Trying to help out my cutting partner and restore his slightly damaged 044. He is 80 yrs old and this is the only chainsaw he ever owned (I sold him my MS 360 to keep him cutting in the meantime). Anyway, I have only managed to find aftermarket parts available and the reviews on that stuff aren't that great, so I thought that I would put it out there. Any help or advice would also be appreciated as to contacts or suppliers for OEM parts. Thanks Also, I have seen reference to 441 parts fitting this saw. Can anyone comment or verify that. It may make it easier for the search options. And for the record I am not interested in selling it because it's not mine, just trying to help out the fellow who introduced me to this lifestyle and the joy of wood heating, but that's another story. Thanks
That rear handle / gas tank assembly is no longer available as a new OEM part. They do turn up used of course, but they tend to be expensive if in decent condition. The 441 is a totally different model, and parts from it won't work. However most parts from an MS440 will fit just fine. You can find new OEM and aftermarket MS440 tanks without much trouble, but they'll have flippy caps. A tank / handle assembly seems like a fairly low-risk place to try aftermarket, if you're in a hurry or the budget is tight.
To give you an idea of what you're up against, I searched completed items on eBay and the cheapest a non-damaged OEM 044 tank has gone for recently was $128 plus shipping. One used tank that looked practically new sold for $200.
A new tank from the dealer can be anywhere from $110-160. I would just bite the bullet and get a new one.
Thank you for the information. I will inquire with my local dealer about the cost of 440 oem parts. If that is too crazy, do you have any recommendations for off shore stuff. I have seen stuff from Hutz? I think.
I don't have particular recommendations for aftermarket suppliers; I'd just go by eBay feedback histories. Keep whatever you can from the broken handle, if he still has it. An OEM tank housing won't come with the trigger parts, for example, and the little bits add up if you have to buy them a la carte. One nice thing about the aftermarket tanks is that they (at least some of them) include a bunch of smaller parts like the switch shaft, handle molding, trigger, operator presence lever, etc. that will cost extra at the dealer. You'll want to note some eBay prices for other parts, so that you can decide at the dealer which parts to have him order. Sometimes eBay is cheaper for OEM parts, and sometimes it isn't. Genuine OEM Stihl Carburetor Box Cover Part # 1128 140 1905 OEM STIHL 044 CHAINSAW BAFFLE P/N 1128 120 4100 / 11281204100 NEW OEM STIHL CHAINSAW AIR FILTER BOX 044 CHAIN SAW # 1128 120 1625 PRO ARBORIST Genuine Stihl Nylon Air Filter Cleaner Element 044 O44 1128-120-1610 stihl oem switch shaft 1128-180-0910 Stihl 1128 791 0600 handle molding
I agree. And furthermore, since it looks like all of the internal filter related components are kaput you might consider just swapping it over to the HD setup. Used plastics are easy to come by and the filters are clearly much better. That said, you could probably replace all of those (original, non-HD) components pretty economically with used OEM stuff from eBay as from what I've seen they don't demand high prices which is nice. If it'll help, list out all of the parts you need and I, or someone else can provide you with up-to-date part numbers and possibly even retail prices for new OEM from the dealer.
Thanks NewtoStihl and Jon1270 for all your help. I'm starting to get excited for this project. I can't wait to get it back in working order and hand it back to its owner. It's the least I can do for the guy who taught me everything I know about this wood addiction,.....I mean hobby.
Spent some time yesterday figuring out the parts I needed and then cross referenced the #'s between 044 and 440 parts lists from Stihl I found online. Just about all the part numbers are the same, some with a slight variation. 18 parts thus far to get it back up and running. I will try to get to my local dealer today with my list and see what the pricing is like for all OEM then decide how deep I want to go in this. The list will be helpful for eBay as well, although between our Canadian dollar right now and shipping cost
Ouch. I hadn't noticed your location. I guess the bright side is that it'll fetch a good price from someone in the states if you decide a repair is out of reach, but that wouldn't be much fun. Good luck at the dealer!
Sounds good. Keep in mind that some items from Stihl include other small items that also have individual part numbers. Your dealer can tell you this and it's also indicated on IPLs. For instance, a tank housing includes the fuel cap, tank vent, and carb mounting studs IIRC. Not high dollar stuff, but every little bit counts on a repair! Let us know what you find out - we may be able to help source parts. Also, I now have a partial 044 I'm going to part out if you want to send your list to me.
The aftermarket tanks are not terrible. They fit well and perform as needed. They may not have the longevity as OEM. But I've put one on an 026 for an arborist, one one an 036 for a member of another forum, and one on a MS 360 I built from the ground up (basically/ cases were never split. But every external part was replaced). All fit well. The master control lever on the 026 was finicky. But still worked with some added presssure. OEM 440 tank would be best. But he could buy 4 or 5 of the aftermarket for the price. We have an aftermarket thread here on parts and several of us have commented on the Hutzl tanks. definitive dave has good prices on them and I'm pretty sure it's because of him that we have the aftermarket 1128 series tank/handles.
Great advice, thanks. I am still waiting to hear back from the Stihl dealer. He was familiar with the cross-over of parts and mentioned he may have some of the 440 parts in stock, so we shall see.
