Stihl chain saw help needed

16 years ago

This saw is killing me..I can't hardly pull the cord, but pull the plug..it's fine. I pulled the side piece off with the pull cord, thinking it was the exhaust that was plugged, saw the the tube coming from the lower section. Cleaned it out with air, everything is flowing..put it back together..I can't hardly pull this cord. I know the basics here...what am I missing on this thing?

Featured Answer

paredown3_yahoo_com

14 years ago

Ray's advice worked great for my old Stihl 015 with the same problem. I couldn't start it, so I had to use the Seafoam cold (got it at Autozone). Sprayed liberally in spark plug hole and through carb with aircleaner removed. Then pulled the start rope quite a few times.
Have rags handy since it will blow out the plug hole & exhaust.
Then I left it soaked in Seafoam overnight per Ray's suggestion.
Then this morning I cleaned thoroughly with fresh mixed gas (use a turkey baster to get into the plug hole and carb...)
Then lots more pulls--I could hear that it was turning over freer. Dumped what I could out of the plug hole, cleaned up, oiled plug threads and reinstalled. Smoked quite a bit on start.
Saw has never performed better since I bought it used!!
Oh, and my local guy told me to use premium gas ... and this may be some of the improvement.

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Comments (17)

gator_rider2
16 years ago
Sound like flywheel key timing advanced will make pulling of cord tight if not still ignition problem.
wildride
Original Author
16 years ago
I'll take a look at it..
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ladylake
16 years ago
Before you take the flywheel off try pulling it over with the switch off, if it's easy then it would be the key. Steve
nevada_walrus
16 years ago
If it still pulls hard after doing what ladylake said, the engine is flooded. Over choked or leaking carb.
techdave
16 years ago
wildride, is this a saw new to you, or have youhad it and used it successfully recently?

Some have Compression Release on them, does yours?
wildride
Original Author
16 years ago
Yes, this is a new saw for me. I don't see a compression switch or a button on it. I will try the items listed this weekend and let everyone know how it turns out. Thanks for the advice guys, I appreciate it!
wildride
Original Author
16 years ago
OK, I tried pulling the plug, turned it upside down, switch off, got a little fuel out but not alot, plug back in..still hard. With switch on or off, its still very hard to pull. I pulled the carb off, cleaned and re-installed..no noticeable difference. Any thoughts now???
ladylake
16 years ago
Scored cylinder, bad bearings, does the saw run? Whats the compression? Steve
rcmoser
16 years ago
I would remove the spark plug and see how easy it cranks over by pulling the rope. If it's still hard I would remove the recoil rope assembly and see it the crank/piston if free by rotating the flywheel with no plug installed. Now that you eliminated some of the outside potential problems by inspecting and pull the rope with the assemble off the saw and it's still tight then I would look inside.
canguy
16 years ago
What model is it?
wildride
Original Author
16 years ago
Stihl 250. I have had the rope assy off, I don't see anything out of the ordinary..run, as far as I know..it did some time ago. I have had the muffler off, and carb...can see the piston moving up and down. With plug out only, pull string with finger over plug hole...seemed like compression is good. there is no compression button, so I thought there may be something I have overlooked. Could this still be the timing key? Suggestions now??
fisher40037
16 years ago
Pour out all of the fuel and take the plug out, and pull the
rope a bunch, let it sit a while, let it dry out. Then
reinstall the plug but do not attach the plug wire, now try it. If it is still hard to pull, with no fuel in it and dry
then you may have a large buildup of carbon that is
raising the compression ratio, but I am betting NevadaWalrus is correct about the flooding.

Fish
techdave
16 years ago
Howdy, if the plug is wrong and has too much reach, the effictive Comp Ratio will be high. XS pull effort.

Did you check the keyway??

Stihl vatos, does the 250 have a varibale timing module, and is the initial timing not affected by such a device?
ray_okla
16 years ago
This is sort of "the nature of the beast" on the older 025s and the 250s after carbon has been built up by a too rich fuel mixture or a defective needle valve. Remove the air cleaner and reinstall the screws so the carb will be secure. Start the saw and let it warm up and then spray SEA FOAM DEEP CREEP into the carb throat until it kills the saw. Remove the spark plug and spray a liberal amount into the spark plug hole. Let it set over night and then use fuel-oil mix to wash out the deep creep. Crank it a few times with the spark plug removed and then reinstall the plug and start it. Other than a disassembly to remove the excess carbon this is probably the best approach to make it a little easier to start. Deep Creep is available at auto parts stores and marine dealers. Good Luck...Ray
husky2
16 years ago
Wildride

Did you ever figure this out. I'm having the same problem and am dying to figure this out.
Buster Mann
8 years ago
i'm having the same problem with my chainsaw and this is the second time i ran into this problem with a different saw, i never could fix them so im going to try this today!