MS 170 won't rev.

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Maybe!

Lakeside53 said:
dream on... warranty periods are not about "confidence" - it could be argued that they are about "lack of confidence! In reality... it's mainly marketing BS.

No manf warrants abuse - and old gas is. Most times I ask "how long has the gas been in the saw" I get the "few months" answer". Sorry, but gas does't turn to yellow varnish in "a few months". And rust in the carb shows there was water in the gas. Then there is the question - how old was the gas? Did you empty the can before you filled it up or was it half full of gas from the proir year? At tha point many have trouble making eye contact.
Click to expand...

LAKE - WHY DREAM ON?
Unfortunately the problem is the guy determined he didn't want to even take the saw into his dealer 'cuz he was out of Warranty coverage (by one month) - That's the problem - his dealer never even got the chance to trouble shoot the saw because the customer never brought the saw to him knowing he was out of warranty coverage. It could be there is a defect in the carb - - it happens. The point is it's lousy warranty coverage as far as time limit.
Why shouldn't the consumer be allowed to feel confidence in buying the product knowing the product is backed by an ample warranty? Husky offers that confidence in coverage - - a full year longer than Stihl for consumer use!.
Al
 
Poulson01 -Unless I missed it, reading the thread quickly, there was no response regarding whether or not you tried cleaning (or removing) the spark arrestor screen on the 170. We had similar reving issue on one of our 170's and it turned out that the screen was completely clogged. I removed the screen for cleaning, and (surprise) it ran GREAT and the screen has never been reinstalled. Since then, we have cleaned (or removed) the screen from our other 170's and 180's. We have had zero problems with them since. They make good groundie saws!
 
The second post asked the question, whether or not he checked, I don't
know. I don't think he is even following it anymore, since the brand war started.
 
EEEEASY fellas! As you can see, I run both Husky and Stihl so don't be bashin' my saws now.:popcorn:

Sorry about the screen question. It slipped by. I looked at it quickly and it still has that new saw shine. I'll inspect it properly today. I'm about to tear into the carb, right after I finish my coffee. I'm sure something has gotten stuck. If I hit the carb with a hammer, I bet it would work again (if it didn't snap off the engine or something). I'm kidding but there must be some kind of baro correction device on the carb with a needle that moves. Like I said a few posts ago, it magically fixed its self a few weeks ago for a short time and the next time I fired it, it wouldn't rev again.

I don't really care because I know I can fix it. It's just that I didn't expect all my saws to quit on me all at once and ESPECIALLY not the new one.

I'll include some pics in my next post.
 
OK! The 170s' back.
The verdict? Old gas!
The carb looked really clean and I didn't see any crud in the main jet. Of course, you can't take the hi screw out...cuz there isn't one. It wasn't 'till I hit it with carb cleaner that I saw some jelly stuck to the soft plugs for the closed end of the jet hole and another hole. It was hard to clean (had to do it twice) because you can't get the main jet open. I think, if you really let one of these things crud up, you'll need a new carb. Anyway, lesson learned.

The top of the carb is where the difference is. The main jet is fed by pulses from the air box. That's what the restriction in the air horn is for. Heres a pic.

StefsPics168.jpg
 
bcorradi said:
Even if it was under warranty do you think stihl should fix it for free since the customer left gas in it for 4-5 months?
Click to expand...

I leave gas in my saws all of the time and they never fail to start. Sometimes they start harder than other times if they sit for a while, but they start. You should be able to start a saw with gas more than 3 months old no problem. Up to a year or more if its in an airtight container.

But maybe the newer Stihls are more delicate than the older ones, or Huskys & JReds.

But then again, I always go xtra heavy on the mix oil, so maybe that's the difference.
 
Last edited:
poulson01 said:
OK! The 170s' back.
The verdict? Old gas!
The carb looked really clean and I didn't see any crud in the main jet. Of course, you can't take the hi screw out...cuz there isn't one. It wasn't 'till I hit it with carb cleaner that I saw some jelly stuck to the soft plugs for the closed end of the jet hole and another hole. It was hard to clean (had to do it twice) because you can't get the main jet open. I think, if you really let one of these things crud up, you'll need a new carb. Anyway, lesson learned.

The top of the carb is where the difference is. The main jet is fed by pulses from the air box. That's what the restriction in the air horn is for. Heres a pic.

StefsPics168.jpg
Click to expand...




Good theory! but the carb is not fed from pulse via the airbox - that's the compensator conenction to slightly adjust the mixture as your filter blocks. The fuel is pumped via and impluse line - fluctuation in pressure from the crankcase.

I suspect your old fuel was affected by the saw being in the pickup truck for months. It can get real hot in there, and that's not good for fuel storage.

Anyhow, good that it's all sorted out.
 
goblin said:
I leave gas in my saws all of the time and they never fail to start. Sometimes they start harder than other times if they sit for a while, but they start. You should be able to start a saw with gas more than 3 months old no problem. Up to a year or more if its in an airtight container.

But maybe the newer Stihls are more delicate than the older ones, or Huskys & JReds.

But then again, I always go xtra heavy on the mix oil, so maybe that's the difference.
Click to expand...
I guess there too many variables to put an exact timeline on when gas goes bad. My point was only that I don't feel the manufacturer should be liable to fix saw problems under warranty due to bad/stale/varnished gas.
 
Lakeside53 said:
Good theory! but the carb is not fed from pulse via the airbox - that's the compensator conenction to slightly adjust the mixture as your filter blocks. The fuel is pumped via and impluse line - fluctuation in pressure from the crankcase.

I suspect your old fuel was affected by the saw being in the pickup truck for months. It can get real hot in there, and that's not good for fuel storage.

Anyhow, good that it's all sorted out.
Click to expand...

^ Exactly what this guy said. It's not pulses, it's pressure. Pulses go to the bottom of the carb. And I thought about the sitting in my hot truck all summer. That's gotta be it.

I haven't run the 170 in a while (obviously) but I don't remember it running this good. I can feel the main jet "kick in" gradually as the rpm go up. It's seamless. Kinda feels like the saw has a big flywheel. It has a really flat power band now and I remember it feeling boggy to peaky before. I like it now. Definitely a saw that I'd give a newbee. It rewards you for using it properly, like letting the chain do the work. If you cut nice and easy with it, you learn where the sweet spots are really quick. The rpm settle right where the saw cuts nice.

The top cover is still fiddly though. Not like a tranny in a Ford Taurus fiddly but compared to my Huskys and my other Stihls, it's a PITA.

One down, four to go!
 

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