Is it worth the time

[eba1225]

I have a friend that purchased a new saw (Stihl) because his old one (Stihl 028 WoodBoss) had died. He said that it was running fine and then started sputtering like it was running out of gas and then quit and wouldn't restart. The repair shop said it was too costly to repair as the required parts (carb) are no longer made.

Anyway he is giving it to me. I have already been looking around and have found carbs. for what I think is a decent price.

What do you guys think, is it worth fixing?

 

[ozarkjeep]

It probably is worth fixing, as long as he didnt run it into the ground as it was sputtering.

remove the muffler and look inside to the piston and cylinder and see how it looks.

also, most likely dont need an entire carb.

Most likely a fuel filter ( inside the tank) ( about $4 part at a stihl dealer)

I have a friend that purchased a new saw (Stihl) because his old one (Stihl 028 WoodBoss) had died. He said that it was running fine and then started sputtering like it was running out of gas and then quit and wouldn't restart. The repair shop said it was too costly to repair as the required parts (carb) are no longer made.

Anyway he is giving it to me. I have already been looking around and have found carbs. for what I think is a decent price.

What do you guys think, is it worth fixing?

 

[ericjeeper]

028 one of the best saws Stihl ever made..
go to arboristsite and get some pointers there

 

[JustWood]

A ton of those old saws are out there still running. Find another used one cheap for parts .Maybe even a couple. Dealers don't like taking these in on trade because of their age . Ask your nearest dealer if he has any saws stuffed back in the corner you could have for a song.

 

[cmonSTART]

Ya, they are great saws. We see a bunch of them roll through our shop. As long as the cylinder isn't wiped out you can probably get it running. I do find interesting though that the shop said it needed a whole new carb. Usually, just replacing the gaskets and needle is enough to get a carb going again, provided there isn't something serious wrong with it. "Running then stopped and wouldn't restart" worries me a bit..

 

[eba1225]

Thanks guys, when I get it I will do a visual inspection of the cylinder and let you know the outcome.

Maybe it could be bad gas the gummed up the carb that they don't want to putz with and wanted to make a sale of a new saw rather than spend the time working on an old one.

Who knows, will let you know.

 

[mayhem]

Ya, they are great saws. We see a bunch of them roll through our shop. As long as the cylinder isn't wiped out you can probably get it running. I do find interesting though that the shop said it needed a whole new carb. Usually, just replacing the gaskets and needle is enough to get a carb going again, provided there isn't something serious wrong with it. "Running then stopped and wouldn't restart" worries me a bit..

Odds are good the repair shop also sells new Stihl saws. Some places will also not do more detail oriented (read: correct) work and prefer to do black box part swapping. Its generally easier to do and more profitable.

 

[WarmGuy]

Does it have an inertial kickback brake?

 

[raybonz]

I have a friend that purchased a new saw (Stihl) because his old one (Stihl 028 WoodBoss) had died. He said that it was running fine and then started sputtering like it was running out of gas and then quit and wouldn't restart. The repair shop said it was too costly to repair as the required parts (carb) are no longer made.

Anyway he is giving it to me. I have already been looking around and have found carbs. for what I think is a decent price.

What do you guys think, is it worth fixing?

I have a Stihl I bought about 15 years ago and it gave me trouble once and I took the carb apart and washed it with carb cleaner and blew it out and it has been running since... The carb is pretty simple so it is worth a shot. Be sure to check your speed setting screws too... There is a method for adjusting them and u may be able to find instructions on the web..

Ray

 

[cmonSTART]

Ya, they are great saws. We see a bunch of them roll through our shop. As long as the cylinder isn't wiped out you can probably get it running. I do find interesting though that the shop said it needed a whole new carb. Usually, just replacing the gaskets and needle is enough to get a carb going again, provided there isn't something serious wrong with it. "Running then stopped and wouldn't restart" worries me a bit..

Odds are good the repair shop also sells new Stihl saws. Some places will also not do more detail oriented (read: correct) work and prefer to do black box part swapping. Its generally easier to do and more profitable.

True. There are other things too, such as figuring the labor cost to rebuild a carb vs. the cost of a new one. These new Zama carbs everyone's using are made in China and cost very little compared to an older Walbro or Tillitson. ($30 vs $80+) as well the total labor cost for more expensive and complex repairs vs. the cost of a new saw. You could spend $400 for an new top end on your saw, vs $500 for a whole new saw.

 

[jtb51b]

I understand the desire to replace a carb rather than rebuild it. I was billing out carb rebuild at 28.50 plus a 10-15 dollar kit. When a new carb it 50$ its worth the extra money to not have the possibility of an idiot not setting the inlet needle correctly or something else. Un-fortunately the OPE industry does NOT have its share of higher end mechanics available. Most of your OPE mechanics are parts swappers, and they need to be babysat to get it right. When you DO find a good OPE mechanic pay the guy top bucks to keep him and your STILL in the hole! Its a rough business these days with disposable equipment so readily available.

Jason

 

[eba1225]

Ok, here I go.

Got the saw yesterday, and did a little work on it last night, it was purchased in 1982.

I am really impressed with the modularization that the saw has, gives you the ability to work on it easily.

First the chain brake seems to be based on, the bar the hits your wrist when the saw kicks back to stop the chain.

Took off the chain sprocket cover and the drive actually looks pretty good, not too much wear.
The compression seems to be strong based on pulling the starter cord.

Took off the cover to the carb and was surpticed that it looks like the carb was never removed for examination, it was still covered in saw dust. I wonder how the shop came up with their decision?
Removed the carb. and the plug to look into the cylinder and they look good.
I am at the point where I am questioning if I really need to rebuild the carb. (BTW it is a Walbro Carb).

