Sorry in advance - probably a long post. Posted a bit ago about a Stihl 024AV Super I was given by a buddy. Replaced the fuel line, impulse line, and rebuilt the carb. Tuned it and it was running excellent. Just bought a new 16"bar (Pro-lite) and two loops of LPX yesterday. Been itching to try her in wood so gassed up and headed to the woods for some light cutting to test her out. Started right up but ran bad - wouldn't idle, didn't want to throttle up, ugh! I tried a quick tune in the woods and no adjustment made a difference. Packed up and walked back home. Restarted the saw and tried to re-tune in the shop - no go. Removed the carb, checked impulse line, checked everything about 3 times and still no luck. Finally figured I'd switch out to a new fuel filter just in case. Well.......when I pulled the fuel line to put a new filter on, the filter just fell off the line. The first pic (hopefully) is what I found - the brand new aftermarket fuel line split along the male filter end. Pretty easy to figure out why the saw was running horrible. Junk. So, at this point I was a bit pizzed - not only at the bad part (and not being able to cut wood!), but at Stihl and other manufactures who make special fitted fuel lines. So, I decided to try a hack. I'm sure others have done this, but I haven't seen it so I figured I'd post my solution. I cut the grommet from the original OEM fuel line and then used drill bits to increase the inside diameter (being careful not to break through). Once the ID was large enough, I pulled a 0.117" ID by .211" OD tygon fuel line though the grommet to test fit. Nice and snug. Inserted the grommet into the fuel line hole from the filter side. The OEM Stihl fuel filter has a large OD - too large for the tygon line. Heated the tygon with my heat gun until it was soft and was able to get the filter on tight. Ran the line though the grommet, and then to carb and DONE! No leaks at all, started right up and ran like a champ once again. I don't see why this won't hold up over time, but I'll be keeping an eye on it. If it holds up I will NOT be buying an OEM fuel line again - now that I've done it once, it will take very little time to do again and so nice to be able to use stock fuel line in the shop rather than waiting on an OEM or aftermarket fitted fuel line. I'd also guess that I could find suitable sized grommets to use as well - didn't have any, so had to make do with the section of old fuel line. A few pics of the process are attached in case you are interested. Cheers!
Nice fix, Amigo. As much as the tygon line swelled up on the filter barb I'm guessing it will split there again but it could be years before that happens. At least you know the symptoms to watch for and exactly where to look if you see them again. Happy cutting.
It's just Miller Lite so likely not a step up. Had to use a pic from a few weeks ago since the keg is empty and I won't have time to pick up a fresh one until tomorrow. Cans tonight. Either way. Sweet fix on your saw.
I've actually done similar on quite a few saws. If you go to an auto parts store, they have some grey acetal hose barbs for vacuum tubing. You can find them that are 1/8" on one end and 3/16" on the other with a flange in the middle. I just pop a grommet in the fuel tank that has a 5/16" hole in the ID and whatever size the hole in the tank is on the OD. I cut a 6" section of 3/16" ID-5/16" OD Tygon and push on the 3/16" barbed end of fitting. I then feed that down through the grommet into the tank and when the barb gets to the grommet it's pretty snug, I just push it down till the shoulder on the barb bottoms out and then you have 1/8" nipple sticking out of tank, then I cut a piece of .117" ID tubing and run from there to carb. The Stihl fuel filters fit pretty well in the 3/16" ID tubing. You can make a fuel line for less than $1 and once you have an assortment of grommets, a couple lengths of tygon and the fittings you can make whatever fuel line you need. I've had one like this I made in an 026 that has been there for probably 6 years.
Nice ideas - thanks for posting - was a on the fly fix today to try and cut in the morning - I like your ideas and will stock up on some of those items - Cheers!
Kind of related but has anyone had Tygon lines shrink? I had this happen on a weed eater that relied on the lines OD to seal where it comes through the tank. Tight seal at first but within a year it drips to the point of junking it out. I guess cheap Tygon is out there too now?
Haven't heard of cheap tygon line but have heard of cheap gas. But...... after reading your posts in the past, that's not likely to be the issue. I'll be watching for others to reply with some more experiences.
Tygon is actually a brand name, there are cheaper variations of yellow or clear tubing that has made it into some ope for sure. I've not had that issue with the actual Tygon stuff so far.
