Bought a used stihl 044 need help

[Locust99]

Hi everyone sorry this is a lengthy post,

I recently purchased a used stihl 044 artic with the heated handle grips for 200$ When I got it , it was running , but extremely loud and the saw would surge at idle, especially if tilted. Eventually this got worse , and I rebuilt the carburetor, changed the intake boot to the carburetor( there was a huge hole in it), and replaced the fuel line and filter. Also replaced the spark plug and air filter.

After those fixes the saw ran better , but it still surged at idle so there is another air leak. It is very hard to keep the saw running at idle without the chain spinning faster than I’d like it. So Possibly the impulse line , but I didn’t see any cracks on that line. I’m thinking the crank case seals or something. Basically if I tilt the saw sideways it surges up to like 6000rpm with a tachometer on it.

In addition to this now the clutch went, saw still had full power at full throttle and cut good with these previous issues, until the clutch went.Now though it bogs down, and cant cut at all. Also the chain brake isn’t working possibly due to the clutch or they both somehow went together.

Does anyone have any tips on where I should start? I don’t really want to split the crankcase apart myself, but if that’s what I need to do I’ll figure it out. Could the air leak be something else easily accessable? I plan on replacing the clutch myself here soon and either finding someone who will fix it for a reasonable price or just continue to tackle it myself.

Thank you for the help!

 

[Ozhoo]

Welcome. Start by pulling the clutch drum and see what's going on with the clutch. You don't need to split the case to replace the crank seals, just put the flywheel, clutch & oiler. Folks here can walk you through it.

 

[Locust99]

Thank you for the help, later this week or weekend I will work on that and see what’s going on. I did find a service manual for the 440 so that should help me too. Also I already bought a kit for all the seals/ gaskets. I just need to see how much an oem clutch costs vs aftermarket. Trying to get this thing running good for hopefully less than another 200$

 

[Evan]

Dont put your flywheel on with a badass impact like i did.

Id replace everything rubber on the saw then go from there

 

[ironman_gq]

Sounds like it needs crank seals

 

[TheTone]

The surge on tilt sounds like a crank seal. I'd pull flywheel, clutch, etc. until you can visualize the seals. Put a piece of rubber such as inner tube or rubber wedge designed for the job between carb and intake manifold and between muffler and exhaust port. Retighten, thus blocking both ports. Leave sparkplug in. Attach pressure/vacuum pump through impulse line. Pull 7-10 in. vacuum - will probably not hold. Change to pressure setting, pump to about same pressure and spray with soapy water solution: seals, cylinder gasket, manifold, block off ports, impulse line, spark plug hole. You will see bubbles at the leak areas. If you don't have a P/V tester, you could set up the same way except connect a hose to the impulse line, skip vacuum test, then spray, and use mouth pressure, air pump, or sphygmomanometer to check for bubbles.

 

[Locust99]

So far I was working on pulling the clutch , but I don’t have the tool to stop the piston. So either I’ll pick that tool up, use a rope or my impact drill with a socket. What would be the best route to take that off? So far this is what it looks like . Also a pic of the clutch drum. Looks like it’s all pretty beat up.

Thanks guys.

 

[jeremyc]

I have pulled dozens on clutches always using rope in the spark plug hole and use a ratchet with socket to remove clutch.
Is there radial play in the crankshaft ? Looks like that drum was rubbing the case?

 

[Locust99]

I have pulled dozens on clutches always using rope in the spark plug hole and use a ratchet with socket to remove clutch.
Is there radial play in the crankshaft ? Looks like that drum was rubbing the case?

If by radial play you mean it moves if I try to move it up and down or side to side, there is some give to it. What does that mean for the saw? Also I think I need to replace the AV bushings or something because I think there’s too much play if you hold the handle and move the bar.

Edit. So that would mean my crankshaft bearings are also bad, how difficult is that to change?
Thank you

 

[burnses]

I bet by now its possible the bearing bore on the clutch side is worn out so the bearing is no longer a press fit in the case and a cause of a air leek and other problems....good luck

 

[drf255]

If by radial play you mean it moves if I try to move it up and down or side to side, there is some give to it. What does that mean for the saw? Also I think I need to replace the AV bushings or something because I think there’s too much play if you hold the handle and move the bar.

Edit. So that would mean my crankshaft bearings are also bad, how difficult is that to change?
Thank you

Where are you located?

Bad bearings can be a cause of a seal going bad. There should be no play.

You’ll need to split the case to replace the bearings. There are special tools that make it easier, but a one time job can be accomplished without them.

Or you find someone here to help you out.

 

[Locust99]

Where are you located?

Bad bearings can be a cause of a seal going bad. There should be no play.

You’ll need to split the case to replace the bearings. There are special tools that make it easier, but a one time job can be accomplished without them.

Or you find someone here to help you out.

Edit a friend of a friend is going to work on it for me.

So considering I bought the saw for 200$ and got maybe 1 hour or 2 of use, how bad of a deal was this? I will do some research on splitting the case and possibly just keep this as a project saw. I was hoping I could have got a year out of this thing before I needed a new saw. Oh well.

Thanks for the help again guys.

 

[Ozhoo]

It really depends on using OEM parts or aftermarket. If you did bearing, seals and AV mounts $120 or so. Like someone mentioned you'd want to do all the rubber though, so add in impulse, fuel and intake manifold. You'll quickly be putting $200 into it.

 

[scottr]

Locust99 , have you removed the muffler to look at the piston and cylinder of your extremly loud and sideways surging saw ?

 

[Locust99]

I have not yet, I will look at that later.

 

[Locust99]

I pulled the muffler and took some pictures of the piston and cylinder. Got a little pb blaster on the cylinder by accident. I am hoping the cylinder is salvageable, piston has some scoring but I don’t think it’s terrible. Dropping the saw off hopefully later this week to have it split and replace bearings and anything else that needs to be replaced.

 

[Evan]

Even if you end up with 500 into the saw thats 300 in parts beer or whatever your labor costs its still very much worth it.

Im doing crank seals bearings and tossing a 046 top end on mine. I think i passed the 300 mark in parts but people want 500-800 for these saws in good shape. With a rebuild itl last many years..

You could get a 20 dollar after market handle and sell arctic stuff and recoupe alot of your expense if the arctic stuff isnt needed. Maybe im not sure if heated handle is desierable or not

 

[Locust99]

Even if you end up with 500 into the saw thats 300 in parts beer or whatever your labor costs its still very much worth it.

Im doing crank seals bearings and tossing a 046 top end on mine. I think i passed the 300 mark in parts but people want 500-800 for these saws in good shape. With a rebuild itl last many years..

You could get a 20 dollar after market handle and sell arctic stuff and recoupe alot of your expense if the arctic stuff isnt needed. Maybe im not sure if heated handle is desierable or not

Yeah as long as I end up with it lasting a few years or more I’ll be happy. A friend of a friend will fix it for 100$ + parts do that’s not too bad. The heated handle is kind of nice for if your cutting and it’s real cold out, also has a heated carburetor. Hoping the cylinder is okay and I’ll buy a meteor piston and with everything I’ll probably have 200-300 in parts. So that’s not terrible as long as it lasts some time.

 

[rupedoggy]

Probably just me but if my saw was that cruddy and dirty, I would not put a picture of it here for guys to see. Mike

 

[Locust99]

I bought the saw used with no history on it. For the first time pulling the muffler cleaning it wasn’t my priority. It has since been cleaned up. Thanks.