Stihl saw mods

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Stihlmill

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Hey guys, I'm new here and by judging from the google searches I'm sure this has been beat to death but I was wondering about easy mods for my saws to help with performance and help them breathe and run easier. I have an MS180C, 3 026 ( none of them are pros or anything just straight 026), an 028WB, an 029 farm boss, an 039 and an 048AV. The 039 I just got not running and the muffler was shattered inside and melted starting to go back into the motor but appears no internal damage has been done and has really good compression. I did fire it up for a few seconds but don't have a bar and chain on it yet so I didn't run it long. Also, not being a member until now I couldn't see any pictures of exhaust mods or anything so any help, direction, instructions would be greatly appreciated for any or all of them. Also, all of them run 3/8 chains so another question is what size bar and chain is, in anyone's opinion, best to run on these saws? Thanks in advance.
 
Muffler mods are always a good place to start. Lots of threads on here for those. I think there is a muffler mod thread with lots of pics.

On the 026 I would run a 18" .325 setup. Could do the same on the 028 and 029 but since you have the 3/8 you can run a 20" setup 3/8 on those.

Hope it helps!
 
Hey guys, I'm new here and by judging from the google searches I'm sure this has been beat to death but I was wondering about easy mods for my saws to help with performance and help them breathe and run easier. I have an MS180C, 3 026 ( none of them are pros or anything just straight 026), an 028WB, an 029 farm boss, an 039 and an 048AV. The 039 I just got not running and the muffler was shattered inside and melted starting to go back into the motor but appears no internal damage has been done and has really good compression. I did fire it up for a few seconds but don't have a bar and chain on it yet so I didn't run it long. Also, not being a member until now I couldn't see any pictures of exhaust mods or anything so any help, direction, instructions would be greatly appreciated for any or all of them. Also, all of them run 3/8 chains so another question is what size bar and chain is, in anyone's opinion, best to run on these saws? Thanks in advance.
That's a lot of things to answer. Hello is the first thing. My eye was drawn by the 048 a cool old saw imho, have you checked the crank case screws? If they come loose the case will leak air and you will be looking for a new piston( hard to find)
I run a 25" bar and 3/8 chain with an 8 tooth sprocket, in soft wood, because it balances well and cuts fast and because I keep the chain sharp and am very gentle with it because it's hard to find parts for. It's a heavy old girl and the long ish bar saves my back. I wouldn't put a bar that big on the others but you might want to. I wouldn't use a smaller bar than 18" either but that's because I'm 6'6" and mechanically sensitive.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L22 using Tapatalk
 
That's a lot of things to answer. Hello is the first thing. My eye was drawn by the 048 a cool old saw imho, have you checked the crank case screws? If they come loose the case will leak air and you will be looking for a new piston( hard to find)
I run a 25" bar and 3/8 chain with an 8 tooth sprocket, in soft wood, because it balances well and cuts fast and because I keep the chain sharp and am very gentle with it because it's hard to find parts for. It's a heavy old girl and the long ish bar saves my back. I wouldn't put a bar that big on the others but you might want to. I wouldn't use a smaller bar than 18" either but that's because I'm 6'6" and mechanically sensitive.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L22 using Tapatalk


Thanks for the info, I haven't found any loose screws and obviously I live in the U.S. And the sae came to me from overseas. Budapest exactly. The saw is nice, like frickin armoralled, shiny, really clean all over. The only thing I see is on the handle at the bottom where the screws are there are 2 cracks but other than that and the stihl plate on the recoil that's wore away but can read west German yet that's it. Bought it for $200 shipped to my door from eBay. I'm so pumped about that saw. Put gas in and 3 pulls later was running.
 
The 029 is missing. Took me forever to figure out how to put that pic up. The 048 is on the right. They all have bars now. I'll get better pics tomorrow. My buddy, and guy I work with, has the same mini boss I do, a 200t, an 064 magnum and an 084 we have a 4' bar for and have used it quite a few times. My first saw was a Homelite XL. I bought my first stihl from eBay, an 026, after that and it ran but found it to be low on compression. My dad gave me the 026 and 028WB after that along with an 029 farm boss that the dealer couldn't fix and a few of his friends couldn't either. I put a new impulse line and fuel line on and it ran awesome so he borrowed it and never gave it back but I got the 26 and 28 running and have every stihl except an old 032 I think I gave to a friend that needed a saw that was also low on compression and been buying them broke and fixing since. The 3rd 026 I have I got for $70 shipped to me and planned on fixing but the cases are pretty corroded so I decided to let that sit for a while. Probably going to be parts. The 039 I bought missing a few parts and I thought it was locked up but turns out compression was so high I needed to put a foot on it to pull it over. Put gas in and that ran. It sat for about 10 years so I believe had some tightness from sitting. Pulls easier now but that was like $130 and the 029 I just got was for parts and was about $120 shipped. Runs good also. I got the 48 because I needed a saw I can run a bigger bar on and was the only eBay saw that came with a bar and chain. Came with a 20" bar.
You know the thin metal "inner chain guides" or whatever they're properly called? Which saws have them and which don't? My 26s and 28 has them and I think thats it. I'm not sure if they all should have them or just some models. I look for them for the saws that don't have them and can't find them but that doesn't always mean they don't need them I assume. Thanks for the help.
 
