Stihl 044 slant fin rebuild

V

vonbargen17

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Joined
Dec 28, 2025
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Hey everybody.
I recently had an old 044 slant fin come in to my possession. It's pretty beat up but useable if I get it going. I removed the muffler and found scarring on the piston so want to do a rebuild. Im not interested in porting it or making it a big bore and I would like to keep the 10mm wrist pin so I dont have to replace the crank. Can anyone point me to a good cylinder rebuild kit? I like saw salvage (The Dukes) but their rebuild kit doesn't specify if it's 10mm or 12mm.

Thanks for any constructive input!
 
I’m no expert, but I did a bit of digging and this is what I came up with hope this helps, definitely worth double-checking with someone more experienced.

For your Stihl 044 slant fin rebuild with a 10mm wrist pin, you'll want to specify that clearly when ordering since many aftermarket kits default to 12mm.

Options:
  1. Contact Saw Salvage directly and ask if their kit includes 10mm pin pistons they're usually good about clarifying
  2. Meteor pistons are quality aftermarket and available in 10mm configurations
  3. OEM Stihl cylinder/piston kits guarantee 10mm compatibility but cost significantly more
Important: Measure your connecting rod small end to confirm it's truly 10mm before ordering. Some 044s were mixed during production.

If the cylinder bore is damaged, you might need a whole cylinder kit. If just piston/rings, that's cheaper. Check the cylinder walls for scoring, if light, you might get away with just honing and new rings.
 
Alan said:
I’m no expert, but I did a bit of digging and this is what I came up with hope this helps, definitely worth double-checking with someone more experienced.

For your Stihl 044 slant fin rebuild with a 10mm wrist pin, you'll want to specify that clearly when ordering since many aftermarket kits default to 12mm.

Options:
  1. Contact Saw Salvage directly and ask if their kit includes 10mm pin pistons they're usually good about clarifying
  2. Meteor pistons are quality aftermarket and available in 10mm configurations
  3. OEM Stihl cylinder/piston kits guarantee 10mm compatibility but cost significantly more
Important: Measure your connecting rod small end to confirm it's truly 10mm before ordering. Some 044s were mixed during production.

If the cylinder bore is damaged, you might need a whole cylinder kit. If just piston/rings, that's cheaper. Check the cylinder walls for scoring, if light, you might get away with just honing and new rings.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much. I will definitely look at it closer.
 
Hope that helps with your 044 rebuild. Good luck getting it back up and running
 
hi OP before you buy a whole kit, try cleaning the cylinder with some muriatic acid and a Scotch-Brite pad. usually, that 'scarring' is just aluminum transfer from the piston, and the original cylinder is still perfectly good
 
Ken Green! said:
hi OP before you buy a whole kit, try cleaning the cylinder with some muriatic acid and a Scotch-Brite pad. usually, that 'scarring' is just aluminum transfer from the piston, and the original cylinder is still perfectly good
Click to expand...
Good advice worth considering if the OP hasn’t fixed it yet.
 
Before buying a full kit, check if that scarring on the cylinder is actually aluminum transfer from the piston
if the plating is intact, you can usually clean the cylinder with some acid and a light hone. then, you just need a Meteor 10mm piston and you’ve kept the original German jug, which is almost always better than aftermarket
 
That’s solid advice. Keeping the original jug if the plating’s good is always the win. Those German cylinders are hard to beat. I’d definitely try the acid cleanup before dropping cash on a full kit.
 
Hey guys, update on my rebuild.

I ended up just cleaning the cylinder out real good and installing a new meteor piston. I dont have a compression tester but will be getting one real soon. I got everything back together, installing a new fuel filter and spark plug. Initially after back together I noticed no fuel was getting to the cylinder. I pulled the car and the fuel line was not plugged. I then pulled the carb apart and cleaned as well as I could. Put everything back together and am now seeing fuel on the spark plug after pulling on it, however still no firing action.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Did you end up with compression?
Do you have spark?
Pressure and vacuum test crankcase. Severe crankcase leak will not allow transfer of fuel air mixture to the combustion chamber.
 
Compression reads 125 psi... so I checked my other, well running, (441 and 038 magnum II) saws and they read 125 psi as well. So I think the tester might be a little off...?

I have lots of good spark.

Have not pressure and vacuum tested the crankcase yet though.

Thank you for the reply!
 
Hi, there! This is elementary, I know... and I in no wise wish to insult you. Do you know for sure that it's in time? Have you checked the flywheel to make sure the keyway slot isn't "wallowed", and/or the keyway sheared? Good luck!
 
Be very careful with them carbs compressed air can really screw up the check valve in them I would question flexibility of metering side diaphragm do not bottom adjusting screws out tight will screw them up very delicate strap throttle wide open and keep cranking and as mentioned pressure vacuum test his job one overall other rabbit holes to go down two strokes are finicky challenging I guess that's why we do them LOL don't give up 309-299-5594 leave a message retired old bastard
 
Steve Lenz said:
Be very careful with them carbs compressed air can really screw up the check valve in them I would question flexibility of metering side diaphragm do not bottom adjusting screws out tight will screw them up very delicate strap throttle wide open and keep cranking and as mentioned pressure vacuum test his job one overall other rabbit holes to go down two strokes are finicky challenging I guess that's why we do them LOL don't give up 309-299-5594 leave a message retired old bastard
Click to expand...

I got the Gather app
You guys have gone quiet
 
I'm still just using the online version. I've had a lot more "broke" things than my saws lately... but I still have one of them down right now too. It never ends!
 

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