200T no one can fix local

The seals I get here for 020/200 is not that hard???

I often notice when they are tricky to set is when they need more work...

Impulse line, pic up lines, manifolds etc can be really tricky.

Brian got a easy one that was not connected...

But what if you have it connected, clear passege, but no impulse?

Had a saw here that did not run right and I could not find anything in particular wrong till I lifted jug.... NO ring!
It should not fire at all, but ran.... Very porly but it did run!

Not all is explaineble or even possible to understand.
 
Good info people, I have two of my friends saws that I am still struggling with, one I have totally strip down and cleaned, new carb kit, fuel line was bad, replaced that with a spare one I had but it really need a new one, it runs will rev out but the will gain revs and stall. It also nearly stalls when you gun the throttle.

I have changed the carb for one from my saw that I Know is good, no change in the running of the saw.

Annoying.
 
Well, I have seen some wieard crap happen to saws I find no explenations for and don't understand so I can honestly say it is very true!

Some things should not be possible...

One guy running a 357 with two cylinderbolts broken of and the other two loose enugh to bend the rod!
Still ran when he came here with it!
 
I finally got Stephen's 200T today. I spent about an hour and a half working on it and I think it's running pretty good now. I'm going to take it out and run it on a job to see how it performs in real world conditions.

Pictures 1-2 are what the saw looked like when I took it out of the box. The air filter was dripping soaked in what appeared to be motor oil and the fuel in the carb smelled very stale. I removed the adjustment limiter on the high speed jet so I could adjust the carb (pic 3). The 90 degree angled rubber nipple was missing but I had an extra that I put on the diaphram breather (pic 4). The muffler screen was completely plugged as I suspected (pic5) but the spark plug looked fine.

I cleaned everything up and dialed in the carb. The idle set screw was screwed all the way in so the idle was about 8000 rpm but I got everything dialed in pretty close (pics 7-8 ). Then I put the modified spark screen back in and the saw fell flat on it's face again. So I went back in and pulled the muffler and it was packed solid inside. This is what I've seen on several 200Ts that are run on the regular orange bottle Stihl mix oil. I pulled out a spare muffler that I had previously cleaned up and opened up a little and swapped them out. I think Stephen attempted to get into his muffler before since 3 of the 4 screws holding it together were missing. The lock washers on the two screws holding the muffler to the piston were missing as well. ;) I tried to get a picture of the inside of the jug through the exhaust port but it didn't come out.

I put in the modified muffler and spark screen and bolted everything back together, then reset the carb again. It runs and idles well and I'll know more after I run it on the job for an hour. The last two pics are idle and WOT rpm with the modified muffler and modified spark screen installed.
8)
 
I usually end up welding those damned mufflers back together. screws break every time you try to take them out.. Bitch to clean them but once they are clean they weld nice.

I usually just throw the spark screen away. I got a new 200t at work and pitched it in the tool box before I ever put gas in it. (shhh!) Doggy saw with that thing in it.
 
The 90 degree angled rubber nipple was missing but I had an extra that I put on the diaphram breather (pic 4).

How much difference can the angled rubber nipple make to the running of the saw?
Love that Max Tach, thingy me jig.
 
Read back in the thread, Butch. I tried to talk him into that but he works on Federal land and they will check for those screens. The fines are pretty stiff for noncompliance.

High Scale, I'm not sure how much difference it would make but I couldn't just leave the hole open for crud to get in there.
 
Wow, that muffler was super carboned up. I have seen some crappy mufflers but that one is pretty bad. That saw was either running super rich or too much oil to gas ratio.

Good job Brian. It is hard to imagine that Stephan's local Sthil dealer couldn't have figured that one out. With some basic chainsaw trouble shooting like your doing they should have had that saw running.

It just might be par for the course though.

I put in a request yesterday at my local Sthil dealer. I still have a 046 mag with a bad bearing. I have the parts but time is my enemy. I would like to get this saw back into the line-up for work. I asked the Sthil dealer how much they would charge to split the case and do the bottom end work if I broke the saw down for them to save them time and me some money.

Guess what. They don't do that. The counter guy told me that he had never seen anyone in the shop break a saw down that far. They don't have the tools or experience. The counter guy also thought it was a bad idea to split the case on a saw as he said the results aren't all that great after it is done. Hmmm

I just found this strange is all. I can understand about the time and labor to rebuild a saw. Might as well buy a new one. But I hate to buy one of the newer 46's when I have put work and money already into this one

Oh well guess I'll have to do it myself one of these years after I get my 56 back together which is still in pieces.