The 029 is missing. Took me forever to figure out how to put that pic up. The 048 is on the right. They all have bars now. I'll get better pics tomorrow. My buddy, and guy I work with, has the same mini boss I do, a 200t, an 064 magnum and an 084 we have a 4' bar for and have used it quite a few times. My first saw was a Homelite XL. I bought my first stihl from eBay, an 026, after that and it ran but found it to be low on compression. My dad gave me the 026 and 028WB after that along with an 029 farm boss that the dealer couldn't fix and a few of his friends couldn't either. I put a new impulse line and fuel line on and it ran awesome so he borrowed it and never gave it back but I got the 26 and 28 running and have every stihl except an old 032 I think I gave to a friend that needed a saw that was also low on compression and been buying them broke and fixing since. The 3rd 026 I have I got for $70 shipped to me and planned on fixing but the cases are pretty corroded so I decided to let that sit for a while. Probably going to be parts. The 039 I bought missing a few parts and I thought it was locked up but turns out compression was so high I needed to put a foot on it to pull it over. Put gas in and that ran. It sat for about 10 years so I believe had some tightness from sitting. Pulls easier now but that was like $130 and the 029 I just got was for parts and was about $120 shipped. Runs good also. I got the 48 because I needed a saw I can run a bigger bar on and was the only eBay saw that came with a bar and chain. Came with a 20" bar.
You know the thin metal "inner chain guides" or whatever they're properly called? Which saws have them and which don't? My 26s and 28 has them and I think thats it. I'm not sure if they all should have them or just some models. I look for them for the saws that don't have them and can't find them but that doesn't always mean they don't need them I assume. Thanks for the help.
Nice pic. Nice Stihl collection. It's possible you have the beginnings of CAD. ( "chainsaw acquisition disease" or words to that effect)
Good question about the stainless plates between the bar and the case and cover. The best way to know what should be there is to find an IPL for your saw( mostly pdf s so you would need a pdf reader)
I have been intending to take a new saw pic but here's an old one of some of the Stihl collection
adcc2d8e58630dd2bdf061ef9968431e.jpg
259ab22a218dbb664f92cd9f6a25a9e6.jpg


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Nice saw collection! Yeah, I'm thinking I have the saw disease.... car, truck, tool, bike diseases too to name a few. So I fired up all my saws today just to stretch them out and the 039 I just got has some mighty loud crank bearings. Damn, it was being sold as parts or repair but it sure was cleaned up nice. I'll throw it on the shelf with 2 of the "26s.
 


Anyone know what the switch on the right side of the 48 is? It's not an on/off switch. I tried that. I've never seen that before. Then again this is my oldest saw so it may be an older saw thing. Not sure. I am going to change the crankcase bolts to Allen or torx bolts with possibly a drop of blue loctite. Thanks for the heads up Tim Taylor. I want to use it but not ruin it. I use the Orange stihl 2 stroke oil and 91 ethanol free gas in all my saws. The silver bottle stihl oil burns my eyes and nose. I always just use the 1 gal bottles with 1 gal of gas. Is that heavy enough for the old 048? I believe I read somewhere they are supposed to be a 40:1 ratio? Thanks for all the help.
 
My 048 has a blanked off hole where your switch is. Are there wires connected to the back of the switch? I think you might have heated handles which would be even rarer. I have run my 048 on 40:1 Total brand synthetic but I have increased it to 33 to one on advice of a Stihl expert based on the fact I really don't want to wear out the piston and I don't use the saw very often. Some of the oils smell really bad and some smell really good the Total oil doesn't really smell at all, not sure if that's a good sign or bad

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L22 using Tapatalk
 
My 048 has a blanked off hole where your switch is. Are there wires connected to the back of the switch? I think you might have heated handles which would be even rarer. I have run my 048 on 40:1 Total brand synthetic but I have increased it to 33 to one on advice of a Stihl expert based on the fact I really don't want to wear out the piston and I don't use the saw very often. Some of the oils smell really bad and some smell really good the Total oil doesn't really smell at all, not sure if that's a good sign or bad

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Sure does have wires going to it!! :)). I'll send a pic over.
 
if that thing has heated handles! if ya take the starter cover off you might be able the see extra wires coming from under the flywheel that's where the stator would be....might be able to see the wires for the handle if ya take the cylinder cover off in one pict looks like a wire going to the rear handle....might just be the kill ground I think that's the only stihl that has the oil and fuel fill arranged that way

cool saw
 
It looks like a heated handle switch,in your last photo I think I can see 2 wires under the air filter that will go to the rear handle pad on top. I worked at a Stihl shop in that era,they were a really good saw. But a surviving heated handle option is a kinda rare survivor.
 
since I started this I got another MS180c, a West German 026 bottom end, an 029 Super, an 042 and another 048. No heated handle on that guy. Got my eye on a 362m-tronic saw also. A guy across the street has it. He wants $400 and I said I’d take it but he screws around. Took me 2 years to get the other 180 I got from him. Anyhow, now I have an 048 I can use and leave my heated handle one, which still heats by the way, sit on the shelf 99% of the time and an 042 to use too. Picked the 42 and 48 up for $150 and they both run great. I must admit though. All the saws I have the first one I go for is the 180... I have a 14” bar on it and it just runs and runs and it’s so light it’s easy to run all day long and not even know it and in 2 pulls it’s always running. I suppose if I ran all the others like I do that one they would fire in 2 pulls as well. If I get into bigger stuff then I get one of the 26s. The rest I just have to have.
 
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