Stihl 044 10mm low compression, overheating...looking at options

[conventional_wolverine]

Hello everyone,

I was lucky enough to obtain a 1988 Stihl 044 10mm. Did a brief overlook and start-up on the saw knowing there could be deeper issues but the price was good enough that I could spend some extra money on parts. Previous owner stated new aftermarket piston and that he did crank seals, new plastic, amongst other small items.

Took it home and ran a quick compression test on it: 40psi. Ugh. Had it running for just a minute and it sure got hot quick. Shut it down and started taking it apart.

Found the cylinder did not look incredibly great:



Piston has some damage(?):






So some questions I have for the group:

• Should I go ahead an buy a new cylinder? Or would it be suitable to hone it and roll with it. It appears to be original. And if I were to buy a new one, does the 12mm cylinder work on a 10mm saw? From the IPL the cylinder appears to be the same for both 10mm and 12mm.
• Should I buy OEM or aftermarket piston? I've read a couple of posts on the Meteor pistons being ok but looking for some more opinions.

Thank you everyone for your help. I'm excited to be working on this saw. Any other ideas or suggestions for this saw are appreciated!

 

[SteveSr]

That saw is worth an OEM piston and cylinder assuming that the rest of the saw is in good shape.

That cylinder looks like it has a LOT of transfer or some monkey tried to hone it and ruined the plating.

Need more and better photos of the piston and cylinder.

 

[ericm979]

From the one pic it looks like the cylinder is damaged way too much to be useable.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Take it back to the guy you just bought it from- beat him about the head with it till he gives you your cash back.

 

[hacskaroly]

Should I buy OEM or aftermarket piston? I've read a couple of posts on the Meteor pistons being ok but looking for some more opinions.

I picked up a MS 261c cheap, no compression because the first hour of its life it was run with straight gas (the muffler was bright blue too). Decided to drop in a Mtanlo cylinder kit (with piston) from Amazon for about $50. Got everything connected back up and it fired right up and has been running great since. The only thing outside the box I had to do was Dremel some of the heat sink fins back so I could get the housing cover to fit. Worked out good enough that my friend got the same kit for his MS 261c and his fired right up and has been working great too.

$50 cylinder/piston kit may get you up and running until you decide to spend the money on a Stihl set or something else. Heck, if you get a different cylinder later on, you can practice polishing and porting the Mtanlo!!

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

Everything in that saw has been ground on with a dremel!
Replace the top end with at least a good manufacturer from a know seller , I'd recommend Dukes sawsalvage in Pennsylvania.
Id also ? Anything that the seller told you.

 

[conventional_wolverine]

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the replies. I guess I wanted to share my sadness with everyone! Not a big deal though, I'm happy enough to do a top end rebuild. Crank and case look real nice but I'll do vacuum testing once she's back together.

The rest of the saw is in really nice condition. All OEM replacements for plastic, clutch, flywheel, magneto, muffler, etc.

As of right now, I'm planning on spending the extra on all OEM top end parts. It just makes me feel a little more comfortable. Now with that in mind: is it the same cylinder part number for both 10 and 12mm pistons?

Thanks all.

 

[huskihl]

It’s been hacked on by someone without proper porting tools or knowledge. Lower transfers are hogged out, upper transfers are stock, exhaust has been polished and likely raised.


I might have a used oem 10mm cylinder for it if you’d like. A pic of the casting behind the lower left muffler mount bolt would confirm whether it’s 10 or 12 MM. or a measurement of the wrist pin diameter obviously

 

[ZeroJunk]

Somebody may correct me, but I think the 12 mm top end will work. Just the port timing is reportedly "better" on the original 10 mm .

 

[huskihl]

Somebody may correct me, but I think the 12 mm top end will work. Just the port timing is reportedly "better" on the original 10 mm .

Transfers and intake width changed and one way can hang a ring if the wrong combo is used. I can’t remember which way it is though. It doesn’t matter as much with the aftermarket pistons as they are modeled after the 12MM and just have a smaller wrist pin hole for the 10MM versions.

 

[muddy42]

I agree that the cylinder damage looks too bad to salvage. I have tried to re-hone in that situation and you waste a lot of time, money and it ends in failure as a new piston and ring won't seal properly.

I have just redone a Stihl 460 with an aftermarket piston and cylinder kit from Meteor. I could not find an original one. The quality of the Meteor is good and the saw works great after about 20 tanks of fuel.

 

[conventional_wolverine]

Yup, I understand all! Going to be new getting a piston/cylinder then! OEM is proving difficult to find but I'll keep looking. Otherwise aftermarket for now.




It looks like maybe the cylinder on the saw right now is a newer version. Certainly no slanted fins on top.



And an additional picture of the porting(?) job:



I want to thank you all for the information and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I'll update with the finished product!

 

[SteveSr]

Yup, I understand all! Going to be new getting a piston/cylinder then! OEM is proving difficult to find but I'll keep looking. Otherwise aftermarket for now.




It looks like maybe the cylinder on the saw right now is a newer version. Certainly no slanted fins on top.

View attachment 1111092

And an additional picture of the porting(?) job:

View attachment 1111093

I want to thank you all for the information and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I'll update with the finished product!

That was a desirable "D" (combustion chamber) cylinder before it was ruined.

 

[huskihl]

That was a desirable "D" (combustion chamber) cylinder before it was ruined.

All 044 had D shaped chambers

 

[conventional_wolverine]

Hi everyone!

I promised an update and I'm late on that. But here you go:

I ended up picking up an OEM piston and head along with some other parts including a handlebar, bigger clutch cover, and dogs. The build went very well and I'm thankful for all the help on here. I'll include some pictures of the final here...