Stihl wont rev

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Jredsjeep

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I just picked up a stihl 031 saw and it will start up and idle ok for the most part but will hardly rev. if i hold the throttle open it just smokes more and makes a louder bwaaaaa sound. sometimes it will catch and rev but stall out soon after ward.

i checked the points and replaced the condenser, it has a hot blue spark and about 150 psi compression.

it has fresh gas and i even opened up the carb and it looked clean inside and i couldn't see anything amiss. fuel filter isent clogged either.

anyplace to get parts for this saw, i checked a couple of dealers and everything they tried to look up was discontinued. not what i expected from Stihl.

man i wish my echo 8000 hadent crapped on me, i miss that saw.
 
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Not sure what advice to give about fix but that series of saw is older and not as popular as newer saws. Nothing wrong with it just old. Have you checked impulse line. Double check everything again that you did.:)
 
I just picked up a stihl 031 saw and it will start up and idle ok for the most part but will hardly rev. if i hold the throttle open it just smokes more and makes a louder bwaaaaa sound. sometimes it will catch and rev but stall out soon after ward.

i checked the points and replaced the condenser, it has a hot blue spark and about 150 psi compression.

it has fresh gas and i even opened up the carb and it looked clean inside and i couldn't see anything amiss. fuel filter isent clogged either.

anyplace to get parts for this saw, i checked a couple of dealers and everything they tried to look up was discontinued. not what i expected from Stihl.

man i will my echo 8000 hadent crapped on me, i miss that saw.

Welcome to AS!
How many turns out is the high side mixture screw?
 
i replaced the pulse line because it was cracked or did when i took the saw apart. both idle and high speed screw are out 1 1/2 turns. they dont seem to help much tweaking them.

i have tried spraying starting fluid in while i try to rev it and it just quits. got me stumped grrrrrrr

thanks for the welcome, looks like my $40 saw is getting to be more trouble than it is worth
 
Does it have a chainbrake? Likely not, but I had to ask. One of my 056 mag 2s has a bad carb that dumps gas, and this AFTER I rebuilt it. Maybe it is always on the verge of flooding, and can't get enough of a fire going to run properly.
 
Does it have a chainbrake? Likely not, but I had to ask. One of my 056 mag 2s has a bad carb that dumps gas, and this AFTER I rebuilt it. Maybe it is always on the verge of flooding, and can't get enough of a fire going to run properly.

no chain brake but i am curious now about it dumping fuel. i can see fuel going in if i remove the filter and it did make a plug black after about 5 mins of tinkering and trying to rev it.

i have no idea how much fuel i should be seeing dump in though.
 
After 30 years or so, the foam inside the fuel filters starts disintegrating
and the debris clots inside the carb, choking the passage under the needle
and not letting the needle fully seat either.

But, from the description, it sounds like the problem is more likely ignition
related.
 
Had an 032 that did pretty much the same thing, thought I was chasing a carb gremlin, but the spark would be nice bright, then weak and erratic 5min later.
 
i have a little dohicky that i can put on the plug wire and it lights up when i have spark. it is hard to get it in with the tiny length of plug wire they give you, but i do loose spark. it happens so fast i am not sure if the ignition is quitting or just running out of fuel. i can spin it over all i want with my electric impact driver and it has a hot blue spark but that is just idle speed at best. (good way to zap yourself if you touch the saw body:) )

maybe i will take a much closer look at the inside of the carb and try compairing how much fuel it is dumping to the one out of 6 running saws i have right now.:dizzy:
 
Had an 032 that did pretty much the same thing, thought I was chasing a carb gremlin, but the spark would be nice bright, then weak and erratic 5min later.

so what fixed that? bad coil? i did the condensor and points with no change. there are a couple of wires there were the insolation is worn through next to the coil but didnt seem to touching anything
 
so what fixed that? bad coil? i did the condensor and points with no change. there are a couple of wires there were the insolation is worn through next to the coil but didnt seem to touching anything

it's one of my too many projects in the corner for now, I was going to pull the flywheel and take a gander .... one of these days.
 
I just picked up a stihl 031 saw and it will start up and idle ok for the most part but will hardly rev. if i hold the throttle open it just smokes more and makes a louder bwaaaaa sound. sometimes it will catch and rev but stall out soon after ward.

i checked the points and replaced the condenser, it has a hot blue spark and about 150 psi compression.

it has fresh gas and i even opened up the carb and it looked clean inside and i couldn't see anything amiss. fuel filter isent clogged either.

anyplace to get parts for this saw, i checked a couple of dealers and everything they tried to look up was discontinued. not what i expected from Stihl.
man i wish my echo 8000 hadent crapped on me, i miss that saw.

Well considering it is a 30+ year old saw, you will have to probably look eleswhere than most dealers. Not Stihl's fault that time marches on...

There are reputable people on ebay from here and elsewhere that sell parts that will work on tour old 031. :)

Gary
 
.31 not running right

I am not familiar with the air filter set up on the .031 but on my .038 there is a "clam shell" style air filter. It is held together by a small cotter pin. My saw did the same thing and I found out it was the cotter pin missing and causing the carb to act like it was on choke.
 
so what fixed that? bad coil? i did the condensor and points with no change. there are a couple of wires there were the insolation is worn through next to the coil but didnt seem to touching anything



Hey guys, check your killswitch wire it likes to ground out. Thats what happened on mine but i fixed that also check spark plug gap.... hey loosten the ignition and shift it a little, because you kinda sound out of time slightly try it and tell us how it works this should fix it, have fun
 
I have 2 of these saws. In my experience when the screws stop being affective I have to rebuild the carbs (less than $10). Also if your screws are 1 1/2 turns out than you will definately need a new spark plug. That thing is surely loaded up. I use 1 1/8 on the L and 1 turn on the high as a baseline. 1 1/4 turns on the low helps if it is hard to start. Fuel with ethanol in it ate my metering gasket in less than 2 months storage.
 
I just bought a nice looking 031av that the guy said needed carb rebuild cause it wont rev. I put good rebuilt carb off of another and sure enough still doesnt run right. I am going to look at ignition any hints.:confused:
 
thanks very much for all the help guys, i will try to get some time to tinker with it tonight, was hauling cinder blocks home last night.

as far as where the screws are set at i thought the owners manual i down loaded said to start at 1 1/2 out on both (could be wrong). like i mentioned though they dont really seem to affect how it runs so it sounds like it probubly is in the carb.
 
Looking at one of your other replies on another thread, I would suggest your
problem is ignition related, again.
 
Well I got slapped in the face by my Stihl dealer today. I stopped by and told him I bought an 031 and needed help. After he stopped laughing he said throw it away. I asked nice and he said it has an air leak. I popped off clutch and cover pumped up and WOW there it is crank seal on pto side leaking. He wants 22.00 for new one. Ill probably order tomorrow. :confused:
 

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