Stihl MS181, Hard to pull cord,wont start.

[mickyblueeyes]

Hi All .Been reading the forum for a while now so thought i would join,it's a good place to be.

Well here's the story with the saw, it was bought 3 years ago to saw some conifers down that were taking over my front garden.Well it managed this job no problem  so after the job was done i put the saw into storage until it was needed ,and now i need it to cut some logs up for the woodburner.Three years ago i emptied the fuel tank but left the chain oil in the machine as i was advised to do so but when i looked at the saw the oil had all ran out of the machine anyway.

So this is what i have done to it.Btw the saw pulls over quite easily with the plug removed,but when installed it's like pulling a train.

1.Put some thin oil into the cylinder as it was difficult to pull over initially.

2.Put a new spark plug in.

3.Fitted a new Stihl ignition module as there was no spark,this has now cured the spark problem.

?What else should i be doing to get the thing going

 

[bmp01]

Cor blimey, where to start......

 

What were storage conditions?  Warm and dry or cold and damp etc?

 

1) Saw should not be hard to pull over just because it's been stored. 

2) Coil should not go bad just because it's been stored. 

 

Have you got any evidence of corrosion on the outside of the engine,  rusty steel parts, dusty white deposits on aluminium? Has the clutch rusted up, or is the chain brake on? Can you pull the chain round easily by hand? 

 

The oil you put in the cylinder will be causing a really good seal around the piston whereas the (dry) piston ring would allow some gas past. In addition, if there is enough oil in there, you will also increase the compression ratio.  That is why it is hard to pull over. I would add some petrol to the brew, pull it over with out the plug in - then turn the whole saw upside down and pull it over. The intention being to empty out all the oil.

 

IF you get it to a state where it pulls over sensibly with the plug in, then you can move on. A squirt of fresh 2 stroke mix down the plug hole, see if it coughs. ....

 

[spudulike]

All I can think is that the crankcase is full of fuel as a 35cc saw should be relatively easy to pull over!

[mickyblueeyes]

2 hours ago, bmp01 said:

Cor blimey, where to start......

 

What were storage conditions?  Warm and dry or cold and damp etc?

 

1) Saw should not be hard to pull over just because it's been stored. 

2) Coil should not go bad just because it's been stored. 

 

Have you got any evidence of corrosion on the outside of the engine,  rusty steel parts, dusty white deposits on aluminium? Has the clutch rusted up, or is the chain brake on? Can you pull the chain round easily by hand? 

 

The oil you put in the cylinder will be causing a really good seal around the piston whereas the (dry) piston ring would allow some gas past. In addition, if there is enough oil in there, you will also increase the compression ratio.  That is why it is hard to pull over. I would add some petrol to the brew, pull it over with out the plug in - then turn the whole saw upside down and pull it over. The intention being to empty out all the oil.

 

IF you get it to a state where it pulls over sensibly with the plug in, then you can move on. A squirt of fresh 2 stroke mix down the plug hole, see if it coughs. ....

 

Thanks for the reply,It was stored in an Outhouse which is cold in the winter but dry and not damp,and there are no signs of any corrosion anywhere,i changed the ignition module because there was no spark so don't really know what happened with the old one .You say there's a clutch on the saw which could have rusted ?where would i find the clutch.Your point about the chain brake has got me thinking,?is it the norm to start these saws with the chain brake on.I have not actually put the chain back on since i tried to get it going which is probably three weeks now .So the oil has been in that long.Tomorrow i will have a go at the things you are advising and see what happens and report back,so thanks again for your help.

[EricBradley]

if it pulls over easy with no plug in its nothing seized up or stuck by rust, most likely the oil in the cylinder is causing the greater compression when the plug is in, pull it over upside down with no plug in a few times and it should be ok.

[mickyblueeyes]

Thanks Eric will give it a go later.

[mickyblueeyes]

Hello Again,Not sure if i'm making matters worse here but this is what i have done so far.I  poured some neat petrol down the plug hole tipped it upside down  and kept on pulling the cord, did this for 10 minutes or so but still the same so i decided to remove the muffler and again i poured some neat petrol into exhaust port and did  the same but it still hasn't done the trick.and the pull cord is still not pulling  over as easily as it should do, have walked away from it and left the machine upside down hoping that some of the oil will drain out

This has got me thinking that maybe i need to remove the engine and remove the crankcase to get rid of the oil that way ,???Question is how big of a job is this and would it be worth trying if it is.

[peatff]

If I were you I would get someone who knows what they are doing to take a look at it for you. Pouring petrol in every orifice isn't a recognised remedy for a stuck saw. You fitted a new ignition module, is it catching the flywheel  and is the ergo start working ? A six year old could pull my mate's MS181 over and if you are not sure where the clutch is are you confident to pull the top end off ? Watch a few youtubes and look online for similar problems then have a go at it.

[Stubby]

FFS send it to spud ! .

[Joe Newton]

Get a bigger boy to try starting it?