Stihl 032 AVE rebuild

[tomalophicon]

Worked well is subjective, not accurate.

Prove it.

 

[Captain Bruce]

According to Acres Saws, you have ignition points under that flywheel....which could be worn, burnt, and out of timing.........thats a whole different world. Also, does the air filter have the choke flap? Is it staying closed when installed, with throttle open? That will also cause all that flooding. All in all, its best to either leave the saw as is....and for parts..................OR tear it right down and do the job properly. Best of luckTyler.

 

[hotshot]

According to Acres Saws, you have ignition points under that flywheel....which could be worn, burnt, and out of timing.........thats a whole different world.

If only Acres website was right half the time...but in this case it is.

You must have clicked on the plain 032, or not know the Stihl nomenclature, as the 032AVE has an electronic ignition, as denoted by the “E”. No points & condenser are in the OP’s saw.

 

[OneStaple]

Disconnect fuel line, take spark plug out, pin trigger and open choke. Pull hard 10-15 times.

Then put a teaspoon of fuel into the plug hole, screw spark plug back in and connect boot.

Turn saw on, pin trigger and ensure choke is still off. Pull hard and fast until it starts for a few seconds and dies. Confirm this before anything else.

This worked. It didn't go quite as smoothly as described and I'm not sure what made a difference, so I'll describe the events in case someone has some insight.

I disconnected the fuel line, removed the spark plug, pinned the trigger, opened the choke, and started pulling the starter, as described. After a handful (8?) of pulls, the starter rope started not rewinding fully. This has never happened before. A couple more, and it wasn't rewinding at all. I pulled off the side cover and manually rewound it (didn't re-tension the spring at this point, which I should have). A few more pulls and the rope was loose again. This time at least it makes sense, since I hadn't re-tensioned the spring. But not sure why I lost tension in the first place.

Put a teaspoon of fuel in the plug hole because I wanted to keep going, put the spark plug back in, connected the boot, turned the saw on, pinned the trigger, and kept the choke open. And manually rewound the starter rope (again, without re-tensioning the spring). I know, I feel like an idiot for not re-tensioning again, but I'm being open and honest here. I got about three decent pulls before the rope went slack again. Chainsaw didn't start.

Ok, ok, time to fix the starter rope. Pulled it apart, cleaned things and lubed them. Then put proper tension on the spring (finally!), as per the manual. Basically three extra turns of tension when the rope is almost totally wound in.

Remember, I'd already pulled a few times with the fuel in the cylinder, but figured I'd try again before restarting the process. Single pull, and it jumps to life. I killed it quickly because I was in the garage at this point and it was giving off some fumes. Took it outside, single pull, and it ran for about five seconds before sputtering to a stop.

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to keep testing, as it's 10:30pm and I don't want to wake the neighborhood.

Any thoughts on this? Would something with the starter rope have made a difference with the saw starting? If not, I'm assuming it must be an issue with the fuel delivery.

Thanks,
Tyler

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

This worked. It didn't go quite as smoothly as described and I'm not sure what made a difference, so I'll describe the events in case someone has some insight.

I disconnected the fuel line, removed the spark plug, pinned the trigger, opened the choke, and started pulling the starter, as described. After a handful (8?) of pulls, the starter rope started not rewinding fully. This has never happened before. A couple more, and it wasn't rewinding at all. I pulled off the side cover and manually rewound it (didn't re-tension the spring at this point, which I should have). A few more pulls and the rope was loose again. This time at least it makes sense, since I hadn't re-tensioned the spring. But not sure why I lost tension in the first place.

Put a teaspoon of fuel in the plug hole because I wanted to keep going, put the spark plug back in, connected the boot, turned the saw on, pinned the trigger, and kept the choke open. And manually rewound the starter rope (again, without re-tensioning the spring). I know, I feel like an idiot for not re-tensioning again, but I'm being open and honest here. I got about three decent pulls before the rope went slack again. Chainsaw didn't start.

Ok, ok, time to fix the starter rope. Pulled it apart, cleaned things and lubed them. Then put proper tension on the spring (finally!), as per the manual. Basically three extra turns of tension when the rope is almost totally wound in.

Remember, I'd already pulled a few times with the fuel in the cylinder, but figured I'd try again before restarting the process. Single pull, and it jumps to life. I killed it quickly because I was in the garage at this point and it was giving off some fumes. Took it outside, single pull, and it ran for about five seconds before sputtering to a stop.

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to keep testing, as it's 10:30pm and I don't want to wake the neighborhood.

Any thoughts on this? Would something with the starter rope have made a difference with the saw starting? If not, I'm assuming it must be an issue with the fuel delivery.

Thanks,
Tyler

Good stuff, no, the starter rope is totally irrelevant and won’t affect the saw working.

What this tells you is your saw will run. That’s great. Now it’s time to check the fuel system (carb, lines, filters and tune)

 

[ZeroJunk]

If only Acres website was right half the time...but in this case it is.

You must have clicked on the plain 032, or not know the Stihl nomenclature, as the 032AVE has an electronic ignition, as denoted by the “E”. No points & condenser are in the OP’s saw.

Has a trigger that mounts at about 5 o'clock beside the flywheel. NLA specifically . But, there are triggers from other models of engines that will work.

 

[shona13]

Ok, I have the saw back together and it doesn't want to start. Any thoughts from the brain trust?

