Is a stihl 038 a good saw and what's it worth?

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Found this interesting...
They say these are surplus tecomec pistons according to the seller with caber rings added.hmmm
 

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I like almost everything except the circlips. The price is hard to believe. Too bad they don't have the NOS cylinder kits.
Wolf Creek saw has alot on their eBay store. Very fast shipping actually but the the stupid Postal Service sent my package to Phoenix and then it went to Las Vegas for some dumb reason and now has to come back down
 
I have to unbolt the jug and see. Can I easily remove the jug or is it a pain?

Easy to do. Don't worry about getting less than you expected. Just dive in and have fun. It happens to all of us. Consider it the price of education and of doing business.
 
Easy to do. Don't worry about getting less than you expected. Just dive in and have fun. It happens to all of us. Consider it the price of education and of doing business.
Yeah it was pretty much the same as removing a clam shell and I don't know why people act like a clam is so hard to remove. Maybe some clam saws are way worse than ones I've opened..poulan Stihl and echo
 
So I have an update.
my piston and rings did not arrive because the USPS sucks!!!! they sent it to Phoenix and then it passed me by and went to Las Vegas. next a Las Vegas post office. then it went to a Las Vegas Distribution Center, and another Distribution Center, back to another distribution center and it has departed from another one. It's running circles in vegad. it was supposed to be here Wednesday.
I contracted Wolf Creek saw and ask them if there was anything we could do. long story short Ryan over there at Wolf Creek Saw in Colorado sent me another piston and rings along with a free set of crank seals for the trouble! and all I have to do is just send back the other one when it shows up. Talk about going the extra mile for the customer!!!!
These guys are awesome! I will try to get all my parts from them from now on. They have earned my business. And made my day.
 
Both packages showed up same day. Go figure. They bubble wrapped the hell out of everything and gave me a free wolf Creek saw pen lol
Now I just have to read my trusty manual and check ring gap. Are they usually spot on or do they need filed?I'm going to check squish while I'm at it
 

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Both packages showed up same day. Go figure. They bubble wrapped the hell out of everything and gave me a free wolf Creek saw pen lol Now I just have to read my trusty manual and check ring gap. Are they usually spot on or do they need filed?I'm going to check squish while I'm at it

Check ring gap as a matter of course, but I've never had to file one.
 
Check ring gap as a matter of course, but I've never had to file one.
It was good. I compared the next caber to old and wow. Worn!
I put a piece of solder in the spark plug hole across the top and pulled the cord until it stops and continue to slowly pull it and squished out the solder and measured it with my caliper it measures 0.55 mm and I think I did this right
 
So I'm guessing that's normal. Here's some pictures have the stuff a comparison of the circle if that came with it with the ones that I got from still and the old ones that came out and on the wrist pain I ended up reusing the old wrist pin they both fit about the same. not as tight on the new piston as the old one but oh well. I also did the bare piston drop out of the cylinder test. they both held in there for over 5 Second count with the finger over spark plug hole but the difference is the new piston doesn't measure less at in the bottom of the skirt because it's not worn out. I suppose the Old piston was reusable personally I don't even like reusing this jug.
 

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Was your old piston scored? If changing pistons, re check squish, but at .055 you would want to delete the base gasket. When doing this I like to use the anaerobic gasket sealer. Make sure both surfaces are thoroughly cleaned … light sand, then brake cleaner.

Your old piston does not look worn from the pics (OEMs are always best). If it is not scored, measure them both near the bottom of the skirts. If the OEM is the same as the new one, use the OEM. Also, I prefer OEM piston pins, piston bearings, and clips. I have had good luck with most AM seals.
 
Was your old piston scored? If changing pistons, re check squish, but at .055 you would want to delete the base gasket. When doing this I like to use the anaerobic gasket sealer. Make sure both surfaces are thoroughly cleaned … light sand, then brake cleaner.

Your old piston does not look worn from the pics (OEMs are always best). If it is not scored, measure them both near the bottom of the skirts. If the OEM is the same as the new one, use the OEM. Also, I prefer OEM piston pins, piston bearings, and clips. I have had good luck with most AM seals.
Yes it was bad Mike! And the skirt was smaller because that's where it was rubbing anyway she's running right now.. loud saw lol
 
It was good. I compared the next caber to old and wow. Worn!
I put a piece of solder in the spark plug hole across the top and pulled the cord until it stops and continue to slowly pull it and squished out the solder and measured it with my caliper it measures 0.55 mm and I think I did this right

You need at least two (above pin bosses), 4 is better at 90 degrees, pieces of solder to check squish. Otherwise the piston will rock and measurement is suspect. This just came up in another tread on an 034.....
 
Yeah that
You need at least two (above pin bosses), 4 is better at 90 degrees, pieces of solder to check squish. Otherwise the piston will rock and measurement is suspect. This just came up in another tread on an 034.....
Makes sense. What's the usual numbers.
Saws running. I had a bit of a problem with the choke flap inside of the air filters I just removed it warm the saw starts first pull
 
My gauge reads lower on most things. It's stingy but close to 150psi here
 

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Here's a video of first run and adjust.
Keep in mind there's no air filter on there anyway when I put the air filter on there it would die mediately because of the choke flap. and I don't know if there was a broken spring in there or but I removed the flap

 
Pull or leave alone. ???
It looks ok that doesn't mean it is but are these aftermarket seals any good
 

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Pull or leave alone. ???
It looks ok that doesn't mean it is but are these aftermarket seals any good


Looks pretty grimy in there. Are those the new seals?

Here's a 038 before taking apart

all cleaned up.jpg

Stihl gasket set comes w/seals $17. What did you use?

150 psi is good if rings are not fully seated. Is this with or without base gasket? If without not so good.
 
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