044/046 Discontinued O-Ring. Need advice here.

[TJ the Chainsaw Mechanic]

So I have and 044 and an 046 I just got going....one rebuilt and the other put together with spare parts...Both are missing that o-ring that goes in the metal bushing that seals the clutch side crank seal. Techs at Stihl say to fill that area with grease and then richen the low end a bit to make up for any air leak, but I'm not satisfied. Would rather have a completely sealed up saw. Anywhere I can get this square style o-ring? I know I could probably find something at a local hardware store, but just wondering.

 

[mdavlee]

I never searched for one and assembled my 046 bottom end without it.

 

[shawn022]

046 doesn't have the metal bushing, so would it ever have had that o ring?

 

[Deets066]

I don't recall the o ring on the 46. Got a pic of the IPL?

 

[Brewz]

The parts manual I have for the 044 doesn't show an 0 ring
On the 044 I just built, I put a very small smear of motoseal under the seal bushing to seal it up onto the crankshaft.

Worked fine

 

[Gunn]

Mines just a regular round oring not square. Check mcmastercarr and see if they offer any that fit. They only have a few million different styles to choose from.

 

[TJ the Chainsaw Mechanic]

Thanks guys, The very 1st o44s had these. They were discontinued when the 440 series came out I believe. The bushing and crank when new sealed up fine with or without the o-ring, but years later after wear and tear....that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I Could probably try a brand new bushing. But I'll see about finding some o-rings.

 

[stihl_head1982]

I remember reading a thread about this a LONG time ago on AS. It seems the going fix was to put grease on the bushing (at least as I recall). But my memory does fail me at time.

 

[sawfun]

Get some "O" ring material and cut your own. Use super glue for the ends and you have your square "O" ring. That is what we did for the port and blower gaskets on the race car. They too some nasty fuel, pressure, and a ton of repeat uses.

 

[TJ the Chainsaw Mechanic]

Thanks for the replies. Gonna try and hit the parts store tomorrow and see what I can find.

 

[Landmark]

If the o ring is the the one you remove with snap ring pliers that is next to the crank seal, then yes my 046 i just assembeld has one. So did the 460's.

 

[jacob j.]

If the o ring is the the one you remove with snap ring pliers that is next to the crank seal, then yes my 046 i just assembeld has one. So did the 460's.

I think you're referring to the "snap ring" that keeps the oil pump worm gear at the correct height in the 046/460.

Yes, the early 044s came with a rubber o-ring under the bushing but what Stihl engineers discovered is that after the saw has about 30 hours of run time on it or so, the o-ring hardens and is basically useless.

However- those bushings do wear and eventually don't seal correctly, but that takes a lot of hours of run time.

 

[Deets066]

Thanks guys, The very 1st o44s had these. They were discontinued when the 440 series came out I believe. The bushing and crank when new sealed up fine with or without the o-ring, but years later after wear and tear....that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I Could probably try a brand new bushing. But I'll see about finding some o-rings.

Right...... But I thought the 046 was the saw in question here. Not the 44

 

[Landmark]

I think you're referring to the "snap ring" that keeps the oil pump worm gear at the correct height in the 046/460.

Yes, the early 044s came with a rubber o-ring under the bushing but what Stihl engineers discovered is that after the saw has about 30 hours of run time on it or so, the o-ring hardens and is basically useless.

However- those bushings do wear and eventually don't seal correctly, but that takes a lot of hours of run time.

Yep. Sorry i was mistaken. First stihl i have built and all.

 

[TJ the Chainsaw Mechanic]

Right...... But I thought the 046 was the saw in question here. Not the 44

Both were actually. lol

 

[MustangMike]

I think the early 044s had them, but my 044#1 does not (have not checked the other).

I believe Junkman commented on this on another site, I believe he uses a generic O ring.

 

[jacob j.]

It doesn't hurt at all to put an o-ring in there, but you still need to ensure the bushing is a good fit.

 

[Ktoom]

I recently built a 10mm 044. Upon doing vacuum and pressure tests after assembly, that collar was leaking. It was leaking in between the crankshaft and collar. I ended up just using a generic o-ring and some yamabond 4 to seal it up. Problem solved.

 

[Al Smith]

Unless the OP was talking about something special,an o-ring as we know it is simply that,an o-ring .Stihl didn't make it in the first place .

As an example the 0-ring for a flippy cap which normally is why they fail I found the generic metric size from a British supplier and got a bag full of them at work .Even if I had to buy the thing a bag full would be cheaper than the entire cap assembly from a dealer . So it's an option.Either a 3 dollar bag of o-rings in the tool box or half dozen 9 dollar caps in case you break one because given enough time they all fail .

 

[Onan18]

Would one for a 372 work?