I am sure that 200 will perform good on the job. Unless it has an airleak in it.
 
It really isn't that big of a deal to split a set of Stihl cases . I know they list special tools but you do not need them .

Get the saw down to the bones then heat the bearing pocket with a heat gun .The case will expain faster than the bearing and the thing will come right apart . Toss the crank ,bearings and all in the freezer for a spell,maybe over night . 90 percent of the times the bearings will pop right off ,if not put a little heat on them . Toss the now bald headed crank back in the freezer .

After it's good and cold heat the inner race a tad .A soldering iron works good for this unless the bearing has a plastic cage then just warm in with a heat gun .They usually pop right back on . Back in the freezer again .

Back out when it's cold .Heat up one case side around the bearing pocket ,shove the crank in it then do likewise the other .

This might not be the certified method one of those factory trained "gold level " Stihl techs do it but it works 'cause I've done a bunch of them .
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #87
This is why I wanted Brian to try this out and see if he could fix it. BTW.. this saw went to three dealers/service shops that all swore it was fixed, carb rebuilt and muffler and spark arrestor cleaned. All swore it was all fixed.. I would take it out in the parking lot, fire it up and take it back in and get MOST of my money back, than take it some where else. The saw never went to another job after it crapped out the first time or came out of each of the three shops. I shelved it two years ago and had given up on it. But I got a burr in my saddle with the latest I been going through with the zama carbs. Which I learned from you guys are a problem. I thought I had all the gas out of it Brian when I shelved it, sorry if I missed some, I was pretty pissed after the third shop round.
Obviously those shops never did the work they said they did. I had a feeling I was being ripped. Another reason I had given up on it. I don't know much about fixing them or have the time to so I have to rely on mechanics mostly save for the really simple stuff...

Brian that is great news so far.. Also you are right about the stihl mix, I only use the stihl synthetic now, seems to not clog the spark arrestors as fast.

I cant wait to go into my local shop and wave this shat in their face and have a lil talk to with the owners of the shop.
And Brian, I did not try to get in the muffler.. That is how it came back from the last shop... Interesting eh?

And I would also like to know where to the get the tach you have, I am trying to learn and that would be handy for some simple tuning. :)

Cant wait to hear how it performs in the field and get her home if she does :) She needs to get back into the trees...
 
Good job B . Once again showing that often times running problems can be traced to a plugged exhaust .If it can't get out it can't get in .

Now I wonder about those screens and restrictions about them when running on public lands . If they are just looking for a screen then replace that finely meshed one with one of courser material if that would suffice to keep the chainsaw police off your case ? I don't know myself ,never had the occasion to cut on public lands and chainsaw gestapos are non existant in these parts .
 
I ran the saw in the shop a little more last night and it was still doggy with the screen in place, so I cut off the end of the screen and just screwed the outer portion back on the muffler. From the outside it still looks like there's a screen in place but there isn't. I'll send Stephen an extra unused screen in case he gets nervous and would prefer having a doggy saw. ;)

It's raining today so I won't have an opportunity to run it in some wood, but I have a small job tomorrow morning and I'll put it to work then.
 
Here is another point to ponder .On those little saws which are likely around 2 HP .if you lose 10 percent from a plugged exhaust ,that is a bunch . Good little saws but they need all the help you can give them to remain good cutters .
 
Regarding the need to have an exhaust screen in place to comply with US Forest Service requirements when cutting (either under contract doing work or by permit, like for firewood)...it's my experience, when I inspect saws and what I see other FS COR's do, is look for the presence of a screen by cursory visual inspection of the muffler, externally. I have never pulled a screen, so Brian's ploy would pass me easily. I'd probably notice if the mesh was coarser than OEM, and would likely require replacement unless it was only a minor difference ...but I'm considered a hard case as a contract administrator, in general.

If you really can't abide the spark arrestor, pull the screen but be absolutely sure you have a new, clean one and a mount screw with you...that way if you are busted by an inspection you can plead that the screen was lost and unnoticed by you but you can replace it right now and continue work. Put one back in yourself if the fire precaution level rises above a 1 (low).

