Stihl 041 av

[bigred1951]

So I've had this saw for a while but haven't used it much. It runs good but it just doesn't seem to have much power in the cut. I've also noticed if you hold the trigger wide open it'll bog down and die. Anything small and easy I can do to get some more power out it. I'm sure the carb could use adjusting but I have no idea how I'd probably make it worse.

[kenskip1]

First off how old is the mix?Next is when was the last time the saw ran correctly? Has anyone tried to adjust the carburetor?Has the gas lines been checked for cracks or  are leaking mix? When was the gas filter changed last?Finally how long has it been since the carburetor had a kit put in it? Is the chain sharp? How big a bar and chain are you using on it? From your brief description I would say that the diaphragm in the carburetor is stiffening up and not drawing enough gas to make the saw happy. Hope this helps you, Ken

BTY, I put a kit in mine a year ago. Ran it today.

[mike_belben]

Read the tech section of madsens saw shop website on tuning.  You need to learn the sound of two stroking and four stroking, then tune the way madsens says in the wood.  Cant tune without a load. 

041AV isnt a high rpm saw but theyve got decent torque. I think they run around 7 or 8k, maybe 5 in the cut. 

I hotsawed one i restored for my dad and it spits fuel back out the carb transitioning from idle to WOT because the intake and filter are all straight in line.  This fog will reingest itself at a certain RPM so basically itll change from lean to rich and theres nothing i can do to clear up that bog while its reverting that fuel cloud backward.. You just keep it out of that rpm.  Either its tuned to start easy or run good on top, never quite perfect.  The port timing wasnt wild at all but i welded on a huge dome, very wide ports, big transfer radiusing, matched the jug to the crank, built a mini pipe to get rid of the muffler.. The thing always ran hot on muffler side of the jug.

  Itll hold 7k in the cut now with a 20" bar.  You can crank in pretty hard without it complaining, but its still slow and heavy and old.   

All saws abandonded the rear plug by the trigger layout and went to vertical plug and a 90 degree elbow in the filter manifold which really cleared up that issue and allowed for more agressive port timing. A husky 61 is old and cheap but man.. So much better of a project saw than an 041 av.  Those are my go to hotrod beater now.  Every part is available chicom cheap on ebay.  Husky is much much easier to work on than modern stihl farmboss type clamshells. 

[sawguy21]

I liked the 041 although it is heavy and slow by today's standards. If you remove the carburetor pay particular attention to the gaskets and insulator block between it and the cylinder, they are prone to leaking. Does your saw have a spark arrestor screen on the muffler? Make sure it is not plugged.