Got a Different Make of Chain Saw, in my Collection.

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bruce Hopf

ArboristSite Guru
Joined
Apr 26, 2008
Messages
806
Reaction score
64
Location
North of Sebringville, Ontario, Canada
Well, I didn't really have a choice, in the matter. I had to buy a more productive Chain Saw, and a lot lighter Chain Saw, than My McCulloch Chain Saws.
I have a bad back, and when I was cutting wood, it bothered me to the point, if I cut more than an Hour or too, I could barely walk.
So under advisement, by a few Members here on AS, I set out to buy a Stihl, 044 that needed some work. The reason I went with Stihl, because it was pretty much the other Chain Saw, that I knew something about.
I used to work as a Stihl Factory Service Technician, and worked on quite a few of them, and liked how simple they were to work on.
I went to a Small Engine Repair shop, and found a Complete Stihl, 044 with a decent 20" Bar, and a Chain, that was in fair shape yet, that was seized, and picked it up for $75.00.
I put some real good Penetrating oil in the Spark Plug Hole, and left it sit for a while. I was able to get it freed up. When I turned the crank, I could feel a little drag, and also could feel it catch.
I began tearing it down, and once I got the Muffler off, I could se a Burr around the top of the Piston. Once I got the Intake Boot off, I could see that there was a good sized chunk out of the bottom of the Piston.
When I was removing the Cylinder from the Piston, It seemed pretty hard to pull off, and felt as if it was caught on something. Once I got the Cylinder off, it seemed to look OK.
I was on eBay last night, not knowing I didn't need a Cylinder, I found a New Complete After Market Piston and Cylinder Kit. With Shipping included, it was under $120.00. I also found a Complete Gasket Kit, for under $20.00, with Shipping included.
The old Cylinder, I'll just put it away for a spare, if I need it, I'm also going to put in a New Carburetor Repair Kit for it as well, and when I'm going to be done putting it back together again, I'll have an almost New Chain Saw.
Here are a few pictures I have taken so far. I would like to thank those of you Members that advised me to take this route. Bruce.
 
Keep up the good work Bruce and you will have a real saw there to cut your workload and body strain down a few notches. I see you have mastered the art of pict posting and are well into the tear down on the 044. Remember to clean everything up really good and check your base area below the crankshaft for debris. I use a shop vac that I made up a reducer on the hose end and attached a 3/8 flexible hose section so that I can get down under the crank and remove all the loose particles. I then soak the base with the purple oil and grease remover for a half hour and then vac that out as well. Next I dump in a half cup of methyl hydrate to neutralize the degreaser and clean up the water ,dump that and add premix almost to the top. Now turn the crank with the connecting rod between my thumb and middle finger on each side of the piston pin bore and you should be able to turn the crank quite rapidly this way. By doing this you can feel for roughness or slop in the bearings and feel if there is pitting or dirt embedded in the bearings. If so then don`t hesitate to take the saw apart further and replace the bearings and seals as it won`t last long if the bearings are rough. If all feels fine then dump out the premix into a clean catching container to check to see what comes out with the premix, I do the fill with premix,turn the crank and dump and check 2-3 times to make sure I have a clean base and as clean a bearing area as I can get without splitting the case halves and going the whole rebuild route. It pays to do a thorough cleaning job right from the start as will only come back on you real soon if you don`t. OH, do not vacuum out the pre mix from the base as it could catch your shop vac on fire or even explode, I posted this info once before on how I clean out the base area and did not mention that I do not vac out the pre mix and got negative feedback for not stating not to use the shop vac to remove pre mix, I just thought that most mechanics would know not to do that but have come to realize that not every one that reads these threads are mechanics.
If you have compressed air you can turn the base upside down and thoroughly blow out the crankcase area and that will expell leftover liquids and even stubborn dirt particles, Once done do the crank turning test once more to feel for smoothness in the bearings ,check for looseness ,there will be side play but no radial slop preferred. If all is good then reassembly can begin and that is just the reversal of the tear down. Do you have a piston ring compressor set? If not a 1" wide strip of plastic jug material about 8" long will wrap around the piston and you can hold the ends together with a pair of slip joint pliers,vise grips or even your fingers will work ok. Make sure the cylinder is lined up real close to where it bolts up as the rings can get caught in the ports if the cylinder is off alignment very far and rings have been broken easily if they expand and catch in the ports so do not twist the cylinder as you lower it into position,line it up to start and push it straight down after the rings started into the cylinder. Ok course you know to mount the piston with the arrow pointing to the exhaust (to the front ) on a 044 and position the rings the correct side up to fit the positioning pins on the piston. I know that you know all this Bruce but you have mentioned that it has been quite a few years since you have done this type of repair and I am only jogging your memory of some of the little things that can get overlooked while assembling the engine. I get quite a few calls about these points from others trying to do a rebuild and one fellow this weekend was surprised when he asked about the arrow on the piston,he thought it should point to him as the operator of the saw. LOL best of luck on the rebuild.
Pioneerguy600
 
quote
"I was on eBay last night, not knowing I didn't need a Cylinder, I found a New Complete After Market Piston and Cylinder Kit. With Shipping included, it was under $120.00. I also found a Complete Gasket Kit, for under $20.00, with Shipping included"


did you know Bailey's sells a big bore kit for about the same price? just a thought good luck keep up the good work and pics

:greenchainsaw:
 
Great find, After you get her all fixed up you will have a great saw with plenty of power. I am also looking for a nice fixer upper to do over the winter. Although i just put a BB kit on my MS650.
 
Back
Top