Stihl 018C Help

[UC Wayne]

Good Morning All,

New member here looking for some help on a Stihl 018C chainsaw.  I've had the saw about 8 or 9 years and have never had a minutes trouble from it. 

Used it a couple of weeks ago and it ran like a raped ape!!  Went to use it again, and it would run for a few seconds and then die, like it was starving for fuel. Let it sit for a few seconds and it fires right up again and then dies a few seconds later again. 

There are no adjustment screws or anything on the carb, so nothing to do there.  I've rebuilt, such as it is, the carburetor and replaced the fuel line and fuel filter, but to no avail.  It does the same thing.  Is there something else that I might be missing?  What else can I do, short of replacing the carburetor?

Any ideas and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Wayne

[Andyshine77]

Check the impulse line for cracks. Did you clean the carb when you rebuilt it? The screen and passages all need to be cleaned. Double check to make sure the kit was installed correctly, and the metering lever is at the proper height. Pull the exhaust can and have a look at the piston. If this turns out to be bad carb, it's not a big deal, the carb for that saw is pretty cheap.

They're many other possibilities like a large air leak, but let's take this one step at a time.

[webgal]

I'm not a mechanic and don't play one on TV, but is your fuel line a bit long after the fix? Sometimes the lines get all sideways and when you pick a saw up to use it the fuel filter doesn't stay where the fuel is. Then while sitting it works its way back down.
Just a stab at it. Maybe a simple weighted fuel filter would solve the problem that seems like it is the old problem, but it is a new one...

[UC Wayne]

I did clean the carb with carb cleaner and made especially sure that I put everythig back together correctly. 

As far as the fuel line being to long, the repalcement was identidal to the original and it lays in the bottom of the tank where is should.  I'm not sure, but is seems to be weighted.

[deerslayer]

Pull the spark screen out of the muffler and try it again. I had one that acted like yours and that is what the problem was. (plugged screen) Mine was the exact same model, 018C. Don't like the C part but the saw cuts better than one would expect. I still have mine as the smallest saw in my lineup.

[Tom King]

The exhaust screen clogs up really fast on that saw, especially if you are burning the Stihl dino oil in the orange bottles.  Take the one screw out holding the screen in, and pull the screen out.  If it has a bunch of black gunk on it, and you can't see through it to amount to anything, hold it in an old pair of needle nose pliers, and heat it with a propane torch until it's red hot.  Once it's cool, rub it between fingers with an old glove on, and all the burnt ash will come off good as new again.

Could be something else, but that was probably something that needed to be done anyway. They need to breathe good out the back end too.  I've worn out a couple of those saws, and like them a lot.

[UC Wayne]

Hi again everyone,

Sorry that I haven't replied to this in a while, but life just gets in the way sometime and somethings end up taking a backseat.

Anyways, I've cleaned the muffler screen and it seems to run a little longer, but still only for a few seconds before it shuts down.  Since there are no adjustments on this carb, is it worth buying a new one (~$40) and replacing it?

[joe_indi]

.....
There are no adjustment screws or anything on the carb, so nothing to do there........

Look closely on the right hand side, at the vertical portion of the handle bar. You should see a small hole.
If you put a screw driver into that hole you should encounter a screw there.
This screw has a reverse thread. Turn it anti-clockwise enough and it will screw into its seat.The idle mixture is very rich now.
Turn the screw out 2 turns in the clockwise direction and its lean now.
The leaner it is, the faster the idle. 2 turns out to start with is fine. Try it now. Just remember, anticlockwise its rich and engine slows down. Clockwise its lean and engine speeds up.
jOE