Chainsaw Maintenance/Cleaning

[CJRages]

This week I became a happy owner of a Stihl MS270C. Ebay hooked me up. It arrived yesterday by mail and I was able to fire it up last night for the first time. Wow that was exciting!
This is my first chainsaw so I have a lot of questions!

The saw shipped from GA and arrived pretty dirty (nothing against Georgia BTW). I spent a couple hours cleaning up the external dirt and grime last night. For example, the groove in the bar (where the chain runs) was filled 2/3 full of black sawdust/oil which I cleaned out with a paper towel and blunt knife blade. All other cleaning was merely cosmetic in nature. I don't have the tools (drivers or bits) to remove some of the covers, etc from the saw.

So what cleaning/maintenance do you perform on your saws? Does the bar need special attention? Would it be wise for me to do some deep cleaning (i.e. carb. cleanup, etc) since I don't know if the saw has ever had regular maintenance?

 

[smokinj]

I would blow it out real good with air compresser ane same with the bar groves and oil port...

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm probably not the best guy to ask . . . my saw has been used and abused. I pretty much put in gas and put in oil . . . keep the chain tightened and sharpened . . . and fix parts when they break. They're relatively simple engines . . . I might suggest changing the spark plug to make sure it's in good shape and clean out the air filter.

 

[webie]

I would blow it out real good with air compresser ane same with the bar groves and oil port...

+1
No worries that bar groove will look the same in a few hours of cutting or less. I too try to blow my saws out once a year . You will probably want to get to a stihl dealer and get your self one of those goofy wrenches to remove the star type screws Stihl uses on there saws . There is only one size they use so you cant go wrong . Besides its a good Idea to check your houseing bolts every so often anyways . The biggest thing to clean will be your air filter , or replace it if its really bad , but if you are carefull they can last many many years with some carefull cleaning .

 

[mainemaul]

wash air filter in warm soapy water [ some use gasoline], air dry or hit it with compressed air, my saws filters were clogged bad and it makes all the difference
good luck and wear ur saftey gear

 

[CJRages]

wash air filter in warm soapy water [ some use gasoline], air dry or hit it with compressed air, my saws filters were clogged bad and it makes all the difference
good luck and wear ur saftey gear

The filter on the 270 was coated with dust, but it didn't look terrible. I think I will try the soapy water though.

 

[CJRages]

You will probably want to get to a stihl dealer and get your self one of those goofy wrenches to remove the star type screws Stihl uses on there saws . There is only one size they use so you cant go wrong . Besides its a good Idea to check your houseing bolts every so often anyways .

Yep. A wrench like your talking about would be great! Does Stihl use those screws so that your average saw owner is prevented from doing his own maintenance? Lol

 

[gandrimp]

Not sure what type of filter you have, but the oily film is a good thing. If your going to clean with soapy water the oily film will be gone. I just blow mine out with compressed air.
When I bought my saw about 15 years ago the guy wouldnt sell me a spare filter, he said blow it out it will last forever. I guess he was right, since I never bought one yet.
You really need to pull the clutch cover and clean that area up, whilst there youll have the bar off so clean all the oil passages.
Be careful with your new investment.

 

[CJRages]

Not sure what type of filter you have, but the oily film is a good thing. If your going to clean with soapy water the oily film will be gone. I just blow mine out with compressed air.
When I bought my saw about 15 years ago the guy wouldnt sell me a spare filter, he said blow it out it will last forever. I guess he was right, since I never bought one yet.

OK, next time I have access to an air compressor - that sounds like the best way to go. A guy I used to work for would clean out his filter with a pocket knife. He would scrape the outside of the filter holding the knife perpendicular to the surface. Is that an acceptable practice? I always wondered...

 

[smokinj]

Not sure what type of filter you have, but the oily film is a good thing. If your going to clean with soapy water the oily film will be gone. I just blow mine out with compressed air.
When I bought my saw about 15 years ago the guy wouldnt sell me a spare filter, he said blow it out it will last forever. I guess he was right, since I never bought one yet.

OK, next time I have access to an air compressor - that sounds like the best way to go. A guy I used to work for would clean out his filter with a pocket knife. He would scrape the outside of the filter holding the knife perpendicular to the surface. Is that an acceptable practice? I always wondered...

best just to knock it on something and it will fall off..

 

[gandrimp]

I would not scrape with a knife.

 

[webie]

You will probably want to get to a stihl dealer and get your self one of those goofy wrenches to remove the star type screws Stihl uses on there saws . There is only one size they use so you cant go wrong . Besides its a good Idea to check your houseing bolts every so often anyways .

