Went to the saw house to pick up a muffler for my 028AVS. Guy in the back brought out a "parts saw" and said, "Is your muffler like this?". I said, "Yes, but how much for the whole saw?" Well, $50 later I walked out with a filthy 028AV Wood Boss EQ. Put the muffler on my 028AVS (I bent the original). Then I got to thinking....looked in the cylinder of the 028AV Wood Boss EQ "parts saw" and it looked good from both holes. Put a little 2-cylinder oil in the dry cylinder, attached the compression tester, and spun it with my drill motor. 160psi, and no leakdown after 2 minutes! Is the motor good, or should I test it somehow else? I'd like think I can save this saw, but am I missing something? The saw has been cannibalized a bit, needing a flywheel, recoil starter guts, and a bolt or two. But that's about it.
Question on Compression - Can I Save This 028WB EQ?
- Thread starter kscycler
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
adkranger
Addicted to ArboristSite
Is it worth fixing up? That's entirely up to you to decide, but I know I probably would (depending on the diagnosis).
I have one almost put back together acquired almost the same way, as a parts doner. I didn't check compression before tear down, but was pleasantly surprised to see machine marks stihl visible in the cylinder, on the piston and rings. It obviously received a new top end prior to being parted out. If it were me I'd clean it up good, tear it down and go through it bit by bit. For someone not looking to make a project out of it, since you've already comp tested I'd vaccum test the crankcase, clean (rebuild as necessary) the carb, get the necessary missing items and give it a whirl.
Good luck.
I have one almost put back together acquired almost the same way, as a parts doner. I didn't check compression before tear down, but was pleasantly surprised to see machine marks stihl visible in the cylinder, on the piston and rings. It obviously received a new top end prior to being parted out. If it were me I'd clean it up good, tear it down and go through it bit by bit. For someone not looking to make a project out of it, since you've already comp tested I'd vaccum test the crankcase, clean (rebuild as necessary) the carb, get the necessary missing items and give it a whirl.
Good luck.
As long as the bearings feel smooth and the case looks good I would go for it, go ahead and put a new set of crank seals in just to be safe. Look around on Ebay to see what the missing parts will cost you or post your needs in the trading post on this site.
Oil in the cylinder will give you a false compression reading.
timberwolf
Addicted to ArboristSite
Agree, the oil in the cylinder would throw off a compression reading and leakdown is not something that works on a two stroke with pinned ring ends and open ports. I think what you saw was the check valve in the gauge holding.
Problem with a saw that was robbed of parts is that you can be assured the saw was robbed for a reason, likely you will find other significant problems, carb, bearings, cylinder ect.
Before I bought a single part for it I would be pulling it down to look over the piston and cylinder.
Problem with a saw that was robbed of parts is that you can be assured the saw was robbed for a reason, likely you will find other significant problems, carb, bearings, cylinder ect.
Before I bought a single part for it I would be pulling it down to look over the piston and cylinder.
Well, you may have lucked out and found a parts saw that's worth rebuilding. But I doubt it. There's a problem in that saw that made someone give up on it. Before I put good money into it, I'd check it out really well. Like others have said, make sure those bearings and seals are good. Good luck and hopefully you found a nice old Stihl to add to your fleet. 
Good toughts, all. Thanks for the reality check. I'll go slow and easy and not put a lot of dough into the saw until I check out all the ideas seen above. I appreciate it....and I'll let you know how it turns out.
BTW, I only put oil in the cylinder because it was dry and I didn't want to spin it without some lubrication. What is the best way to test compression, if I did it wrong? I'm ready to learn....
BTW, I only put oil in the cylinder because it was dry and I didn't want to spin it without some lubrication. What is the best way to test compression, if I did it wrong? I'm ready to learn....
Just test it dry, no oil.
Take your compression reading when the P&C are dry and at room temp, connect the gauge and pull the saw over until the needle stops rising, the comp tester will hold the pressure reached until the release is pushed in, the P&C will not hold pressure very long. Most of this was covered by the two previous posts but thought I may clarify the way the test should work.
adkranger
Addicted to ArboristSite
Just because a saw was discarded and used as a donor doesn't necessarily mean it's Fubar. I've got at least six such saws in my shop I've brought back from "junk" condition with minimal effort/$. We live in a disposable world and what people discard at the first sign of adversity is mind boggling....
