Advice on crank seals in a chainsaw?


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Old 08-28-12, 06:51 PM
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Advice on crank seals in a chainsaw?

I once scored the piston, ring and jug on my husky 55. I put on a new kit and it still didn't run quite right. No power and didn't idle. Then it got stolen Shortly after I found out that I probably destroyed the crank seals when I burned the top end. I've done my fair share of fixing things, but never got into crank seals.

Now I'm dealing with a stihl 036 which has a piston, rings and jug that are scored even worse. Knowing that the crank seals could be a problem, i started looking into changing them. Turns out, getting to them and testing them actually looks pretty easy. And they're cheap!!!! I just don't understand why every article I see, the author only changes one seal. Aren't there 2? And are there any other tips/advice someone may have? I see you can pressure test/vaccum test them though a certain hose. Is this hose on all chainsaws? Thank you for any help.
 
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Old 08-28-12, 06:56 PM
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No, the hose isn't on all saws. If I were changing one seal, I would change both. If one is bad, the other is just as old and probably got just as hot. It would be worth it to check the bearings on the crank and rod as well, since they probably got metal dust in them and ran hot without lube.
 
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Old 08-28-12, 07:06 PM
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Ok, so if I don't have the hose, i can do the pressure/vaccum test through the spark plug hole? Also, is bailey's a quality place to get parts like this?
 
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Old 08-29-12, 12:20 AM
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Baileys is fine. There are different ways to do the test. If you have the port, use it. If not, you can do it at the plug hole if you have a way to adapt the pump hose to the plug threads. You also have to seal off the intake and exhaust. Unless you have the testing tools and just want to do the tests for the learning, I'd suggest just replacing the seals and then you know they are good.
 
 

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