The risk you take by these actions is small, unless you start a wildfire...then the post fire investigation/inspection could get far more intense. If you are found liable for a fire start, you could and likely would be charged for the costs of fighting said fire. As anyone knows who follows these things, multi-millions get spent in short order on large fires, and even a small one could easily run into the hundreds of thousands right quick. Like I said, the chances of this outcome are awfully low, but the financial consequences could be dire should it happen.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #92
I am in a high (extremely high) fire risk area.. The last fire I recently went through here was started by gun fire.. Metal jacket bullet. Riccochet, spark and pooof... Millions of dollars and thousands of acres later..... Yeah they are serious here about laws and restrictions on equipment. And I AM liable if I start a fire. One hot piece of carbon is all it takes... During our fire season.
 
I can fully understand on those western slopes where fire would be an ever present danger and must be avoided by every means possible .

Here in the hardwoods of the midwest ,it's really not a problem ,different evironment all together . Rarely,very rarely does a woods catch afire and then it is usually started by a wheat field fire from an adjacent field .

Due to the fact the wheat fires occur in July ,if the woods does burn it very rarely sets anything on fire much past the first 50 feet around the field because of the moisture in the woods that time of year . Even in late fall there is so much moisture on the fallen leaves they don't burn very much .It seems when the leaves fall ,the fall monsoons set in .Fact it's raining as I type like a cow peeing on a flat rock .

I'm sure though that dry pine needles are a different story all together .
 
Since it was a boring rainy day today I figured I'd go ahead and clean up Stephen's old muffler and get it ready for the next 200T to come across my bench. I neglected to show the other modified muffler before putting it on Stephen's saw but I can show what I did on this one.

I haven't found anything that will easily dissolve the baked on carbon crud but the spray carb cleaner seems to loosen it up a little, then I just scrape off as much as I can with a small screwdriver and blow it out with air. The main concern is leaving partially loosened chunks that can break free and possibly end up back inside the jug (or even plug up the screen if you're using one).

There's not much to these mufflers but the exit path is quite convoluted and makes no sense. The obvious exit route is where the screen is screwed in place, but with that hole plugged the exhaust must exit through a narrow crack indicated by the uppermost red arrow. On Stephen's saw this narrow opening was almost completely closed off, as you can see in the picture above. On this muffler I widened the opening by about 1/4", almost doubling the size of the exit path.

On either side of the exhaust port there are small tits sticking up to create extra back pressure and resist the flow entering the muffler. I removed those as well. Without the screen in place (it slides in the groove you see between the exhaust port and exit hole) the exhaust has a clean shot to vent without excessive back pressure. If you decide to use the screen, it will still function as designed but it will be the most restrictive part of the muffler. If you must use it then at least pull it out once a month and clean it thoroughly.

I have the chopped screen on the saw as shown by the red line in the picture below. The brand new unused screen is taped to the inside lid of the box.
 
Cool Andy, thanks for the tip. I think I've heard that before but I've never tried it and I certainly didn't remember it. Stephen can also use that tip for cleaning his spark screens.

I also forgot to take pictures of how to remove the muffler on the 200T without taking the whole saw apart. You simply remove the little plastic cover under the sprocket, remove the two scres holding the muffler to the jug and slide the muffler out the side. If anybody needs clarification on that, holler up and I'll take some pictures to post here.
:)
 
No worries Brian, I help when I can!

We used to use that to strip engines before painting them.

(Works great for cleaning cosmoline off of AK-47's also, but thats a whole other story)
 
"Easy off " also is a very good method of cleaning the pitch from a table saw blade if it has cut a bunch of pine .

Nothing more annoying that attempting to make fine finish cuts with a cabinet grade blade that is caked full of pitch .
 
All my mufflers are stock because of what Burnham said. Skwerl, it looks like you have this chainsaw mechanics stuff dialed in. Stephen I know it's quite a drive for you but "The Saw Shop" in Turlock is pretty good. Not as good as Skwerl of course.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
My hard to start but does start STIHL 211
Replies
21
Views
612
chainsawer4741
C
treesmith
New saws
2
Replies
29
Views
730
Kaveman
Kaveman
lxskllr
How Much Lean Can Be Overcome By Pulling?
2
Replies
48
Views
807
Burnham
Burnham
Knotorious
Best SNACKS Eaten by Tree House Members!
2
Replies
49
Views
2K
Knotorious
Knotorious
Knotorious
"Ashley Book of Knots" Free Download (Full Book) Courtesy of Knotorious!
Replies
12
Views
1K
Knotorious
Knotorious
Back
Top