Fresh oil in the cylinder will not give an accurate comp reading, is true. I also understand your reluctance to just start cranking over a saw that's bone dry, maybe for years. Or may have crud floating around in there. That's why I will usually start by cleaning it up, pulling off parts to assess condition before going into diagnostic phase. Now a saw that's been run recently, different matter, may go right to the comp tester. Not saying my way is right, or better, just the way I do things.
The 028 doner that I picked up needed points, muffler and a few screws. Cleaned the carb, new plug & fuel filter and she's a runner. Like I said in previous post, someone put big bucks into a new Stihl P/C recent to discarding it. My guess is it lost spark and they gave up on it, crazy in my mind. In your case you don't have to go directly into acquiring parts either. You can always borrow the flywheel and recoil off your good 028 when you're ready to try it out. If it runs, you're ahead of the game, get your parts and you've got two runners...:msp_thumbsup:
Fresh oil in the cylinder will not give an accurate comp reading, is true. I also understand your reluctance to just start cranking over a saw that's bone dry, maybe for years. Or may have crud floating around in there. That's why I will usually start by cleaning it up, pulling off parts to assess condition before going into diagnostic phase. Now a saw that's been run recently, different matter, may go right to the comp tester. Not saying my way is right, or better, just the way I do things.
The 028 doner that I picked up needed points, muffler and a few screws. Cleaned the carb, new plug & fuel filter and she's a runner. Like I said in previous post, someone put big bucks into a new Stihl P/C recent to discarding it. My guess is it lost spark and they gave up on it, crazy in my mind. In your case you don't have to go directly into acquiring parts either. You can always borrow the flywheel and recoil off your good 028 when you're ready to try it out. If it runs, you're ahead of the game, get your parts and you've got two runners...:msp_thumbsup:
May be a Runner...
Good post, good thoughts, and thanks for the comp clarification. I'll do as you say and continue to clean it up and look it over. And I may just pull some parts off my runner to see if this one fires. Thanks again..
Good post, good thoughts, and thanks for the comp clarification. I'll do as you say and continue to clean it up and look it over. And I may just pull some parts off my runner to see if this one fires. Thanks again..
Update - Compression but little fire. Thoughts?
Not one to give up lightly, I installed a flywheel. Gapped it with a business card, installed the starter (thanks, Eric!) and did the "drop test". Saw just hung there on the starter cord, pretty as you please. BTW, did the same thing with my good 028, and the result was the same. So, I'm deducing that I have good compression. But I don't have much fire. I tried the "spark plug against the cylinder" technique, but didn't see any spark. Installed my spark tester, and didn't see any spark. Put the VOM meter on the spark plug wire, and it is generating voltage. Put my finger in the wire and got the snot shocked out of me. But I don't see any spark at the plug and the saw won't start. Any thoughts on what I'm missing? Are there points somewhere I don't know about?
Not one to give up lightly, I installed a flywheel. Gapped it with a business card, installed the starter (thanks, Eric!) and did the "drop test". Saw just hung there on the starter cord, pretty as you please. BTW, did the same thing with my good 028, and the result was the same. So, I'm deducing that I have good compression. But I don't have much fire. I tried the "spark plug against the cylinder" technique, but didn't see any spark. Installed my spark tester, and didn't see any spark. Put the VOM meter on the spark plug wire, and it is generating voltage. Put my finger in the wire and got the snot shocked out of me. But I don't see any spark at the plug and the saw won't start. Any thoughts on what I'm missing? Are there points somewhere I don't know about?
What's the Point(s)?
Guess I answered my own question. I didn't install the points for two reasons; first, they had been removed, and second, I didn't know to look for them. So I'm scrambling, looking for either a set of points and condensor, or trying to figure out how to find an electronic equivalent. Oh, to eBay!
Guess I answered my own question. I didn't install the points for two reasons; first, they had been removed, and second, I didn't know to look for them. So I'm scrambling, looking for either a set of points and condensor, or trying to figure out how to find an electronic equivalent. Oh, to eBay!
I appreciate the advise from everybody, but I couldn't give up on the 028. I tried 3 Stihl dealers to set the points, and got some incredible responses. Like, "the tech said that he didn't have the tool, but he said to use a feeler gauge." Or, "you can't have points, the EPA won't let you." Really! Well, I gave up on the Stihl dealers and just eyeballed the points in the middle of the throw, and put the plug in. Fire! And good fire! I'd like to say the saw fired up on the first pull, but it didn't. It fired up on the second pull, purred like a kitten, and started pumping oil just like it should (no bar on it yet). So, to the Stihl tech who said the saw was junk, I say, "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo!" The 028WB will make a nice addition to my other 7 saws.