Yep. A wrench like your talking about would be great! Does Stihl use those screws so that your average saw owner is prevented from doing his own maintenance? Lol

That is farther from the truth I have at least 4 of them that I got with my saws . There string trimmers use the same bolts in fact the tool you get with them it looks like a scrench but instead of the screwdriver end it has one of them star type drivers ( I think these are called Torx ). Most of the ones you get from stihl look like an oversize allen wrench .
I actually have a couple of extra bolts in my tool box .......I have lost them from the chain brakes , too the handles , to recoil housing . Not alot but enough to remind me I should check them once in a blue moon .
Just be carefull if you are blowing out your air-filter you want to do that a bit genitally .
I guess if you want to do a total job on the saw I would throw in a new plug and change out the fuel filter that is in your fuel tank .
Other than that they are pretty simple all you really need is good gas and oil mix a sharp chain and you are pretty much all set .

 

[webie]

Not sure what type of filter you have, but the oily film is a good thing. If your going to clean with soapy water the oily film will be gone. I just blow mine out with compressed air.
When I bought my saw about 15 years ago the guy wouldnt sell me a spare filter, he said blow it out it will last forever. I guess he was right, since I never bought one yet.

OK, next time I have access to an air compressor - that sounds like the best way to go. A guy I used to work for would clean out his filter with a pocket knife. He would scrape the outside of the filter holding the knife perpendicular to the surface. Is that an acceptable practice? I always wondered...

Rather use a small paint brush or a tooth brush , 2 good things to have in your saw box

 

[Kenster]

Just be careful if you are blowing out your air-filter you want to do that a bit genitally .

????????????????

Sorry. I am unable to blow air out of my genitals.

 

[CJRages]

Thanks to everyone for the help today. I have a much better idea of what needs to be done and when... also went to the Stihl website and watched a couple of their maintenance videos. Although they were a little over the top with warnings and sometimes slow to the point, the information was very good for a beginner. It helps to have enough knowledge that you can diagnose future problems and take care of them yourself. :D

 

[Archer39]

Not sure what type of filter you have, but the oily film is a good thing. If your going to clean with soapy water the oily film will be gone. I just blow mine out with compressed air.
When I bought my saw about 15 years ago the guy wouldnt sell me a spare filter, he said blow it out it will last forever. I guess he was right, since I never bought one yet.

OK, next time I have access to an air compressor - that sounds like the best way to go. A guy I used to work for would clean out his filter with a pocket knife. He would scrape the outside of the filter holding the knife perpendicular to the surface. Is that an acceptable practice? I always wondered...

best just to knock it on something and it will fall off..

i agree, if your blowing the dirt out you are making holes in the filter that will allow dirt to get sucked back in while in use. I don't know how the filters are on a stihl but on my husky there is no way to blow from the inside out effectively. so if you blow from the outside in you are pushing the dirt though the filter creating holes that will allow dirt into the filter while using the saw.

 

[southbound]

dishwasher............................Works really good!~

 

[smokinj]

dishwasher............................Works really good!~

I seen your pic's and had to try it wensday night when the wife wasnt home does a great job..

 

[southbound]

Any pic's????

 

[smokinj]

Any pic's????

I post a few sunday still cleaning them its been raining for days so I am about caught up..what the heck good enough

 

[southbound]

Really nice set up got there!

What type of grinder you got???

I like the under the shelf lights as well........

 

[smokinj]

Really nice set up got there!

What type of grinder you got???

I like the under the shelf lights as well........

the grinder is a old 511a with a cyclone wheel does a great job lighting is very key......built the bench with a thread on here and its working out sweet.

 

[Danno77]

You will probably want to get to a stihl dealer and get your self one of those goofy wrenches to remove the star type screws Stihl uses on there saws . There is only one size they use so you cant go wrong . Besides its a good Idea to check your houseing bolts every so often anyways .

Yep. A wrench like your talking about would be great! Does Stihl use those screws so that your average saw owner is prevented from doing his own maintenance? Lol

are you talking about a SCRENCH? those are a must have, and only cost a few bucks.....

 

[smokinj]

You will probably want to get to a stihl dealer and get your self one of those goofy wrenches to remove the star type screws Stihl uses on there saws . There is only one size they use so you cant go wrong . Besides its a good Idea to check your houseing bolts every so often anyways .

Yep. A wrench like your talking about would be great! Does Stihl use those screws so that your average saw owner is prevented from doing his own maintenance? Lol

are you talking about a SCRENCH? those are a must have, and only cost a few bucks.....

its a torx screw driver type t-27 most common atleast with the bigger saws..

 

[Danno77]

are you talking about a SCRENCH? those are a must have, and only cost a few bucks.....

its a torx screw driver type t-27 most common atleast with the bigger saws..

ohh, I was under the impression they were talking about some strange obscure tool. T27 i have. Don't ask me where the T25 went, I swear that I can never find one of those when I need them.