Is it just me or is the 038 Magnum underpowered

[a. palmer jr.]

Yea.... Love them old homies.... I might be Jaded though SXL925 is prob the best but the 924 is almost the same saw anyhow... Only thing that sucks about them is the fuel line.... For a classic saw that is. Not going to keep up with the late 90's early 2k saws which are my personal fav modern era of saws. But its my fav classic by a long shot.. Not too heavy to use for extended periods and still good power. People complain about the vibes or hot starts but they don't seem any worse than other same era saws.

The padded bar on my 924 helps with the vibes a little, noise kind of a problem with the ears, bar oiling on the 924 much better than the 038 even given the longer bar on the 924.

 

[L34]

More air flow for 038Mag.

 

[Ando81]

Hi all, I’ve been lurking here for a couple of weeks and am interested in the topic of 038 magnums. My name is Justin and I’m from Victoria in Australia and I’ve had one of these saws for about 18 years. I bought it second hand and it’s still running the original piston, rings & cylinder. It used to have heaps of grunt for cutting personal use firewood but it was always a ***** to start from cold if it sat any longer than 2 weeks. It would often take at least 15 pulls on full choke before it would fire and then once it started it would cut great. I should do a compression test on it one day to see if it’s getting sad but I don’t use it much these days as I updated to an Ms381 and an Ms661.

 

[August76]

More air flow for 038Mag.View attachment 684656View attachment 684657View attachment 684658

That doesn't look like any 038 I've ever seen. Is that one of those new ms380 Chinese clone saws Hutzel or whatever

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

Stihl did continue on with the 038 in other markets. I believe the ms381 is a current production model.

 

[August76]

Stihl did continue on with the 038 in other markets. I believe the ms381 is a current production model.

Yes i knew that. But when they changed it like you said they called at the ms380 his saw does not look like an 03 8 the top of the case is different

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

Yes i knew that. But when they changed it like you said they called at the ms380 his saw does not look like an 03 8 the top of the case is different

I'm not sure if they changed the design while still the 038. It wouldn't be unlike them to do so.

 

[August76]

Well I have a relatively big job that's probably going to take me a couple weeks. Some big pine trees... so I'm going to take this saw out and really really put the boots to it today. I might even drag out the McCulloch super 250. it's a bunch of wet Ponderosa Pine and the other saws did not like it yesterday. normally I don't like messing around with stuff this big because it doesn't make good firewood. I don't have a log splitter. But it's all free wood and it's not often that somebody with 2 Acres of trees wants you to clean it up for free

 

[SEAM]

Extensive use with a poorly adjusted carburetor may fry the top end... if the saw (and bar/chain) is in otherwise good shape it can only be the carb (or some other fuel supply issue).

 

[August76]

Holy crap I have to take back everything I said about this saw. In larger wet pine this saw just gets after it! it's not fast but you can't hardly make it bog like all the other saws this thing did awesome today cutting all this big wet stuff none of the other saws could hold a candle to it I am absolutely amazed although I lost my oil cap somehow and the gas cap has always been leaking so I went down to the dealer and bought a new one for both for like $8 a piece. I figured today the saw earned it
So my conclusion is that when it comes to torque and grunt this sauce has got it but for small stuff or easy stuff it doesn't really do any better than anything else the 372xp Boggs easily as does the dcs6421 and actually the little 52cc dolmar 111 doesn't really bog down it just won't cut any faster

 

[L34]

That doesn't look like any 038 I've ever seen. Is that one of those new ms380 Chinese clone saws Hutzel or whatever

Gen u wine 038mag with chi covers.
Wasn't going to cut up original covers.

 

[August76]

Gen u wine 038mag with chi covers.
Wasn't going to cut up original covers.

Ok smart move. How do you like your 044 compared to the 038

 

[Manciniak]

Hello,
Long time lurker first time poster...

I just acquired a very lightly used (I’d guess less than 5 tanks through it ever) brazilian 038 magnum recently. It came with a 29” bar which is completely unnecessary for my needs and that saw doesn’t need more weight... it’s gonna get a 20” lightweight bar.

As for the weird air filter/choke combo the best plan of attack I can think of is using an oiled foam filter inside one of the steel mesh style filters, then a Chinese replacement cover with some holes drilled and screens glued in.

I feel all smothered just looking at the air intake design disaster on that saw.

 

[August76]

Hello,
Long time lurker first time poster...

I just acquired a very lightly used (I’d guess less than 5 tanks through it ever) brazilian 038 magnum recently. It came with a 29” bar which is completely unnecessary for my needs and that saw doesn’t need more weight... it’s gonna get a 20” lightweight bar.

As for the weird air filter/choke combo the best plan of attack I can think of is using an oiled foam filter inside one of the steel mesh style filters, then a Chinese replacement cover with some holes drilled and screens glued in.

I feel all smothered just looking at the air intake design disaster on that saw.

And you realize there's a flap inside of there to choke the carburetor and without that the saw is extremely hard to start

 

[Manciniak]

And you realize there's a flap inside of there to choke the carburetor and without that the saw is extremely hard to start

Ya the little choke flap right? I found some different sized foam for diff brand saws I’m gonna try to make work by branding out the center section for the choke and carb bolts. It has to breathe better and if I end up where this other gentleman is with a 4wd style snorkel stickin out the top of my saw then so be it. But I am gonna spend $20 on r&d for something more subtle first.

 

[August76]

Quick video from today

 

[Frank Rizzo]

Quick video from today

She cuts eh ?

 

[Frank Rizzo]

Quick video from today

She cuts eh ?

 

[Manciniak]

This is how i bought it. [emoji1751]‍[emoji3603] how often does yours cake up or become noticeably congested?

 

[August76]

She cuts eh ?

Alot better in wet wood than all the other saws