Stihl 036 Chainsaw -- Complete Top End Rebuild for Less than $20! -- Step by Step Details

The next venture (and hopefully last for awhile!) in fixing the Stihl 036 Pro.
The piston of the saw was grooved badly, so needed to rebuild the top end of the engine. I searched Amazon and eBay for a kit and finally found a very inexpensive kit on Amazon for $15.54
This video is the rebuild and test run. It is pretty long, but I split it into key moments, so feel free to sit back and watch start to finish, or simply jump to the chapter you need right now.
0:00 Intro and background
1:44 Unboxing the kit from Amazon
4:29 Removing the Cylinder
8:14 Piston Circlip (C-clip) Removal
9:50 Wrist Pin Removal (aka Piston or Gudgeon Pin)
11:46 Cylinder Base Gasket Removal
13:08 Deburring the Cylinder
14:18 Which Direction to Install the Piston and Why
16:36 Installing the New Piston and Wrist Pin
19:28 Piston Circlip (C-clip) Install
25:18 Piston Ring Install
27:41 Cylinder Install
37:06 Cylinder Bolt Torque (11.5N-m, 102in-lb)
39:31 Rope Method for Tightening Flywheel Nut (with explanation)
45:50 Setting the Ignition Gap (0.2-0.3mm or 0.008in)
48:38 Reassembly Time lapse (with helpers!)
49:45 Test Run - Time to Make some Sawdust!!!
Please comment below if this video helped you out with your chainsaw, or feel free to ask me any questions below!
Thank you for watching!!
#stihlchainsaw #stihl #smallenginerepair

[@Nobody-by5rs]

You did an excellent job producing this video!

[@Buttons_fix_it]

Thank you for the kind feedback, very much appreciated!!

[@robstone5333]

Very good video. Excellent camera positioning. Thank you for taking the time to make it.

[@Buttons_fix_it]

Thank you for the kind feedback Rob!

[@choe3521]

Yes actually good video

[@Buttons_fix_it]

Thank you!

[@MarshallBLewis]

I'm glad you started it at the end of the video. There's another 036 top-end rebuild video out there but he doesn't start it at the end of his video which was a let down

[@Buttons_fix_it]

Haha! no way was I gonna film all that and not fire it up and make some sawdust! Have a good one!

[@zachwarden4903]

How's the saw holding up? I'm looking into doing a rebuild myself. Thanks for the video!

[@Buttons_fix_it]

It was working good, then unfortunately, due to nothing but my own fault, it ended up sitting for several months without getting started. I'm usually good about at least starting equipment to keep it running if it is in semi-storage. So it wasn't running. I probably just need to clean the carb. I have a few days off near Christmas this year so hoping I can fit that into the project list! Let us know how your rebuild goes and please feel free to post any questions here as you go!

[@zachwarden4903]

@Buttons_fix_it thanks for the reply, will do!

[@burtlade1705]

Why did it fail in the first place?

[@Buttons_fix_it]

I didn't see any smoking gun for the failure. I suspect there was some defect in the rubber that finally opened up a leak path, or some piece of debris got into the crankcase and damaged the seal. Good news is I didn't see any damage to the crank. I think it was the original seal so lots of years on it.

[@craighanson2983]

Don't you need New crank seals? You mentioned in the unboxing that you didn't need them. ?

[@Buttons_fix_it]

Hey there, when I rebuilt this top end I had just replaced the crank seals a few months before. I bought those separately, actually had bought them years before but got side tracked with life and other projects. So I didn't need the ones in the top end kit. Thanks for watching!

[@tedneitzel]

You can put that cheap China crap in but at a cost of huge power loss! Bit it will run!

[@tedneitzel]

And that happens for a reason and will continue unless you fix it!

[@Buttons_fix_it]

Thanks for the thoughts - so far no noticeable power difference but I'll definitely make a follow up video if it junks out on me. For the cause, I'm pretty certain that was me constantly fighting the saw thinking it was some other issue when I had a failed crank seal. So the ratio of fuel/oil to air was messed up for awhile before finally failed.

[@tedneitzel]

@@Buttons_fix_it oh I guarantee you lost power. Port timing and squish are terrible in the cheap stuff. It just probably runs ok which is good!