Stihl 038 Mag Woes...

[CrystalRiver1]

Hey Studs,
Got a pretty rough 038 Mag.
Spark-plug hole is stripped out, clutch is a goner, oil pump is shot...ye old top cover is melted off near the end above the muffler, yet it will fire up with starter fluid, and the compression is stout!
Local Stihl guru says that it needs a top end to remedy the stripped out spark-plug issue.
Kinda partial to the 038's though...is there hope for resurrecting this saw without much blood loss or it becoming a money pit?

Appreciate it,
Reg

 

[Bigmac]

Time sert!?! Get a time sert spark plug repair kit! Follow the instructions and you should be good to go! I did it to Mac 797! Works great!

After that a clutch and oil pump shouldn’t be too hard to find! It all depends on how much you love it vs how much you want to spend/or how much it costs to rebuild this one vs getting a nice used one cheaper than repairs

 

[Bigmac]

I went through this with my Homelite 750, it was a disaster! That was sitting in a box for a while until I found the perfect parts saw! So happy with the end result, but it took time!

 

[Dub11]

Hey Studs,
Got a pretty rough 038 Mag.
Spark-plug hole is stripped out, clutch is a goner, oil pump is shot...ye old top cover is melted off near the end above the muffler, yet it will fire up with starter fluid, and the compression is stout!
Local Stihl guru says that it needs a top end to remedy the stripped out spark-plug issue.
Kinda partial to the 038's though...is there hope for resurrecting this saw without much blood loss or it becoming a money pit?

Appreciate it,
Reg
View attachment 143995 View attachment 143996

Get a good stainless steel cable or marine grade rope.....

Or take the top end off and send it of to get fix by one of the kick ass welders on here.

 

[Homemade]

It’s never a “money pit” if you enjoy it. Then it becomes an expensive hobby. I have a few items that I am upside down when it comes to replacement value but that’s not why we do these things. Nice thing is, you can find parts used for that saw almost the same as Chineese new. Put an add in the swap meet thread. I’m sure you’ll find what you need.

And if the spark plug hole is good enough to hold compression then time sert it. Tig welding and machining a new hole can get spendy.

 

[Duane(Pa)]

Pull the muffler cover. You will find your answer through the exhaust port.

 

[nixon]

Also , this is kinda ticky-tack , but don’t use starter fliud . It has zero lube properties . Use a little mix instead .

 

[Al Smith]

It' s the same pump as 028,042 ,048 .

 

[smokey7]

I have a hard time fixing stihls due to the parts prices. But they sell fast and easy. I always miss judge my outlay on stihls because of parts cost. I would fix it but would take my time and shop for good deals or trades. Sometimes ive found even the cheap thread repair/incerts from the auto parts work pretty dang good if you do good work on the hole drilling straight and proper size. Ive used several on mowers saws weedwoppers and all but 1 still holding today.. The one i lost was a very crappy hole someone else tried to do the same and duffed it.