I have an 044 that was getting picky when run. It was very slow to come off power down to idle. Some times it needed to have the trigger goosed to come back down. After putting up with it for months with carb adjustment done ever fill up of gas I noticed the saw wouldn't change idle when the screws were adjusted. So I rebuilt the carb. Installed a new fuel line, air filter, and fuel filter while I was at it. Now I can get the saw to start. It speeds up when the throttle trigger is pulled and slows down. It won't idle unless I give it a little bit of throttle. I have the high and low screws set at one full turn out from bottomed out. This was close to the saws settings before carb rebuild. What's a good target or suggestion for the idle or LA screw? I did not use a height gauge on the internal spoon lever? when I rebuilt the carb. I don't recall if I reused the factory one.
There isn’t really a baseline number of turns on the LA screw, just whatever idles without turning the chain. When it’s running, spray some carb cleaner between the carb and cylinder and see if it changes speed. Sounds like it’s sucking air from somewhere
That's my fear. Really after 25+ years it's not too expensive to change out the rubber parts. May change them all out while I've got it apart again. I got some cheap Chinese replacement rubber parts. They may work but the fit and quality is inferior to Stihl oem parts. They came with a tune up kit with filters and such. Filters were cheaper with the extra parts than by themselves.
Don’t use the aftermarket lines or filters. Without a proper diagnosis you may be throwing parts at it. Try to tune that carb, first. If you’re way out of spec, suspect the fuel system. If you’re comfortable with the expense, new OEM lines (don’t forget the impulse line), filter, plug, etc. may get you going. It’s no guarantee since two-smokers can have other issues, too. Careful on the carb cleaner trick but I do use it to expedite diagnosis when I don’t have time for a pressure/vac test.
WD-40 also works and may be safer. Spray under the clutch cover, too. The saw will load up and die if there’s a bad enough seal leak.
