Stihl 044 questions, new piston required.

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Ya, it would only be hypothetical guesswork on my part as to why the windows are different and without further study of the crankcase and knowing the crankcase volume then a larger window may cause sluggish flow or it may add volume to the amount of air fuel mix reaching the top end. It would likely reduce velocity, sometimes bigger is better but not always as there are many factors that affect actual power gains in these machines.
jerry is an authority on them , my ported saw from him is amazing,
and he keeps a fleet of them for work crews ---------------------
 
The difference in those 075 piston/cylinder sets is time, looks like it was redesigned to stop fuel pooling at the intake block/cylinder and give faster revs with the piston window changes then to help combat heat on the exhaust side the fins and their angles were changed.
Can you run aftermarket parts? ya you can. Will they still be operating at the 500 hour mark? highly doubtful. Will they produce the same power as oem? ya if you spend the time modifying them but they last even less time when put under more stress.
I have learned any saw with scoring gets torn all the way down, cleaned then rebuilt from the crank out. If it looks questionable it probably is. I found a couple us sellers, possibly its cheaper to have one shipped to you vs your local dealers markup or possibly you can use the part# to find one on the internet.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2654574390...Gid46klzFsJMBVxfetuI6pGeQ=|tkp:Bk9SR_S7pqDIYQhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/3629163313...JlqGLDj8U0zpyLMBa6CtrZ7xc=|tkp:Bk9SR_a7pqDIYQhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/2740094493...oCBDnB2BxBPQryyEYW/SFi2+8=|tkp:Bk9SR_a7pqDIYQ
 
jerry is an authority on them , my ported saw from him is amazing,
and he keeps a fleet of them for work crews ---------------------

pioneer600 is jerry

Thanks president. That is funny, Jerry and I have talked just about 6 different type saws and mostly not touched on 044's yet. I knew he liked pioneers, but 044's too, that is good to know since I bought one a few years ago off here.

Cookies, thanks for your summation on my 075 Piston and Cylinder. And your assessment on the bottom end too.
 
Finally found the time to pay a visit to my local Stihl dealer. Picked up a T27 scrench and some spark plugs and fuel filters. The guy in the shop knows his old saws, so I believed him when he said that scrench would be suitable, and that they use those all the time themselves.

So, with a lot of motivation I started but... Turned out the scrench has too wide a diameter, won't fit in the holes. Dammit! Also visited two hardware stores, last week, one normally carries them but they were out of stock, the other one simply doesn't sell them.
After years of ordering online, including China crap, I decided to go back to physical stores... I don't mind paying a little premium for good service. Seems like this plan bites me in the ass now... Paid €41 for 2 spark plugs, 2 fuel filters, and that scrench.

New update when I finally get some good gear.
 
Finally found the time to pay a visit to my local Stihl dealer. Picked up a T27 scrench and some spark plugs and fuel filters. The guy in the shop knows his old saws, so I believed him when he said that scrench would be suitable, and that they use those all the time themselves.

So, with a lot of motivation I started but... Turned out the scrench has too wide a diameter, won't fit in the holes. Dammit! Also visited two hardware stores, last week, one normally carries them but they were out of stock, the other one simply doesn't sell them.
After years of ordering online, including China crap, I decided to go back to physical stores... I don't mind paying a little premium for good service. Seems like this plan bites me in the ass now... Paid €41 for 2 spark plugs, 2 fuel filters, and that scrench.

New update when I finally get some good gear.
You know you can drill the holes in the cylinder fins out a bit so the scrench will fit. I did that for years before I bought my Bohndus set.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, but from my point of view (being relatively unexperienced) extra modifications equal a higher chance of things going wrong. Well, that's a statistical given, but obviously skills are important too. And good gear. Working on both :D.
I asked the local hardware store to order a Gedore torx, good German quality, it will be there tomorrow.
Stihl dealer said they also have short L-shaped torx drivers, 11cm long which might or might not be just long enough. But I wasn't too happy with them, despite earlier positive experiences, and don't want to buy another tool that might or might not be suitable from them.
 
Fill the recess where the spring is on the seal before installation. used this for many years with 0 issues.
stihltech, when you say fill the recess where...
What do you mean to fill the recess with?

I was trying to remember the tips or procedures I read. If it was not you, it was another member who mentioned that some grease at the seal to case mating spot will help the sealing and prohibit air leaks.

I know the following is for the 051, 075/076 type saws like my others, but the general diagnostics, disassembly and reassembly steps that are presented can also be utilized in maintaining other saws like our 044's. When it comes to case splitting, there are likely different methods between the 076 and more modern or different case like on n 026, 260, 440, 044,etc, I am pretty sure the process is similar enough that we can fill in the pieces. We can extrapolate how the process goes from the service info below or get the saw model dedicated service info.

file:///C:/Users/ADMIN/Downloads/Stihl%201111%20Workshop.pdf
 
The clutch side bearing should be set in place so that it contacts the oil pump housing, having an old stripped out oil pump housing helps, bolt it on as if it were ready to use and the bearing will be located correctly.That is why Tin Man is having to drive the crank back with the rubber mallet.
 
I took the cylinder off:

IMG_20230215_145615.jpgIMG_20230215_145606.jpgIMG_20230215_145551.jpgIMG_20230215_145413.jpg

I hope the pics are good enough. Looks like someone scratched out carbon from the top, with something like a screwdriver?
The sides look pretty good to me, though. There are some dark lines, as you can see, transfer I guess, however I can't feel them with my finger nail.
What do you guys think? Should I sand it? I got some scotchbrite, attached to a sponge though as it's for kitchen use, I guess.

The piston has some pitting on the top at the exhaust side:

IMG_20230215_150714.jpg


I can move the piston/con rod a bit, laterally. Is this normal? I made a little video.

View attachment VID_20230215_150623.mp4


Again, thanks in advance for any advice given!
 
I took the cylinder off:

View attachment 1057904View attachment 1057905View attachment 1057906View attachment 1057907

I hope the pics are good enough. Looks like someone scratched out carbon from the top, with something like a screwdriver?
The sides look pretty good to me, though. There are some dark lines, as you can see, transfer I guess, however I can't feel them with my finger nail.
What do you guys think? Should I sand it? I got some scotchbrite, attached to a sponge though as it's for kitchen use, I guess.

The piston has some pitting on the top at the exhaust side:

View attachment 1057911


I can move the piston/con rod a bit, laterally. Is this normal? I made a little video.

View attachment 1057912


Again, thanks in advance for any advice given!
Lets see both sides of the piston never mind the top. It just might be OK i think.
 
Yeah I think I'm gonna do that, I can always polish this one and keep it 'just in case'. Might have found a oem piston for a decent price... not sure yet if it's legit though. I think it's just a piston, no wrist pin etc. Can the old one be re-used? I would buy new rings, if those are not included, probably oem, maybe Caber.
 
Your piston has a lot of miles on it although not scored badly it does have a good bit of damage on the intake side from a bad filter allowing debris through it, a new piston and clean up the cylinder will give it a good long lifetime with proper maintenance. A wrist pin can be reused if it has not been blued badly from heat, I like to use a new bearing but have reused several with no issues.
 
Yeah I think I'm gonna do that, I can always polish this one and keep it 'just in case'. Might have found a oem piston for a decent price... not sure yet if it's legit though. I think it's just a piston, no wrist pin etc. Can the old one be re-used? I would buy new rings, if those are not included, probably oem, maybe Caber.
That cyl more than likely will work fine put in a new OEM piston but learn how to clean the cyl up on here first.
 

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