jsupple90
ArboristSite Lurker
My buddy has a Stihl 010AV that was in absolutely sorry condition, but since it was his dad's old saw, I told him I'd take a look at it to see if I could get it running.
Here's the background.
He has a shed in his back yard, which he thought was watertight. So he goes in there one day, and the poor little Stihl is sitting in it's case along with about 3 inches of water. Well let me rephrase that, it was in January in Kansas, so that was actually 3 inches of ice.
So I start tearing it apart to see what the damage is, assuming that I'd be telling him it was trash. Obviously, I needed a new starter spring, so I got that fixed. Then I went with the basics of chainsaw repair; check for compression first, then spark. After pulling the plug and draining plenty of water out of the saw, I turned her over a few times, and was absolutely shocked to find that it had about 140 pounds of compression. So, I cleaned up the points area, and tested for spark. Lo and behold, she had spark too. I ordered a carb rebuild kit, and took care of that. The carb did look pretty bad in there, as there was some rust reside. But I cleaned that up as best as I could, and put it back together. I also put in a new fuel line and vent.
So then I try to fire her up, and I get it running, sort of. She's obviously just barely running, and I try to tune the Hi and Lo screws with no great results. I even shut the Hi and Lo screws completely, and it would still run. Also, when running, it has gas kind of squirting back up out of the top where the air goes into the carb. Eventually, she just dies completely, and I can't get her restarted. I retest compression, and now I only have about 105 pounds. The only thing that I did earlier to the cylinder was to pour a little Sea Foam into the top of the cylinder to loosen stuff up. Either way, 105 pounds should still be enough to run, I think. I retest spark, and still have spark.
Knowing that the carb was in bad shape when I rebuilt it, and that I couldn't stop gas from going into the cylinder when I shut the Hi and Lo screws completely, I assume that this is the problem. So, I go on Ebay and buy a used one that is in pretty good condition. I take it apart, and strip the rebuild kit from the old one, and transfer all diaphragms and gaskets over to the "new" used one. Then I put it all back in the saw, and now she won't even run. Every now and then, it will give a small hint of fire, but just one time and then nothing. It will pop that one time as if it wants to run, but will not fire up. I can't even get it to fire over when I put gas directly into the throat of the carb, so I assume it's not a fuel related issue. Also, when cranking it over, it will eventually flood itself and have gas coming out of the muffler.
I have narrowed my ideas down to two:
1. Spark Plug. I didn't change it, but it still looks OK.
2. A points related issue. I know it's sparking, but maybe just not at the right time?
Does anyone have any remote ideas on what I should try next? (Other than taking after it with my brothers Stihl quickie saw, which I have contemplated!) I'm in $45 so far, and I don't want to give up yet!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Here's the background.
He has a shed in his back yard, which he thought was watertight. So he goes in there one day, and the poor little Stihl is sitting in it's case along with about 3 inches of water. Well let me rephrase that, it was in January in Kansas, so that was actually 3 inches of ice.
So I start tearing it apart to see what the damage is, assuming that I'd be telling him it was trash. Obviously, I needed a new starter spring, so I got that fixed. Then I went with the basics of chainsaw repair; check for compression first, then spark. After pulling the plug and draining plenty of water out of the saw, I turned her over a few times, and was absolutely shocked to find that it had about 140 pounds of compression. So, I cleaned up the points area, and tested for spark. Lo and behold, she had spark too. I ordered a carb rebuild kit, and took care of that. The carb did look pretty bad in there, as there was some rust reside. But I cleaned that up as best as I could, and put it back together. I also put in a new fuel line and vent.
So then I try to fire her up, and I get it running, sort of. She's obviously just barely running, and I try to tune the Hi and Lo screws with no great results. I even shut the Hi and Lo screws completely, and it would still run. Also, when running, it has gas kind of squirting back up out of the top where the air goes into the carb. Eventually, she just dies completely, and I can't get her restarted. I retest compression, and now I only have about 105 pounds. The only thing that I did earlier to the cylinder was to pour a little Sea Foam into the top of the cylinder to loosen stuff up. Either way, 105 pounds should still be enough to run, I think. I retest spark, and still have spark.
Knowing that the carb was in bad shape when I rebuilt it, and that I couldn't stop gas from going into the cylinder when I shut the Hi and Lo screws completely, I assume that this is the problem. So, I go on Ebay and buy a used one that is in pretty good condition. I take it apart, and strip the rebuild kit from the old one, and transfer all diaphragms and gaskets over to the "new" used one. Then I put it all back in the saw, and now she won't even run. Every now and then, it will give a small hint of fire, but just one time and then nothing. It will pop that one time as if it wants to run, but will not fire up. I can't even get it to fire over when I put gas directly into the throat of the carb, so I assume it's not a fuel related issue. Also, when cranking it over, it will eventually flood itself and have gas coming out of the muffler.
I have narrowed my ideas down to two:
1. Spark Plug. I didn't change it, but it still looks OK.
2. A points related issue. I know it's sparking, but maybe just not at the right time?
Does anyone have any remote ideas on what I should try next? (Other than taking after it with my brothers Stihl quickie saw, which I have contemplated!) I'm in $45 so far, and I don't want to give up yet!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
