Hi all,
This is my first post. I have been reading through the forums to make sure that I didn't miss anything too obvious but my Stihl MS 170 will not start.
I had a gardener come and help with a summer yard cleanup (Australia) and lent him my chainsaw to do the job. He told me that the saw got hot and wouldn't start but that was normal (and reading online seemed to be true).
After letting the saw cool I tried again and again to start the saw over a few days to make sure a) it was cool, and b) it wasn't flooding. Could not get the saw to fire at all.
Then drained and replaced fuel, replaced spark plug and air filter - no luck.
Took the saw back to the shop I bought it from about 3 years ago (only used 4 or so times in 3 years) and they could not care less the saw wouldn't work. Gave it a pull and said it was very tight and the chain was turning when trying to start which meant the clutch had been burnt out. Wanted to charge me $100 to look at the saw, plus ??? in labour and parts. Estimate $250, could be more for a saw that is worth $300 here new.
Now I don't know what to do. The Stihl prices go up here (significantly) in just a few days so my first thought wast to upgrade to a bigger saw (MS181 was my first thought), but I don't want to buy a more expensive saw now that may be unreliable (or not worth fixing if something else goes wrong). I was disappointed that the saw is pretty much a throwaway after minimal use.
I took the chain off and the clutch and tried to start - I though if it was a clutch issue I would at least be able to get the saw started with no clutch and chain, but nothing not even a hint of firing.
I did notice quite a bit of oil around the bar/chain/clutch area. Not sure if this indicates something.
Because I wasn't using the saw (and wasn't there when it was being used) I don't know if the failure is due to misuse, whether the fix will be easy and the shop just wants more money (they have ripped me off on a lawnmower previously). I did find the MS170 a little underpowered for what I needed to use it for and would bog down (cutting down small-ish ironbark/hardwood trees).
Options now are:
1. Try to fix the saw myself
2. Take it to another small engine mechanic to fix
3. Buy another MS 170 for $300 (before the price hike, accepting saw is a little under powered but being able to use the current saw for parts in the future)
4. Buy a MS181 for $500 with quick chain adjustment and easy start
5. Look at buying an Echo saw.
So far not impressed at all with Stihl (whipper snipper is Stihl too and bogs down a LOT, I have a Stihl leaf blower though that I am very happy with) but as I said not sure what the gardener did to the chainsaw.
Any advice on what you guys would recommend would be appreciated.
This is my first post. I have been reading through the forums to make sure that I didn't miss anything too obvious but my Stihl MS 170 will not start.
I had a gardener come and help with a summer yard cleanup (Australia) and lent him my chainsaw to do the job. He told me that the saw got hot and wouldn't start but that was normal (and reading online seemed to be true).
After letting the saw cool I tried again and again to start the saw over a few days to make sure a) it was cool, and b) it wasn't flooding. Could not get the saw to fire at all.
Then drained and replaced fuel, replaced spark plug and air filter - no luck.
Took the saw back to the shop I bought it from about 3 years ago (only used 4 or so times in 3 years) and they could not care less the saw wouldn't work. Gave it a pull and said it was very tight and the chain was turning when trying to start which meant the clutch had been burnt out. Wanted to charge me $100 to look at the saw, plus ??? in labour and parts. Estimate $250, could be more for a saw that is worth $300 here new.
Now I don't know what to do. The Stihl prices go up here (significantly) in just a few days so my first thought wast to upgrade to a bigger saw (MS181 was my first thought), but I don't want to buy a more expensive saw now that may be unreliable (or not worth fixing if something else goes wrong). I was disappointed that the saw is pretty much a throwaway after minimal use.
I took the chain off and the clutch and tried to start - I though if it was a clutch issue I would at least be able to get the saw started with no clutch and chain, but nothing not even a hint of firing.
I did notice quite a bit of oil around the bar/chain/clutch area. Not sure if this indicates something.
Because I wasn't using the saw (and wasn't there when it was being used) I don't know if the failure is due to misuse, whether the fix will be easy and the shop just wants more money (they have ripped me off on a lawnmower previously). I did find the MS170 a little underpowered for what I needed to use it for and would bog down (cutting down small-ish ironbark/hardwood trees).
Options now are:
1. Try to fix the saw myself
2. Take it to another small engine mechanic to fix
3. Buy another MS 170 for $300 (before the price hike, accepting saw is a little under powered but being able to use the current saw for parts in the future)
4. Buy a MS181 for $500 with quick chain adjustment and easy start
5. Look at buying an Echo saw.
So far not impressed at all with Stihl (whipper snipper is Stihl too and bogs down a LOT, I have a Stihl leaf blower though that I am very happy with) but as I said not sure what the gardener did to the chainsaw.
Any advice on what you guys would recommend would be appreciated.