and hooray, problem solved.

The holes for the springs are a bit worn out but apparently not too much