I will clean and reassemble this weekend and try to start w/o doing anything to the carb. That should give me some idea as to where the problem may reside.

Erik

 

[kevin j]

maybe not 'rebuild' the carb but since you have it off, I would disassemble and do thorough cleaning. Thre is probably bad gas and sawdust in there...

 

[bill*67]

it might not be the carb at all. check the compression with a gauge, and do a vacuum/ pressure test to check the crankcase seals. also check the rubber boot from the carb to the cylinder for rips or tears. check the fuel line for pin holes. make sure the muffler isn't plugged with carbon deposits. replace the spark plug, fuel filter, and fresh fuel mix. and use a tach to adjust the carb screws for best performance. good luck with your new saw! :coolsmile:

 

[eba1225]

Update,

Cleaned the carb a little. Put it back on and tried to start. Would not start. Pulled the plug, had good spark, but noticed the plug seemed damp. Removed the aircleaned and noticed that the throoat of the carb was wet. Tried to start witout the aircleaner and it still wouldn't start.

Looks like I probably have a flue meetering problem, too much fuel. The carb is a Tillotson, does anybody know of these?

 

[cmonSTART]

Tillotson, made in Ireland. Peek in the plug hole and look for scoring. Do a compression test. Replace the plug with a Bosch WSR6F, add fresh gas and try again.

 

[eba1225]

Looked in the plug hole and saw no scoring. I have a feeling that the problem is indeed the carb and I will thouroughly clean and rebuild. Ordered the parts, hopefully will have it rebuilt shortly after receiving the parts, probably in 10 days.

Thanks for all the advise so far, will keep you updated as to its progress.

 

[eba1225]

Update,

Got the carb kit on Friday and did a once over as well as replaced all of the gaskets and the float valve and adjusted to manufacturer specs. Reinstalled the carb and still had the problem with flooding. Removed the plug, and pulled the starter a couple times to get a majority of the excess fuel out.

Put the carb back in and pulled the starter and had the engine fire once or twice and then nothing after that. Redid the plug removal process and again had a couple engine firings. The engine needle valves are set to factory settings (1 1/2 turns open). Was wondering if that could be an issue. Adjusted the float valve so that it is more closed than factory setting, but that did not help.

I am please that it is at least firing, but am a little frustrated that it contines to flood.

I had a Homlite many years ago that did the same thing, never spent the time to correct the problem.

I have not done a compression test, but figure it has good compression based on the effort needed to start it and the vacum pull it has on the carb.

Any further suggestions/pointers?

Erik

 

[Gooserider]

How's your starting drill? Is it possible that you are flooding it by not doing things right? I know that I had a real bear of a time getting my new Dolmar going the first time, which may have been partly a problem of not having had fuel in it before, but I may also have not been doing things right. Another user on Arborist site gave me a suggested drill, and it's been easy to start ever since...

On my saw, pulling the choke out sets a half-throttle latch, when you push the choke back in, it stays latched on half throttle until you "burp" it. It also has a compression release button that needs to be pushed, and keeps the compression released until the engine at least tries to fire.

What I was told to do on a cold engine was to pull the choke out and leave it, while pulling until the engine "burps", or tries to start, which will kick off the compression release. Then without touching the throttle, push the choke in, hit the compression release again, and give it another pull or two, it will start by the second pull.

On a warm engine, pull the choke out to set the throttle latch, push it back in, push the compression release and pull - if it hasn't started by the second pull, check the ignition switch cause you probably forgot to turn it on... :red: - So far this has worked perfectly for me.

I don't know if your saw has the same sort of throttle latch, but I think the general idea of pull it till it burps with the choke on, then choke off and pull again will work for lots of equipment. I suspect you might also have problems with your screw settings, the factory recomendations are just initial settings that don't work for everything, on stuff I've worked on, getting the carb dialed in for the initial start was the hardest part. I'd start with the factory settings, then try + / - a quarter turn at a time variation to see if you can find the "magic spot" that will let it start so you can actually adjust it properly.

Gooserider

 

[eba1225]

Ok update, final.

Rebuilt the carb with a kit obtained on ebay. To my disappointment I had the same issue, would not start, would fire once and a while but not repeatedly.

Four weeks ago took it to a mechanic as I had thrown in the towel. After 10 days the mechanic calls and says it is either the carb or the coil and the cost would be $200 just for the coil as this model is old and parts are rare. Needless to say I told them do not bother I will pick up the saw and pay my $35 estimate (litle did I know that was the best investment I made).

So going off of their findings and knowing I had just rebuilt the carb. I went back to ebay and secured a new coil for $20 (a gamble I could afford). Well the coil came today and it was installed in 30 minutes. Did a test of the spark and it didn't look too much better but what the heck give it a full try.

Put the pug in, set the choke and gave it a pull. Well it fired up like it wanted to tackle a mighty oak right then and there even though the bar and chain were not attached. Put those important parts on as well as all of the cowling. First pull and it was off to the races, buzed through a 14" oak log like it was butter.

All said and done I have a "new" saw with a new 20" bar and chain bar for the whoping cost of $113. And from what I gather from you guys a pretty good saw.

BTW my other saw is a Mac 3200 wih 16" bar.

Thanks for all of your help and advise,
Erik

 

[eba1225]

Update, Final Final,

Had an issue that the saw would bog down under load. Tried a rebuilt carb, looked at the points, and condenser (as much as I could) but still had the bogging down issue.

Then researched and noticed this has occurred to a few other people and the majority of the corrections was to install an electronic ignition. I did that.

Much to my delight this corrected the problem completely. This saw not rips through wood, cut an 18" piece of poplar in about 15 secs.

Erik