Starting Stihl 029

[Spiny Mouse]

I have a Stihl 029 Farm Boss that I use for cutting wood on my 3 acre wooded lot. It only gets used a few times per year and mostly sits in its case. It is often hard or impossible to start because the pull starter is extremely hard to pull. It feels like you are fighting engine compression. Removing the spark plug makes pulling very easy, seemingly confirming that compression has a role in this.

Other times, the pull starter pulls fine and the saw starts with little trouble. When it's bound up, nothing I do seems to work. Except waiting over night. It will often start easily the next day.

Air temperature doesn't seem to be a factor. I started it just fine in 18 degree cold the other day. A week later, no luck.

Once running, it has good power. Restarting it after a short break is easy. But if I wait overnight, it might be bound up again. Or it might not.

Any ideas on why this is happening? How can I make the saw reliably easy to start?

 

[brages]

Do you think it might somehow be flooding? Next time it's hard to start, try holding it upside down and pulling the cord with the plug out - to clear the engine. Then reinstall plug and see if it cranks easier.

 

[Spiny Mouse]

Do you think it might somehow be flooding? Next time it's hard to start, try holding it upside down and pulling the cord with the plug out - to clear the engine. Then reinstall plug and see if it cranks easier.

I'll give that a try. It does often smell strongly of gas when it's giving me trouble. I hadn't thought of turning it over like that though. I'll see what happens.

 

[Lakeside53]

Your carb may be leaking past the inlet valve. If it continues to give problems, a rebuild may be in order. In addition to a bad inlet needle, if you metering diaphragm is stiff (old gas, lack of use) it can push down on the inlet needle slightly.

 

[stihlboy]

could your rings be sticking.. it almost sounds like a ring issue to me.... just a thought

 

[gink595]

What about your starting method? I had a helluava time getting mine started when I first got it. I soon realized it was my starting technique. It was flawless after that. I out mine on full choke until it fired off a little than I put it in the middle position or half choke until it started. try it fi fyou don't already. I know I cussed mine until a friend started it one day with that proceedure.

 

[brages]

I out mine on full choke until it fired off a little than I put it in the middle position or half choke until it started.

FYI: the middle position is not half-choke; it's no choke but with the throttle lock engaged to hold the throttle partway open. If you look at the little pictogram the bottom one has a closed butterfly between straight lines (choke on), but the middle pictogram is a partially open butterfly between curved lines.

The curved lines represent the carb's venturi, thus the butterfly in the picture is the throttle butterfly, not the choke.

 

[Spiny Mouse]

Thanks Folks

Thanks for the feedback. The comment about the sticking carburetor valve causing the cylinder to flood sounds like a real promising idea. I'm already following the recommended starting method about the choke/throttle lever. Sticking rings, maybe not, since even when bound up the starter does turn if you apply slow steady tension and it feels like compression, not like a mechanical obstruction. I'll try the first idea first: the next time it's bound up, I'll take out the spark plug and turn the saw over to see if any gas comes out.

SpinyMouse

 

[windthrown]

Several thoughts here:

I found that with a 029/290, you should drop start it. It does not have a decomp, so it is a b1tch on the wrist if you start it on the ground. Actually I drop start all my saws now, but I learned the 'its a lot easeir to drop start it' trick using the 290.

Also you may well just be flooding it. Too many pulls with the choke set and it will flood (same with any Stihl). When cold, I would use the choke set for at most 5 pulls, then if it does not rumble over, set it to fast idle.

It may also be old gas. If you leave your saw for a long period of time, (more than a few months) I would drain it after use, and run the carb dry and store it that way. Also use stabilizer in the gas mix so that it does not varnish up when sitting when not being used as often.

Also for carb leaks... I have found that the carb nuts can get loose over time. That can cause problems. So just sinch them down every so often, like when you grease the clutch needle bearings. The 029 air cleaner is not the greatest either. You need to soak it in warm soapy water to clean out the fine crud that hets in there about as often, and let it air out to dry. The winter/summer flippey thingey can also be an issue too. I found that the winter setting lets in too much debris and the air filter clogs up a lot faster when set in winter mode. If the carb is icing up, set it in winter mode. O/w leave it in summer mode. Also the Stihls are prone to gas line cracks, and avery 2-3 years they need replacing. They run funny, or not at all with any gas line leaks.