Stihl 034 w/ rebuilt clutch but still dies in wood and chain won't stop turning

[Joe Bopp]

First I wanted to say I have been reading a bunch of posts on the site for a while and have seen a lot of great info here. I have an issue with a Stihl 034 and figured I would try to get some advice because I am a little stumped and wanted to see if my thought process is right for next steps.

History of the saw: It was given to my father who gave it to me. I think the clutch drum bearing went (which from doing some research on here it seems like this issue is somewhat common on the older 034 and 036 models) and it took out the oil line and made some nice grooves in the case as a result. I think the previous owner tried to take some stuff apart and had a saw and pile o parts that he gave us. I went to a local dealer and bought a new clutch drum bearing, cover washer, all new springs and retainers for the clutch, and a new oil pump lever. Oil line was replaced and the clutch rebuilt. Rebuilt the carb and the thing runs pretty good but the issue I have is that it seems like either the clutch is not releasing from the drum or the drum bearing is extremely tight and causing the chain to continue to turn when the saw is idling. Pretty much every time I release the throttle when getting to the end of the cut the saw will stall. Putting the chain brake on will often cause the saw to stall. I'm just not quite sure where to start and I guess I could just buy everything new in the clutch area but figured I would get some opinions first.

I was thinking I could
1. Remove everything and look at the clutch drum bearing and how well the clutch drum spins. Maybe it is too tight. Maybe I should just upgrade to the larger bearing/clutch drum I read about.
2. Check to make sure there isn't damage to the crankshaft and the bearing is spinning free.
3. Remove the oil pump lever temporarily and start the saw to see if the clutch spins really freely when i shut the saw off. (I did this on my 011 over the weekend while i was working on it and the clutch took several seconds to spin down)
4. Check the clutch but not sure how to do this. All hardware is new and I think it is installed correctly. Maybe I screwed something up when reassembling.

Sorry for the long winded post. I just wanted to provide as many details as possible and give more than saw doesn't work...HELP.

 

[Ozhoo]

You got it, get back in there and make sure everything is as it should be. Oil pump washer goes bevel up.

 

[Joe Bopp]

Thanks for the fast reply and more importantly the diagram. It's been a while since I tore it apart and the refresh is much appreciated. Not sure that it matters but the retainers are the #14 retainer versus the #11 retainer. Not sure if there was an update to the clutch and hopefully I have the right retainers. Stihl dealer is good and had everything in stock and said that the parts I got probably hadn't seen the light of day in 25 years

 

[Ozhoo]

Not sure that it matters but the retainers are the #14 retainer versus the #11 retainer. Not sure if there was an update to the clutch and hopefully I have the right retainers.

There's your problem. If you use the old retainers you can't use a oil pump washer. I'll find the TI on it to confirm.

 

[Ozhoo]

Read this... I've attached the TI as well

 

[Joe Bopp]

Annnnd this is why I came here. Thanks a TON for this. In less than an hour I have clear direction. Hopefully I didn't cause any damage by having the cover washer installed. I just assumed that the washer was lost in the transfer because we were missing springs, retainers, etc. so it made sense that we would be missing the washer as well.

 

[Joe Bopp]

So last night I tore the saw apart. The cover washer did have wear marks from the clutch. I also heard a click of sorts when I removed the clutch. Drum was locked to the clutch when i got in there and had to be removed with pliers. Cleaned, lubricated bearing, and reinstalled everything. I still don't really like the drum with smaller bearing as it seems a little tight in my opinion. Will see if this solves things and will likely replace the drum with the upgraded larger bearing. I found part number 1125 007 1041. However i am running 325 and not 3/8. Anyone know if there is a similar part number with the 325 sprocket?

 

[Joe Bopp]

Ran the saw tonight. Ran for about 30 seconds before I ran out of gas Anyway, chain seemed to stop quickly when letting off the gas both in and out of wood. I need to get it nice and hot and run a tank through it before claiming victory but I have my fingers crossed. Ozhoo - Thanks again for all of your help!!! Yesterday I also discovered that it is running a .325 8 sprocket which may be why I think this saw doesn't seem like it has much oomph. My 026, which I rebuilt last winter, spanks this thing.

 

[Brushwacker]

I run a lot of 034's and 026's, never had an 026 that felt close to an 034 even my ported 026 doesn't feel as powerful. When I tried a 7 tooth .325 on my 034's it made them suck more gas then anything. I prefer 3/8 7 tooth or the 8 if I am running .325.

 

[Joe Bopp]

I just seems that the 034 "feels" slower. Of course it has an older chain on it which may not be as sharp. On paper I know that the 034 should be smoking the 026. I checked the compression at 155-160 psi which agrees with the piston and cylinder looking great from the exhaust port. One thing that I did notice on the clutch drum is that there is some wear on the inside as in a groove where the clutch is hitting the drum. Is that normal? I wasn't sure if that was wear or if it is supposed to be machined that way. I think this saw had a pretty rough life before we got it.

 

[Brushwacker]

I just seems that the 034 "feels" slower. Of course it has an older chain on it which may not be as sharp. On paper I know that the 034 should be smoking the 026. I checked the compression at 155-160 psi which agrees with the piston and cylinder looking great from the exhaust port. One thing that I did notice on the clutch drum is that there is some wear on the inside as in a groove where the clutch is hitting the drum. Is that normal? I wasn't sure if that was wear or if it is supposed to be machined that way. I think this saw had a pretty rough life before we got it.

Sharp chain makes all the difference more then size. Sounds like the drum is getting worn, may last a while though.

 

[Joe Bopp]

I did some research and from everything that I read it sounded like the drum was likely worn out. It wasn't a slight groove. After taking a look I am guessing it is worn about half way through the drum and the sprocket has some grooving in it as well. I didn't notice this at first as I was more focused on finding all the missing parts and just seeing if the saw ran. I called the local Stihl dealer and he had a drum kit in stock so I have replaced it. Hopefully I will get a chance to see how well it's working soon. I also cleaned the air filter out to see if that helps on the performance side.

 

[Joe Bopp]

Just to wrap up this thread. I was able to take the saw out yesterday. I ran a few tanks through it and ran amazing. Removing the cover washer seems to have fixed the clutch issue. Chains stops immediately and no issues there. I think the old drum and rim sprocket was binding or something because the chain moves along much more freely. I also noticed that the muffler had a dent in it. Like I said this saw had a pretty hard life. Anyway, the exhaust port was a little pinched off so I opened that back up. The saw ran like a beast. Definitely woke it up and it is now smoking the 026 like it should. Thanks again to everyone for all of your help!