bought stihl 066, did I get a lemon?

[80cj]

I recently bought a stihl 066 red-eye off of ebay. after I gave it it's first work out, i noticed black tar-like stuff coming out from under the muffler and running down the front. so I decided to go through it and see exactly what i bought. when i pulled the muffler i found the whole area under it covered in this black tar-like stuff (smells like pine tar from baseball days) also the whole clutch is coated with it too. is this bad or is it normal and just needs a good cleaning? (if so what is the best way to clean a saw?) i did a compression test when i first got it and it was ~155 psi. also, i read in the manual that i needed a special "locking strip" to hold the piston so you can break the clutch loose. any suggestions on alternate ways to do this?

thanks all
shawn

 

[Four Paws]

Rope, stuffed down the plug hole, is the most common and probably the safest way to break the clutch loose.

The black tar like stuff could be old pine tar/sap and oil mixture. My best suggestion is pull the saw apart (covers, etc.) and give it a good cleaning - then run the saw and see if the black goo re-appears. Clean the inside of the muffler too, if it is a 2 piece cover and comes apart! You will want a few cans of carb/choke cleaner from walmart (get the cheapo 'supertech' brand - it is all the same as the $4 Gunk and Gum-out stuff. Also, compressed air is a BIG help and a pile of clean cotton rags.

Good luck!

 

[80cj]

it's almost 2 am, and you are posting on a chainsaw forum. you have issues! thanks for the reply. i already have it stripped down about as far as i could get it w/o opening up the cylinder. also i took pics of everything as i went, so i will try to post some pics tomorrow. i have been just brushing stuff off as i go, but carb or brake cleaner would make life much better.

thanks
shawn

 

[Four Paws]

it's almost 2 am, and you are posting on a chainsaw forum. you have issues!

No my friend...it barely struck midnight here...however it sure is 2am in Florida...perhaps you have issues!

 

[Freakingstang]

it's almost 2 am, and you are posting on a chainsaw forum. you have issues! thanks for the reply. i already have it stripped down about as far as i could get it w/o opening up the cylinder. also i took pics of everything as i went, so i will try to post some pics tomorrow. i have been just brushing stuff off as i go, but carb or brake cleaner would make life much better.

thanks
shawn

Don't get carb or brake cleaner close to the crank seals...It will eat them and make it get an air leak. You don't want to lean sieze that saw. A new piston and cylinder is over 300 bucks new

 

[80cj]

why do people keep telling me i have issues? ya know my x told me the same thing! are there any cleaners that won't eat thru the seals?

thanks
shawn

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I always like Simple Green Automotive cleaner and degreaser.

There is also some stuff in the auto cleaning section of walmart for removing bugs and tar/sap from painted surfaces...might try that.

Steam would also help.

1:30 here...

 

[Brushwacker]

It sounds that you may be leaking bar oil through your crankcase halves which come together under the muffler to form the oil tank. Sometimes when a saw is run with an loose muffler it will get hot enough under there to burn the gasket and then oil seeps out under the muffler and cooks or if the crankcase screws up front are loose it could start the leak under the muffler.
If you need to replace the gasket your saw has to come apart. I managed to stop a severe leak where the gasket burned out on an 026 by loosening the front crankcase screws and then cleaning the area with electrical cleaner well,then I filled the burned out area with red silicone high heat form a gasket and let it cure before tightening the crankcase screws. Before installing the muffler back there should be an heatsheild installed under the muffler on top the oil tank which Stihl sells.

 

[Gensetsteve]

I bought a used 051 with 30 inch bar judging by the wear someone had been cutting timber 6-9 inches long. The saw was mint but when I first worked it lots of smoke and goo from exhaust after a couple of hard working hours its all gone and saw works fine . Our saws may be glazed or over dosed on oil mix in the past or even run with 4 stroke oil mixed with petrol.

 

[coveredinsap]

They make a special spray cleaner/degreaser for the Paslode cartridge/cordless nail guns that is friendly on plastic and seals and made for removing the nasty residue left from the ignition/detonation of gasses in the cordless guns. Sold under the 'Paslode' label, it is just like brake cleaner but friendly on plastics and rubber. Home Depot sells it, so I imagine that anywhere that sells the Paslode guns should have the cleaner. Excellent degreaser too.

Here's the stuff:
http://www.absolutehome.com/web/cat...ls-58164&cid=98D17B5C119E866C41E57DC36DE25E9E

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

You know what all that black stuff might be, two stroke oil. If you run really rich oil mixture or run the high speed setting too rich, or if you idle the saw too much, you get the two stroke oil building up in the exaust area and leaking out all over.
It sound like you got a real lemon, you best send it to me.

 

[computeruser]

They make a special spray cleaner/degreaser for the Paslode cartridge/cordless nail guns that is friendly on plastic and seals and made for removing the nasty residue left from the ignition/detonation of gasses in the cordless guns. Sold under the 'Paslode' label, it is just like brake cleaner but friendly on plastics and rubber. Home Depot sells it, so I imagine that anywhere that sells the Paslode guns should have the cleaner. Excellent degreaser too.

Here's the stuff:
http://www.absolutehome.com/web/cat...ls-58164&cid=98D17B5C119E866C41E57DC36DE25E9E

Good post! Thanks for the tip, that sounds like useful stuff to have around.

 

[JeffHK454]

why do people keep telling me i have issues? ya know my x told me the same thing! are there any cleaners that won't eat thru the seals?

thanks
shawn

All you Jeep guys are a little off center... ...

Good luck , Jeff

 

[80cj]

pics

here are some pics. better ones are are available, but this is my first attempt, so i wasn't sure how it would go.

thanks for the responses.

shawn

 

[80cj]

also i should say. the compression test looked pretty good, but the guy i bought it from (on ebay) is shady so i just wouldn't put anything by him. i did take the cover off the muffle and the screen has 2 holes in it, so i assume he had the dual ported muffler.

thanks
shawn

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

All that goo behind the muffler makes me wonder if it was being run to rich and had a loose muffler, or bad exhaust gasket.

 

[Lakeside53]

Yes, probably just running too rich for a long time...

 

[manual]

All that goo behind the muffler makes me wonder if it was being run to rich and had a loose muffler, or bad exhaust gasket.

I also understand some 2 stroke oils don't burn well and they will clog the muffler like that.

 

[SteveH]

Looks like that saw's been run a lot and probably hard. Hope you got it for a good price....

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Looks like that saw's been run a lot and probably hard. Hope you got it for a good price....

For a 15 year old saw it looks pretty good. I could see a peek of the piston in the one picture, it looks brand new. It definately needs a good cleaning.