Last Thursday afternoon I bought this saw. Stihl 044. Pictures are as I got it.
Paid $50 for it. Someone was selling it to get payment for work he had done for a guy. It looks like it has been sitting somewhere for quite a while in the weather and something has been dropped on it (bent handle bar, cracked top cover, cracked starter rewind cover, broken clutch cover, broken hand guard). The handle/tank assembly is twisted underneath, where the handle bar attaches to it – another result of whatever was dropped on it. I don’t have a compression tester, but I can hold the saw off the ground by the starter cord followed by a slow decent. Pulled the muffler cover and saw that the piston and cylinder walls look great. Pulled the spark plug and saw that there is some build up on top of the piston. The bar is done/finished. The drive rim is in great condition. I think the chain brake assembly needs looking into (aside from the broken hand guard). There was a little bit of gas in the tank and even though I knew it was old gas, I still tried a couple pulls to see if it would fire. It didn’t. I think a carb clean (and/or carb kit), and fresh fuel is all that is needed to get the motor running. I don’t think this saw has had much use. Right now it appears that most of the damage is cosmetic. I’ll find out more of course when I break it down. It wasn’t looked after, and of course something fell on it. To get it completely ready to cut wood safely will need more work. So, from the pictures and what info I have given…did I get ‘jacked/beat’? Or did I do okay?
I have already thought about getting a dual port muffler cover. The serial number starts with ‘125’ which tells me that a BB kit will not work on this saw because of the small wrist pin (10mm vs 12mm).
So, is there any tips, warnings, advice that y’all can or want to pass along before I tear into my project. Any tips on what to use to clean parts? I have been here on AS long enough to know that the 044 is a popular saw and lots of folks have rebuilt them. This will be my first project saw. I have a owner’s manual on it’s way from Stihl for free. I would like a IPL, anybody have one available? I’m not sure if I’ll need the service manual, or should I look into getting one?
This is the saw I wanted after I got my MS260, but the Olympyk 970 came along at a great deal. A newer, in better shape 044/440 would be nice, but this is the next best thing.
Kevin
Paid $50 for it. Someone was selling it to get payment for work he had done for a guy. It looks like it has been sitting somewhere for quite a while in the weather and something has been dropped on it (bent handle bar, cracked top cover, cracked starter rewind cover, broken clutch cover, broken hand guard). The handle/tank assembly is twisted underneath, where the handle bar attaches to it – another result of whatever was dropped on it. I don’t have a compression tester, but I can hold the saw off the ground by the starter cord followed by a slow decent. Pulled the muffler cover and saw that the piston and cylinder walls look great. Pulled the spark plug and saw that there is some build up on top of the piston. The bar is done/finished. The drive rim is in great condition. I think the chain brake assembly needs looking into (aside from the broken hand guard). There was a little bit of gas in the tank and even though I knew it was old gas, I still tried a couple pulls to see if it would fire. It didn’t. I think a carb clean (and/or carb kit), and fresh fuel is all that is needed to get the motor running. I don’t think this saw has had much use. Right now it appears that most of the damage is cosmetic. I’ll find out more of course when I break it down. It wasn’t looked after, and of course something fell on it. To get it completely ready to cut wood safely will need more work. So, from the pictures and what info I have given…did I get ‘jacked/beat’? Or did I do okay?
I have already thought about getting a dual port muffler cover. The serial number starts with ‘125’ which tells me that a BB kit will not work on this saw because of the small wrist pin (10mm vs 12mm).
So, is there any tips, warnings, advice that y’all can or want to pass along before I tear into my project. Any tips on what to use to clean parts? I have been here on AS long enough to know that the 044 is a popular saw and lots of folks have rebuilt them. This will be my first project saw. I have a owner’s manual on it’s way from Stihl for free. I would like a IPL, anybody have one available? I’m not sure if I’ll need the service manual, or should I look into getting one?
This is the saw I wanted after I got my MS260, but the Olympyk 970 came along at a great deal. A newer, in better shape 044/440 would be nice, but this is the next best thing.
Kevin
Who isn't?????
