The rest....
Last Saturday (a week go) I was going to build my woodshed extension, but it rained so hard I was driven back to my messy shop. I needed to get to my saw table, but it was covered in saw parts and projects, some having been there for 3 months or more... I started cleaning up...
I'd had an 044 project in the works for 6 months, but never really had a complete saw so I'd been slowly horse trading and tearing parts off badly broken carcasses. I figured, screw the cleanup... it will never get restarted if I put it all away..
Some of the parts history..
About a year ago WAGONWHEELER (where is that guy???) gave me a crushed 440 in exchange for some labor rebuilding his 660. Good piston, cylinder, crank and small pasts, but every case and plastic part was toast. A second crushed junker (really crushed) yielded the filter base, filter cover and few minor parts.
RBTREE gave me an EARLY (mid 1995) 12mm pin crankcase he'd bought off ebay in exchange for some 044 labor. Unfortunately RB's damp closet wasn't the best place for storage... the crank was "rough" in the big end and the bearings were shot (prior owner). I cleaned this case up and painted it for the "Build your own degree wheel project" late last year. Unfortunately I put the wrong (rough) crank in!! I had also put in new bearings - came in a lot I bought off ebay - marked as "unknown stihl"..lolol
The 046 tank came from a customer saw - he'd dropped it out of a tree and broken the handle at the base. I replaced the tank - he didn't want the old tank. I'd always been told that the 046 tank was the same as the 044 except for the carb stud lengths, and had even repeated that on AS... As I found out... WRONG....
The nice side covers were the result of trading other parts I'd accumulated over the years. The recoil I first swapped for a 361 cover I go on ebay for $20, then later for a brand new cover - a customer had to have one that day... so I got the new one.
The top handle - first swapped a standard handle for a wrap (Yep!!!), then the wrap for a new wrap - same deal as the side cover - a customer really needed one .. so... upgrade..
Back to a week ago... The only way to really find out what was missing was to start building. I'd fixed a few 044 for different guys, so my easy to find parts had been picked over.. Tore apart the rebuilt crankcase, inserted the "other" crank, piston...new rings - the old rings weren't that bad, but... Coil, flywheels, oil pump, clutch etc and an hour or two (I really had to dig for some parts..) and I was ready for the tank.
Never had fixed it as I didn't have a good plan. I wanted it to look good as well as be strong. I needed to preserve the screw access for the tank rear handle cover, and that left little room to play. I first tacked the plastic parts back together with a soldering iron, then drilled two holes - one either side of the access screw - from the bottom though to the cover compartment. Two 16D galvanized nails bent to the perfect shape, insert inverted and rotate around and they snapped into place. Epoxy the bottom and end, wait a few hours, then epoxy inside the handle cover compartment.. stronger than new..
You can see the two nail heads - just..
Sunday morning.. epoxy has set. Quick muffler port (enlarge existing EPA pea hole), derust, paint and bake.. quick carb rebuild...
Insert tank into engine, button up.. carb, wires, switch shaft, 044 filter base -HUH????? it doesn't fit!!! Sure enough.. the 046 tank is about 10mm wider at the BASE than the 044 tank, but shares the same right hand section as the 044. This means the right side lines up, but the left does not... damn...
I need my spirts lifted.. two spacer blocks on the carb screws, carb nuts, fuel, three pulls - COUGH, one more - WHRROOOOMMMM.... now I felt better..
Back to the tank... I needed a new top cover, and it has to be the 044/MS440 style anyhow.. I could buy a new MS440 tank but I be stuck with a flip cap on the rear. A quick call to my buddy at cheapstihlsawparts confirmed that he didn't have any decent 044 tanks.... The cheapest way out was the make the 046 parts work. I swapped the 044 filter bases and connector for the 044 parts, and ordered an 046 filter cover.
The top lines up reasonably well, but you end up with a small gap to the left right beside the recoil. I can just see me snagging my hand and o cold morning.
Heat gun to the INSIDE of the cover while pressing on a flat surface, and the flare has gone.
I'm pretty happy with the result. The saw looks great, works like new, and has a larger fuel capacity than an 044. Should make up for the decreased economy after the muffler is DP.... The carb box cover is better on the 046 - the carb can be warmed by cylinder or outside air via the mesh at the back of the filter base - the 044 cannot.
Might have to get a DP port muffler front this week..
