Stihl 011

A buddy of mine gave me a 011av , Its dirty from sitting in the barn for a few years. He said that there was no compression, I pulled it over and It seems pretty good on compression. I figure a carb rebuild and a new chain and I might be back in business. Is there anything I should be looking for???

Pull the muffler and look at the side of the piston/cyl for scoring. Hook it up to a compression tester and get a reading. (Throttle open, choke off/open) Could always give it a small shot of carb cleaner down the intake. If it fires then dies then it may be worth cleaning the carb/rebuilding.

A compression test with a gauge is best. Sometimes I just put my thumb over the sparkplug hole after removing the plug and give it a pull. If my thumb is pushed off the hole then compression is good enough to run. It's not as accurite as a gauge for sure. With a gauge installed look for a minimum of 100 psi to run (weak), 130-150 normal 150-170 high. While the plug is out, I like to check for spark by grounding the sparkplug. I put some (a few drops) of light oil in the sparkplug hole while the plug is out also. The oil lubricates the cylinder walls and piston rings. A little oil in there doesn't hurt anything. The oil gets burned off pretty quick once it starts running again. I clean the air filter if needed. At that point all thats left is the fuel system....filter, fuel line, vent and carb. and clean fuel with mix of course At that point I buy carb kit and a fuel filter and fuel lines if suspect. The carb kit and fuel filter may be not needed, but I like to put the kit in because I can clean the insides while I'm in there and it'll run a long time without trouble with the newly rebuilt carb. The old fuel filter can be (kind of) cleaned out with carb cleaner, but I prefer a new filter. She'll run at that point and just need fine fine tuning L/H + idle adjust.

Got any pics? Any saw for free can be a good saw....

Nice.....

after a quick compression test I now know why it don't run highest reading................................................50 lbs........................
Is it worth a rebuild for a spare saw?? Is a aftermarket piston and jug an option

Never looked up that Saw. But my 036 has a Rebuild kit (jug, head, piston, bearing, seals, for around $79.

Gonna check ebay real quick....

(EDIT: Just checked and there is a ring only kit for under $11.00, a piston and ring kit for under $30, and a replacement jug (cylinder) that was used for less than $25. So if it only needs Rings to restore compression? For that kind of money, I would. Gonna be a little work on your end, but well worth it. IMO. Have you checked the cylinder? Remove muffler? Check for scouring. )

Not yet thats this weekends project

Well... If the cylinder looks good? Then I would spend the $15 (shipping?? Forgot to look at that?) and throw the rings in it. Maybe even Re-Hone the cylinder and out a good cross hatch back on it...

Gentlemen, I have a 011 and it has been a very good saw. The dealer told me that it was important to have the run carb settings right because if the saw was run lean it would burn the piston. . I have used it mostly for limbing and have been very happy with it. They also made a 009 saw that looks exactly like the 011 but I don't know what the differance was. The 011 was easy to start and would always go with only two pulls. It's a good saw and I hope you get yours running. David

I wouldn't hone that cylinder unless there's aluminum transfer on it. Way too easy to do more harm than good. These cylinders usually have a nikasil (silicon nitride?) coating inside that is very thin. Once you eat through the coatng with the hone then the cylinder is junk. Unless there is a heavy glaze on the cyl, the new rings should break in just fine.

Mastermech just re-ring it or new piston and rings?

I was thinking that it may be old enough to not have the nikasil coated cylinder. Although I am not positive when exactly Stihl started to use it? But you are likely correct. I was thinking this Saw is close to 30 yrs old.

Es332- If the cylinder is in good shape (no gouging, glazing, ring lip, etc) then a simple ring kit may be enough to bring life back to the saw. For under $30 the piston and ring kit is also a good deal. This will take Skirt Slop out of the equation. Then possibly a carb rebuild kit (cheap), if it needs it.

It could cost $15 and time to sharpen the chain. Or it may be substantially more. All depends on cylinder condition and your restraint from buying new "goodies" for it (shiny new bar and chain, air filter, plug, etc).

Thanks I will find out saturday night If its fixable

Depends on the condition of the piston. If it measures out good and there's no scuffing, then just re-ring it.

Nikasil plating has been around a looooong time. Snowmobile boys might be able to pin it down better but I remember seeing engines from the 70's with it. I had an '84 Jaguar 440 with nikasil cylinders.

Muratic acid on a Q-tip works wonders on aluminum transfer. Well ventilated room, gloves rinse with water. A warm cylinder works better also then 400 grit wet/dry with water or oil. After you get it all off if you can't feel any scratches above the ports with your fingernail or a pick the cyl is good to go. Post pics if you can. If only the exhaust side is scored find the reason ie: no mix,air leak. A vac pressure test should be done.

Turn the cylinder upside down and without the rings, drop the piston in the cylinder. Does it fall like a lead ballon? If so you need a new piston and rings.

Called a Stihl dealer and they said go buy a new saw parts are 170 + tax I might treat this thing like a christmas fruit cake and re- gift

What "parts" are those?

they told me the piston and ring comes with a new cylinder, I have to tear down this weekend and find out what i need, I like the idea of new piston and rings for 30.00

When rebuilding a saw, stay away from the crazy OEM prices, especially from Stihl. See if Meteor makes a piston for the 011.....they are very high quality at a fraction of the cost.

Good advice here. I would add that the best and easiest way to improve compression is to replace the rings. Often times they get spongey or sticky and do not expand as well as they should and compression drops. They are also cheap and easy to replace. I get mine from a guy on Ebay that ships them from Greece; they are Cebre rings. That guy sells them for the 011 AV. Oh, and if you do pull the P&C on the 011, some preliminary advice here: be prepared when you take off the cylinder, the piston rod easilly moves to one side and all the roller bearings from the crank/rod will fall into the bottom of the crankcase. The bearings have a lot of slop from side to in the crank/rod compared to newer saws.

On older Stihl saws it is also best to replace the impulse line. Chances are that on an older AV style saw the impulse line is cracked, broken off, or leaks. They are long line tubes in those saws. My local Stihl dealers are not stocking parts for these older saws any more. Also places like Baileys do not carry many parts for these older saws either. For that reason I got rid of my older style Stihl saws; an 009 and 020. They are reasonable saws, but they are heavy and vibration prone, and hard to get parts for. I cannot find any aftermarket P&C sets for the 011 AV. Pistons and rings, yes; cylinders, no. OEM 011 kits on Ebay (Mahle) are $150. You can get a good used 011 AV for far less than that, typically they are listed for around $50 on Ebay. I do NOT advise buying saws on Ebay... (many horror stories there).

Also as for OEM parts being spendy on Stihl saws, note that Mahle and Stihl OEM piston and cylinder kits will likely last 2x as long as aftermarket ones. Like 2,000 hours instead of 1,000 hours. If that is not an issue, then get the aftermarket parts. Meteors are supposed to make good aftermarket P&C parts in Stihl saws.

I called Baileys for that piston and ring set they said only OEM Is there anyone that sells it that I can trust ?