Just got a stihl 038 magnum that needs a little work. Looking for advice on whether or not to use aftermarket parts. Any help would be appreciated
Stihl 038
- Thread starter Tml061583
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these are very good saws in my opinion ...its best to use oem on all parts... but some of the small's are ok muffler, plastic covers ect...cylinder ect. use o.e.m. and good luck
How about intake boot and sleeve?
Best to stay away from Chinese rubber parts, especially fuel lines.
Ok. Any mods I can do easily that give her a bit more pep?
The 038 magnum is a powerful saw in its range. Do you really need more pep? Simple mods would be opening up the muffler a bit and advancing the timing a few degrees. Squish optimizing is a possibility. Porting would be a much more expensive mod.
Have you run it?
Made one cut with it.
Was it less than you expected? Just curious. Mine has never disappointed me, and it’s never been modified since I bought it new.
Well I I just got it and it needed carb. When I put carb on I didn't see the little metal expansion sleeve in the intake boot. So a made on cut with it and decided to look at the IPL AND IT shows the sleeve and a gasket also. So I didn't really play with it cause I didn't want to hurt it. I took muffler off in noticed a little scoring on the intake side of cylinder.
One cut
Gotcha. My advice is worth nil. Lots of guys here can help. Listing your concerns will help them to help you.
I'll post picks shortly. On way home from work.
Maybe it looked worse yesterday. I was tired. Is that little bit of scoring worth worrying about?
Scoring on the piston looks light from what I can see in the pics. Dollars to donuts the cylinder is fine. I'd be very surprised to find anything serious.
I think I am gonna run it after I get the little metal sleeve that goes in the intake boot.
An 038 Magnum is about as powerful a saw as I would need even in stock form...
It's my first 038 magnum. And I guess I was expecting a lot more power from it. Also it's hard to start.
Sounds like the saw isn't right or it wouldn't disappoint you on power. You might look at your air filter for the hard starting, a common problem with the 038. The choke is in the air filter and sometimes they don't work right.
