Stihl 039

[Stihlmill]

I have an 039 saw with bad bearings and I'm fixing it, whatever, but I look for them for sale all the time and rarely see them. Are they junk? Are they rare? Are they so great no one wants to sell them? I bought mine on eBay 4-5 months ago locked up but I got it running because it's just the bottom end that's bad. Besides the fact they're a pain in the A$$ to rebuild I got new seals, carb throat, etc etc to do everything to it before it goes back together to eliminate possible air leaks etc I just can't even find one for parts. I can find the parts but not a whole saw running or not. Was just wondering if anyone knew or knows anything about them. Thanks guys!!

 

[atpchas]

The IPL says those brgs are standard 6203s. Try looking for them.

 

[Adam08ski]

They are a pretty OK saws for a clamshell. Rebuild it and open up the muffler. I have had 2 in the past. Make sure the bearings are open sealed.

 

[anlrolfe]

Parts should be plentiful. When you say "on sale" do you just mean heavily discounted?
make sure the replacements have METAL bearing cages

Lots of good YouTube videos on rebuilding this series.



People say these are a pita to work on, I don't get it. If we were talking about mods I'd understand. Can't swap the jug easy, do a gasket delete or port the head without major disassembly. Marketed to the homeowner w/ moderate duty/usage it is what it is but I'd hazard a complete bearing swap can be done faster on a clamshell than traditional "pro" case.

 

[Poleman]

These are good saws for clamps!! @anlrolfe said it straight when he said their easier to replace bearings in compared to a pro built saw. They take to porting well considering you have to use the compression you have. Make sure you have good rings and a modded muffler and go cut wood!!!

 

[Stihlmill]

Parts should be plentiful. When you say "on sale" do you just mean heavily discounted?
make sure the replacements have METAL bearing cages

Lots of good YouTube videos on rebuilding this series.



People say these are a pita to work on, I don't get it. If we were talking about mods I'd understand. Can't swap the jug easy, do a gasket delete or port the head without major disassembly. Marketed to the homeowner w/ moderate duty/usage it is what it is but I'd hazard a complete bearing swap can be done faster on a clamshell than traditional "pro" case.[/QUOTEs

Parts should be plentiful. When you say "on sale" do you just mean heavily discounted?
make sure the replacements have METAL bearing cages

Lots of good YouTube videos on rebuilding this series.



People say these are a pita to work on, I don't get it. If we were talking about mods I'd understand. Can't swap the jug easy, do a gasket delete or port the head without major disassembly. Marketed to the homeowner w/ moderate duty/usage it is what it is but I'd hazard a complete bearing swap can be done faster on a clamshell than traditional "pro" case.

I meant like if I look on eBay, Craigslist, Facebook marketplace for months now I've only seen one or 2 and in fact the ones I've seen were 390 not 039. I know same thing. Just seems to me like I can't ever find one. Until I got this one I've never seen another one.
Anyhow, I meant I can't find them for sale. lol

 

[Stihlmill]

These are good saws for clamps!! @anlrolfe said it straight when he said their easier to replace bearings in compared to a pro built saw. They take to porting well considering you have to use the compression you have. Make sure you have good rings and a modded muffler and go cut wood!!!

I guess I should have told you guys everything about the saw. Listing was by a woman. Said her neighbors husband died and had about 15 saws which were all for sale. Knew nothing about them... whatever... saw looked really nice. Well, it does look really nice. When it arrived I pulled it out of the box and tried to pull it over and it pulled over great. Felt like it had a ton of compression. In fact I put gas in and it fired on the second pull but the bearings are so wasted you could hear it instantly. Also I noticed the exhaust was more than ridiculously loud so I pulled it off and the baffle is busted and the flange where it bolts to the jug was melted almost into the cylinder. I looked inside with the piston up and down and the cylinder and piston/rings look great. Stuck my scope down the plug hole and everything looks good. I could only guess it must have had an air leak on a crank seal to waste the bearings and keep the piston,rings and cylinder to still be spotless. Can't imagine the gas was mixed wrong or the carb throats had a leak. Maybe. Either way I got a new crank with bearings, new crank seals, new carb boot and I got oem stihl parts. I know some aftermarket is good stuff but I just can't put one together with anything that isn't oem. Probably has to do with my OCD with my CAD. I plan on getting new rings before I tear into it just because. A question I do have though is, what do you guys use for the base gasket sealant? Is there a stihl silicone to use for those? I've searched for it but haven't come across it. I got some motoseal and loctite sealant to use on the neighbors 291 I'm fixing for him but is that the actual stihl oem used sealant? Thanks for all the help.

 

[Poleman]

I use Dirk or Three Bond on those. You need something that is heat and gas resistant. The Motoseal sounds right not sure of the Loctite you may have. Don’t use the anerobic 481 (?) That doesn’t seal on those saws very well where as the silicone type fill and flex some and is more resilient. I go around the seals also just for safety sake....air pears are death.

 

[Rockjock]

I use Dirk or Three Bond on those. You need something that is heat and gas resistant. The Motoseal sounds right not sure of the Loctite you may have. Don’t use the anerobic 481 (?) That doesn’t seal on those saws very well where as the silicone type fill and flex some and is more resilient. I go around the seals also just for safety sake....air pears are death.

Dirko is all we use and it works very well. Take your time when you rebuild it and all will be golden!

 

[Stihlmill]

I use Dirk or Three Bond on those. You need something that is heat and gas resistant. The Motoseal sounds right not sure of the Loctite you may have. Don’t use the anerobic 481 (?) That doesn’t seal on those saws very well where as the silicone type fill and flex some and is more resilient. I go around the seals also just for safety sake....air pears are death.

That's it. The anerobic. That's what I got. Thanks for the tip. Glad I wasn't motivated enough to start assembly today. Probably would have used that...

 

[Poleman]

Saved you a tear down..... @ Rockjock’s dead on with the Dirko.... used that a long time!!!!