Repairing a Sthil 028

[homebrewz]

A friend recently gave me his old Sthil Woodboss 028 AV (he upgraded to a newer model).
Its probably seen a life of light to moderate use. It has a problem where it bogs down in even
relatively small pieces of wood. I was cutting some 10" rounds with it, and halfway through the cut,
the chain stops and it sounded like the engine RPM's slowed down quite a bit.

A friend suggested it might need a new sprocket/clutch. I'm wondering if it might need a
piston kit or general rebuild. I do nearly all of my own auto repair, but haven't tinkered with saws much.
Any suggestions on what to check or look for?

 

[TMonter]

I'd start by removing the muffler and inspecting the piston/cylinder to see if there is any scoring or damage.

 

['bert]

I am sure the saw will be worth repairing (unless it has multiple serious problems) I bought the same saw from a garage sale for $ 75.00 and it has run exceptional for the last 9 years. Good Luck!!

 

[James Gautsch]

My Wood Boss is about 22yrs old. Last weekend we were cutting down Norway Maples. I ran out of gas - refilled and the saw, started to cut and it bogged down and eventually quit running. Did this several times. Reset the throttle settings no change. Air cleaner OK. Not the gas as we were running two saws. What should I look for next?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Carl]

I have had an 028 for many years. Mine would bog down but really it wasn't getting enough gas. If you open up the back case so you can see the carb, etc, look on the far left side and you will see a small short line coming from the fuel tank. This lets air into the tank as you run it and mine was bad. You can get a new one for cheap which has the little valve in it that you can see through the clear line. This worked for me and it now runs well again. These are tough saws and will last a lifetime so it would be well worth the repairs. I know many woodsmen here that would like to get one since they don't like the safty features on the newer ones. I did spring for a new 27 this spring which has many features I liked. Good luck with your saws.

 

[homebrewz]

Thanks for the responses. I'll check out that fuel line. I do remember my friend saying he had to frequently
clean the air intake, as it was getting dirty and the saw wasn't running right.

 

[cmonSTART]

Like TMonter said, check the cylinder walls. If there is any damage (vertical scoring), it won't be worth fixing. Otherwise, the usual suspects are the fuel line as said above and then carb work (cleaning, new gaskets/diaphrams etc).