Let's get my Stihl 038 Mag up and going!

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That is strange. You might be surprised as what is in the set

Most Stihl sets I've got had seals, center gasket, base gasket, muffler gasket. 038 set should have oil pump gasket too.

Screen shot from an ebay ad, I think one seal is hiding under the sticker......

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Agreed. The IPL only showed 3 pieces so we shall see.
 
Another member suggested an 028 tank was the same. I happen to have an 028 WB and a spare tank for it so I went out and dug them out. Well wouldn't you know it, the spare tank I had for it is actually a magnesium 038 tank 😄

Buuuuut, since they require different hardware I'm still buying that parts saw. Now I'll have a mag tank to source hardware for...
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I paid for the "parts" 038 Mag I found from a seller on Facebook marketplace. I'm hoping to receive it by the end of next week. I was told it will run on choke and has great compression. So we will see. For $100 I'll be happy if the only useable part on the saw is the tank/handle.
 
I paid for the "parts" 038 Mag I found from a seller on Facebook marketplace. I'm hoping to receive it by the end of next week. I was told it will run on choke and has great compression. So we will see. For $100 I'll be happy if the only useable part on the saw is the tank/handle.
If the piston isn’t scored that’s a pretty sweet deal. I believe I paid $300 for my first 038 mag mechanically sound with bar and chain. Second one I paid $75 but it needed some moderate TLC. They’re a little on the heavy side but IMO one of the best built saws of the day.
 
The parts saw came in today and she's definitely a parts saw. Exhaust side of the piston has some scoring but I bet once cleaned up she'll run. Really all I bought her for was the tank which will clean up nicely I do believe.

So onto the original saw. After pulling the top end off for an inspection, the crank bearings definitely felt chunky.

The crankcase had multiple pieces of I'm not entirely sure what inside and was generally filthy overall. The transfers were gunky too with residue. So I split the cases and she isn't going back together without crank bearings at this point.
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How’s the rebuild going? Wanted to show off a muffler I just modified for one of my 038 mags. Don’t know what the outlet came off of but it works perfectly for what I’m after. Removed the baffle, yes it was a pain in the ass. Using a 034 muffler spacer to add some rigidity back to the sealing surface where it bolts up to the cylinder. Gonna make a spark screen for the new outlet and use some stainless rivets rather than nut and bolt. Should work quite well. Maybe this will give you some ideas if you haven’t thought of anything already.

Update:

Installed the muffler, you can see (forgive me I’m not a photographer) how I’m using that 034 spacer inside the muffler to aid in distributing the load on the gasket. Still need to put the spark screens in. Did run the saw to quarter up a gnarly piece of madrona. Skimmed a nail in the process but the saw had plenty of power.
 

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How’s the rebuild going? Wanted to show off a muffler I just modified for one of my 038 mags. Don’t know what the outlet came off of but it works perfectly for what I’m after. Removed the baffle, yes it was a pain in the ass. Using a 034 muffler spacer to add some rigidity back to the sealing surface where it bolts up to the cylinder. Gonna make a spark screen for the new outlet and use some stainless rivets rather than nut and bolt. Should work quite well. Maybe this will give you some ideas if you haven’t thought of anything already.
Looks nice! I plan on opening mine up as well. Maybe tonight after the family goes to bed.

I ordered crank bearings so they should be in tomorrow or Friday and I'll continue on with it.

I only have a metric ton of other things going at any given time depending upon the weather and other factors. My saws are occupying the backburner for a few days.
 
Crank bearings came in so I spent some time last night pulling the old ones off the crank.

A little bath in some diesel and everything is cleaning up wonderfully.
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Here's the parts saw I'm taking the tank from. She's had a hard life but I have another parts saw that I'm getting for free. I'll use that one and the remainder of this parts saw and build another one in the future.
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New bearings in.
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Crank in and seals installed.
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That's all the time for today.
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Crank bearings came in so I spent some time last night pulling the old ones off the crank.

A little bath in some diesel and everything is cleaning up wonderfully.
View attachment 1063154

Here's the parts saw I'm taking the tank from. She's had a hard life but I have another parts saw that I'm getting for free. I'll use that one and the remainder of this parts saw and build another one in the future.
View attachment 1063155

New bearings in.
View attachment 1063156

Crank in and seals installed.
View attachment 1063157
View attachment 1063158

That's all the time for today.
View attachment 1063159

Nice work. I like the fact it's very clean.
 
Nice work. I like the fact it's very clean.

Thanks. I first graduated from tech school as a powersports mechanic and part cleanliness was drilled into us by one of our teachers.

He had me and another student rebuild his Suzuki GT750 "Water Buffalo". They are a 2-stroke triple steet bike and it was his pride and joy. That thing was immaculate and he made sure we kept it spotless during the rebuild.
 
Thanks. I first graduated from tech school as a powersports mechanic and part cleanliness was drilled into us by one of our teachers.

He had me and another student rebuild his Suzuki GT750 "Water Buffalo". They are a 2-stroke triple steet bike and it was his pride and joy. That thing was immaculate and he made sure we kept it spotless during the rebuild.

I wrenched at a Honda/Suzuki dealership a few summers while going to college. I've worked on those "buffaloes".

If I remember those has 3 sets of points and you had to set timing with a dial indicator for each cylinder. A PITA!!!
 
I wrenched at a Honda/Suzuki dealership a few summers while going to college. I've worked on those "buffaloes".

If I remember those has 3 sets of points and you had to set timing with a dial indicator for each cylinder. A PITA!!!
Ahh yes, finicky but holy smokes you'll need a new set of cottons if you aren't prepared when you grab a handful of that throttle.

I graduated in 2007 so CDI ignitions and FI systems were already the norm, but it would've been neat to be turning wrenches as the new tech was coming out.
 
How’s the rebuild going? Wanted to show off a muffler I just modified for one of my 038 mags. Don’t know what the outlet came off of but it works perfectly for what I’m after. Removed the baffle, yes it was a pain in the ass. Using a 034 muffler spacer to add some rigidity back to the sealing surface where it bolts up to the cylinder. Gonna make a spark screen for the new outlet and use some stainless rivets rather than nut and bolt. Should work quite well. Maybe this will give you some ideas if you haven’t thought of anything already.

Update:

Installed the muffler, you can see (forgive me I’m not a photographer) how I’m using that 034 spacer inside the muffler to aid in distributing the load on the gasket. Still need to put the spark screens in. Did run the saw to quarter up a gnarly piece of madrona. Skimmed a nail in the process but the saw had plenty of power.
I would weld those nuts to the inside rather than the nut/washer. Or, use sheet metal screws alone.
 
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