Trial by fire

[andrethegiant70]

Hello, folks, GREAT site you've got here! As a new chainsaw owner, I've already gotten quite a lot out of it! So here's my situation...

I recently acquired a Stihl 040.... The thing ran pretty rough at first, which I suspected it would since the saw came from near sea level to 7,000-elevation. With a bit of help from this site (thank you!) I adjusted the carb and to my great surprise, the thing runs fabulously, which astounds me, as a 30-plus year old ANYTHING has every right not to!

Since the name plate is missing it took quite a bit of archeology (for a newbie like me) to figure out what model it was. I found out that they made this saw in the late 60s for a single year before going to the 041. In perusing the specs for both saws I could find NO diffferences between the two models. So my question is, what IS the difference between these saws? In my quest for parts for my saw (I'm assuming that someday this tank of a saw COULD break), it would SURE be nice to that I could use parts from an 041 as there seem to still be lots of these floating around. Could I also use parts from an 041AV?

Lastly, anything you 040/041 owners can tell me about the saw's quirks (other than the fact that operating it may decalcify my spinal column) would be MOST helpful!! Thanks in advance. Nice to be here.

 

[P_woozel]

Andre thhe giant has a Posse. :umpkin:

 

[rayIN]

I thought 'Andre the Giant' was a man.

 

[hobby climber]

Andrethegiant70...just want to welcome you to AS.com . I'm sorry i can't help you with your question , never owned a stihl. There are a lot of guys here that can help you, just give them time to find your post. I see you have a very interesting job, your a fortunate fellow. Good luck in your quest and keep posting in this forum...it nice to see new people joining in. HC

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

andre- What do you fly? Prior service? I'm a flight mech in HH-65's in the Coast Guard. I've spent alot of time at airports meeting up with civ. medivac crews handing off patients/survivors.

Jeff

 

[turnkey4099]

I have the later version; 041 AVE. The 041 was noted for the bolts loosening with use. I haven't seen that (yet). The 041 was also noted for being a very good saw for its class, I would put it as the class leader.

Harry K

 

[andrethegiant70]

Wow! What a bunch of great guys! Thanks for the responses. I thought it'd take forever. As far as the job goes, I fly King Air 200s out of the Navajo reservation.. we also serve the Zuni, Hopi, and Apache reservations. I love it to death!.... We haunt Phoenix Sky Harbor, Tucson, Albequerque, Farmington, and occasionally Salt Lake City. We both came from the civillian ranks. Our background is frieght, Federal Reserve cargo in Mitsubishi turboprops. You know how it is, fishhuntcutwood! Any time in any weather!! My wife is also a pilot with approximately the same credentials, doing the same thing for the same comany. We truck on out to the reservation for two weeks, then we get two weeks off to poop around in Flagstaff. "Andrethegiant" was a natural 'cuz I liked that big old guy (too bad he's dead!) but "OneLuckyGuy" was defeinitely a runner up.

Thanks for the input, Turnkey4099, and yes, I see what they mean about bolts coming loose... I think I'll be buying locktite in the economy size. Had my first chance to really put it to use today.. building a fence out of hand-peeled vigas and it melted them pretty nicely. First day of firewood season so I'm getting up early to go gunning for some Utah Juniper!!

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

You know how it is, fishhuntcutwood! Any time in any weather!!

Indeed I do. We do our best flying in 1/4 mile vis. and 100 ft. ceilings!

Jeff

 

[hobby climber]

Ya ever jump out of a perfectly good plain ??? HC

 

[canguy21]

Never seen any sense in that at all The 040/041 was my favouirite 30 years ago but they have sure gained weight. Blue locktite on the tank screws and keep the carb mount nuts tight. The Stihl laydowns all had problems with intake leaks

 

[andrethegiant70]

Sheesh! You chopper guys can be pretty gutsy.... Under single pilot conditions the best we are capable of is 1800 vis and 200-ft ceilings. At 120 knots on approach thats all I feel comfortable with.... anything less and the FAA requires two pilots... one to fly the plane and one to plaster his eyeballs to the windshield to look for pavement! Nothing like an instrument approach to minimums to get the heart pumping!

On the "Trial by fire" thread, the saw (a museum piece 040) cut well until it lost power and stopped. The "fatal" event took about ten seconds to transpire and I was out of business for the day, since it appears that I am such a shmuck that my entire toolbox consisted of a flathead screwdriver (to fine tune the carb). Bummer of it was, I was about an hour from home in the middle of the woods.

I tore into it a bit once I got it home halfway convinced that I had terminated it's 37 life. Turns out the gap on the plug was anemic and a piece of gunk had bridged the electrodes. Cleaned it, gapped it, and reinstalled. The thing fired up instantly.

So I notice that lots of guys have little sayings associated with their posts. Has anyone taken "So what have you learned, Dorothy?" I think I'll add a plug wrench to that flathead screwdriver.

 

[Gumnuts]

040 ....041 are there any differences ?

Hello, folks, GREAT site you've got here!

I found out that they made this saw in the late 60s for a single year before going to the 041. In perusing the specs for both saws I could find NO differences between the two models. So my question is, what IS the difference between these saws? In my quest for parts for my saw (I'm assuming that someday this tank of a saw COULD break), it would SURE be nice to that I could use parts from an 041 as there seem to still be lots of these floating around. Could I also use parts from an 041AV?

Lastly, anything you 040/041 owners can tell me about the saw's quirks (other than the fact that operating it may decalcify my spinal column) would be MOST helpful!!
Thanks in advance / DITTO. Nice to be here.

Going over old posts on the 040 .Did not see anyone answer this question.

REASON for asking .......
Two months ago was offered an ole Stihl.He did'nt know the model.Was inquiring at differant places ,at the time,for double hex torque screws and trying to match up the clutch carrier thread for 084 .
Call back there today and guy tells me its an 040.Description casings as new.Requires coil.Been sitting in a shed for years.

It's taking up his shed space and thought i'd offer $50 .

So can anyone tell me do the 041 parts interchange with the 040
From what i read the 041 had coil issues.

- Graeme