Things I've done in the recent past:

• Vacuum test - passed
• Pressure test - passed
• Compression test - passed
• New AV mounts (doesn't affect running, but nice to have since the old ones were rotted out)
• New bar, chain, sprocket, and clutch drum
• New carb kit (real kit, not aftermarket)
  • Set L and H one turn out as starting point.
  • Set idle 1-1/4 turns out as starting point.
• New air filter (Proline)
• Fuel filter looks fine. I think I replaced it a few years back
• Brand new gas (Stihl motomix)

I tried starting it and it wasn't catching. After a bunch of pulls (probably should have given up earlier), the lower half of the air filter was soaked in gas, some was puddled under the filter/carb, and there was a small puddle of gas inside the cylinder (1/4 tsp?). So gas is flowing. When I pulled the spark plug and put it against the cylinder, it showed a good spark.

Thoughts on what to check/try?

Thanks,
Tyler

Just a thought, you have not left a blanking plate between the muffler and the cylinder ,Sounds a bit silly but I done it once when I was pressure testing the crankcase on a saw.
Is the muffler clean and clear

 

[OneStaple]

Just a thought, you have not left a blanking plate between the muffler and the cylinder ,Sounds a bit silly but I done it once when I was pressure testing the crankcase on a saw.
Is the muffler clean and clear

Haha, I'm sure that's done more than people would care to admit. But no, the blanking plate was removed and the muffler is clean/clear. I got extra confirmation when I started it in the garage briefly after pouring the gas in the cylinder and it gave a nice puff of smoke out of the muffler.

Tyler

 

[OneStaple]

Ok, I got the chainsaw outside during a 10 minute pause in today's rain. It started right up (with the fuel line now attached). After a few seconds warming up, it held idle easily for over a minute (granted, it was idling too fast, as the chain was spinning a bit). It was pretty responsive when I hit the throttle, with only a slight sluggishness.

Keep in mind that all carb/idle adjustments are at their "default" initial settings right now. I certainly need to tune everything properly on a day that's not rainy. That should fix the idle speed and slight sluggishness.

So, I'm not totally sure what changed, but it's working now.

Also, the recoil got messed up again in this process. So even though I re-tensioned the spring last night, it's not properly pulling the rope back in. Not sure what's going on there.

Tyler

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Ok, I got the chainsaw outside during a 10 minute pause in today's rain. It started right up (with the fuel line now attached). After a few seconds warming up, it held idle easily for over a minute (granted, it was idling too fast, as the chain was spinning a bit). It was pretty responsive when I hit the throttle, with only a slight sluggishness.

Keep in mind that all carb/idle adjustments are at their "default" initial settings right now. I certainly need to tune everything properly on a day that's not rainy. That should fix the idle speed and slight sluggishness.

So, I'm not totally sure what changed, but it's working now.

Also, the recoil got messed up again in this process. So even though I re-tensioned the spring last night, it's not properly pulling the rope back in. Not sure what's going on there.

Tyler

I can’t remember on that model but it may have a brass bushing, give that a good clean and a drop of oil. Also your spring may need a clean and oil. If it keeps loosening though, the spring may be broken or disconnecting from the rotor.

 

[OneStaple]

I can’t remember on that model but it may have a brass bushing, give that a good clean and a drop of oil. Also your spring may need a clean and oil. If it keeps loosening though, the spring may be broken or disconnecting from the rotor.

Yes, this model has a brass bushing. However, everything turned freely in the assembly, especially after I cleaned it a bit last night. The issue appears to have been that the spring was disconnecting from the rotor

Regardless, I disassembled the entire thing and cleaned it all up. The spring is in decent shape, but was a bit gunky. I cleaned and lightly lubed that (and then had the fun of re-coiling it). I also carefully bent the center part of the spring in a little more so it is more likely to remain engaged with the rotor.

After reassembly and while still detached from the saw, the rope pulled nicely and everything turned nicely. The spring remained engaged, even when the rope was pulled with decent speed. We'll see how it works tomorrow when I get a chance to take it outside and actually start the saw with it. And then, hopefully, I'll get to fine-tune the H/L/idle screws and do some test cuts!

Thanks,
Tyler

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Yes, this model has a brass bushing. However, everything turned freely in the assembly, especially after I cleaned it a bit last night. The issue appears to have been that the spring was disconnecting from the rotor

Regardless, I disassembled the entire thing and cleaned it all up. The spring is in decent shape, but was a bit gunky. I cleaned and lightly lubed that (and then had the fun of re-coiling it). I also carefully bent the center part of the spring in a little more so it is more likely to remain engaged with the rotor.

After reassembly and while still detached from the saw, the rope pulled nicely and everything turned nicely. The spring remained engaged, even when the rope was pulled with decent speed. We'll see how it works tomorrow when I get a chance to take it outside and actually start the saw with it. And then, hopefully, I'll get to fine-tune the H/L/idle screws and do some test cuts!

Thanks,
Tyler

Well done Tyler, it’s nice to see you act on advice and work through it meticulously.

 

[OneStaple]

Ok, I got the saw outside today to do the final tuning and put it through it's paces. It started easily, and I proceeded to adjust the idle, L, and H screws.

It holds idle easily, jumps when I pull the trigger, and cuts like it should. I was burying the 20" bar in a 22" log, and it handled it nicely.

So I'm going to call this good and done! I'm quite happy about it. Thanks to all for the help along the way!

(Now on to the next saw)

Tyler