Stihl 044 chain brake

[10/80]

Chain brake on a newly acquired 044 likes to engage at random!... Anyone have any suggestions as to why?

 

[drf256]

Shouldn’t be. Pull cover and post pics of the mechanism Phil. Someone may have played in there, or some parts severely worn.

 

[jacob j.]

Shouldn’t be. Pull cover and post pics of the mechanism Phil. Someone may have played in there, or some parts severely worn.

That would be my guess - either the end of the brake handle that rides on the tension fulcrum or the fulcrum itself is worn down. Either or can make the brake very sensitive.

 

[10/80]

Some pics....

 

[10/80]

@Wonkydonkey did you have a similar problem with an 044?

 

[Wonkydonkey]

Yes I did, and the part that the person told me to get, well it fixed the problem I had.

I will try and find the thread where I asked and who kindly replied with the right answer.

I'll post back here soon

 

[Wonkydonkey]

Here it is and @Moparmyway gave me the correct answer to fix it, as did @Creaky limb tree care gave the correct answer,

and I just got an AM part to fix it. The parts are all the same so if you have another saw you could swap it and try it.
And just to reiterate, my problem was hard to disengage, and would trip (engage) while cutting.
https://opeforum.com/threads/chain-break-problems.21185/

Ive edited this to correct myself all the chainbrake parts are the same.

 

[Michpatriot]

The plastic handle.. on the bottom of the slot that lifts the fulcrum is probably worn, slip a piece of wire in the bottom of the slot so it lifts the fulcrum higher..and see if it sets higher than without..I have drilled and pinned the plastic handle from the side, through the slot so the fulcrum is lifted by metal instead of plastic..works like a charm. The wire in the slot I mentioned above is just to test the problem, I guess something like a little shim of some sort could be used in the bottom of the slot for testing. Your just trying to lift the fulcrum link a little higher..dogging in and bending the brake handle repeatedly against the log when you run out of room will cause this over time.

 

[drf256]

My bet is a worn brake handle. The setup appears to be set up correctly. The cam on the handle pretty much controls everything.

 

[10/80]

My bet is a worn brake handle. The setup appears to be set up correctly. The cam on the handle pretty much controls everything.

 

[Wonkydonkey]

If you have another stihl saw swap this bit I marked in red. If it don’t fix your problem it hasn’t cost you a cent, just a bit of time.

If you look on the farmatec site, they list this part for a lot of saws at just over $1, unlike stihl giving it a different part number.? It is the same part thou.

It could be worn where the part sits in the brake flag I marked in yellow and not lifting it high enough. I guess that’s the bit @Michpatriot is referring to putting a pin in.

The brake flag will cost more to just try and find out if it’s the problem, but it could well be both parts you need.
I see your in OZ so the parts won’t be cheap.





The choice is yours
Let us know what fixes it.

 

[Michpatriot]

In the pic above..where the yellow line is, I've drilled a 1\16 hole into the plastic, and inserted a 1\16 dia pin into the hole. The pin then gives the fulcrum more upward lift.. Works perfect. And the pin does not wear out like the plastic at the bottom of the slot. You would drill about in the center of the yellow line so the hole would come through in the bottom of the slot that lifts the fulcrum, continue drilling almost all the way through after entering and exiting the slot, but not entirely through the whole handle, leaving a blind hole that you can drop\ push the pin into. I then take a soldering iron and melt the hole covering the pin so it won't ever budge. Takes five min max and works great.

 

[10/80]

Thanks for the replies Gents!....Now I just need to find some time to have a closer look at it.

 

[Wonkydonkey]

Is this fixed yet or stihl on the shelf

 

[Michpatriot]

Yeah hey tick tock..tempus fugit...

 

[10/80]

Is this fixed yet or stihl on the shelf

Haven't had a chance to look at it as yet.