ms 170

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abs111999

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my little 170 was running rough. I looked for a carb adjustment and didn't see any... are there any on the 170? also I noticed
under the spark plug boot the coil wire is just crimped on the plug...it doesn't slide off that I can see... cheap crap....do they think people will just throw the saw away after 100 hrs or so??? can I replace that plug arrangement..?? also will a NGK cr7HSA plug work in there..??
 
Are there any on the 170?
Do they think people will just throw the saw away after 100 hrs or so???
Can I replace that plug arrangement..??
Will a NGK cr7HSA plug work in there..??
There is only one carb adjustment screw and I would have a dealer tune it as the one screw carbs are a pita to tune.
Yes, Stihl thinks/hopes/designs the saw so most people will chuck it rather than fix it.
I’m not sure how your saw looks, but most saws just have a boot with a clip inside of it that attaches to the plug, like the setup shown below. You can just pull/gently pry that setup off of the top of the plug to swap the plug.
As for a replacement plug, the NGK numbers for a replacement plug I saw were the usual BPMR7A or CMR6H.
FOR6277.jpg
 
The standard carb isn't adjustable. Idle speed is only adjustment. Guy on YouTube makes some mods.. Put on a Chinese adjustable carb but pita fitting throttle rod.

Sent from my SM-T377P using Tapatalk
 
Those carbs are not worth trying to tune or fix. Generally the jets get clogged up. Just get a new chicom one on Ebay. You can replace it with a tuneable 170/180 carb, but you will have to drill holes in the side to tune it. No throttle rod, boot or fitting issues when I replaced the carbs on the series of 180 saws that I had with tuneable carbs. I just has issues with access to the H and L screws. A drill fixed that easy tho in 10 seconds. O/w you can get a new fixed jet carb replacement and swap it in w/o any other changes. Either way, they are less than $10 shipped to your door.

Stihl homeowner saws are designed to run about 1000 hours, BTW. I bought seven 180c saws that a contractor ran until they stopped (for whatever reason) and he tossed them aside and bought new ones. When he had a pile of 7 he posted them on CL and I bought them all (power heads only) for dirt. I cleaned them all up and put in new air filters and NGK (BPMR7A) plugs. I got new GB bars and chains from LCS (now gone). 2 needed new carbs. One needed a new $8 coil (wire half sheared). 3 ran just fine. *shrug* They were all listed as low compression, but they must have used a car compression tool wrong to test them. The lowest was 150#. As far as I know, they are all still in service. My nephew has one, my brother another one. I still have a tuneable carb one. And I have a carcas of one that I canabalized (with coil, muffler, good engine and housing). They run good for what they are. A smaller limbing/homeowner saw.

So... you can call them cheap crap. Or you can easily fix and run them. Your choice.
 
Those carbs are not worth trying to tune or fix. Generally the jets get clogged up. Just get a new chicom one on Ebay. You can replace it with a tuneable 170/180 carb, but you will have to drill holes in the side to tune it. No throttle rod, boot or fitting issues when I replaced the carbs on the series of 180 saws that I had with tuneable carbs. I just has issues with access to the H and L screws. A drill fixed that easy tho in 10 seconds. O/w you can get a new fixed jet carb replacement and swap it in w/o any other changes. Either way, they are less than $10 shipped to your door.

Stihl homeowner saws are designed to run about 1000 hours, BTW. I bought seven 180c saws that a contractor ran until they stopped (for whatever reason) and he tossed them aside and bought new ones. When he had a pile of 7 he posted them on CL and I bought them all (power heads only) for dirt. I cleaned them all up and put in new air filters and NGK (BPMR7A) plugs. I got new GB bars and chains from LCS (now gone). 2 needed new carbs. One needed a new $8 coil (wire half sheared). 3 ran just fine. *shrug* They were all listed as low compression, but they must have used a car compression tool wrong to test them. The lowest was 150#. As far as I know, they are all still in service. My nephew has one, my brother another one. I still have a tuneable carb one. And I have a carcas of one that I canabalized (with coil, muffler, good engine and housing). They run good for what they are. A smaller limbing/homeowner saw.

So... you can call them cheap crap. Or you can easily fix and run them. Your choice.
You mention someone must have used a car compression tester. Does a car ct not give a proper reading?
 
My dealer let me buy power head only for $100 on sale. Recommend changing bar and chain to. 050 gauge vs the puny .043. 14" , 50 dl is same as top handle 020T. I found cheap cases that fit these 2 saws perfectly.
ff125dcdc03738c015b798545856bc0f.jpg
130887254e4741b8ad8e8b277e967ed2.jpg
fcefc8abbec29469de5eeaaba151aa39.jpg


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"do they think people will just throw the saw away after 100 hrs or so???"

170s were like 169.99 new and many...many were chucked in the trash at the first hint of a problem. Literally have had people toss them over a bad clutch. Its more surprising for people to willingly have them repaired than not.

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In most cases they will not. They are designed for larger displacement engines. You want a small engine compression tester for chainsaws.
Ahah...that exp,ains why i was only getting 35 psi when i used a harbor freight car ct! Thanks.
 
170s and 180s were solid saws, great homeowner saws if kept up and used right, good trim saws. They benefit from a better bar and chain..going up to the .050 gauge low profile.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
 
my little 170 was running rough. I looked for a carb adjustment and didn't see any... are there any on the 170? also I noticed
under the spark plug boot the coil wire is just crimped on the plug...it doesn't slide off that I can see... cheap crap....do they think people will just throw the saw away after 100 hrs or so??? can I replace that plug arrangement..?? also will a NGK cr7HSA plug work in there..??
Before you do anything else... Remove the spark screen from the muffler and burn it off with a torch. Also clean/replace the air filter.
 
"do they think people will just throw the saw away after 100 hrs or so???"

170s were like 169.99 new and many...many were chucked in the trash at the first hint of a problem. Literally have had people toss them over a bad clutch. Its more surprising for people to willingly have them repaired than not.

Well, from the perspective of a non-mechanic, the prohibitive costs of getting a chainsaw tuned or fixed prevents people from doing that. Hence they just get tossed. $100 plus inflated price parts to go through a $170 saw is simply not worth it.
 
Before you do anything else... Remove the spark screen from the muffler and burn it off with a torch. Also clean/replace the air filter.

Not recommended here. Maybe you hvae not seen the news from the west these past few summers? Fires, fires and more fires. Serious fines if you are caught running a saw w/o a spark screen here. And if you start a fire, you can be held liable for MILLION$ in damage. So maybe there in the South you can get away with that, but not in the western states. Also any legitimate dealer or mechanic is required by law here to return any saw to its original shape regarding smog and fire prevention.
 
Not recommended here. Maybe you hvae not seen the news from the west these past few summers? Fires, fires and more fires. Serious fines if you are caught running a saw w/o a spark screen here. And if you start a fire, you can be held liable for MILLION$ in damage. So maybe there in the South you can get away with that, but not in the western states. Also any legitimate dealer or mechanic is required by law here to return any saw to its original shape regarding smog and fire prevention.
He recommended burning off the spark screen to reinstall it, not deleting it.
 
I had a ms 180, absolutely loved it. It’s a little monster for the tasks it’s intended for. The non adjustable carb’s let the saw down though.

I traded mine along with sharpener, case and spare parts for a low hour 076AV Super - he couldn’t pull it over any more and wanted a small light one.

Came with original 25” hard nose and chain.

56F21242-5840-46A2-8768-483BC4FB817F.jpeg
 

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