Stihl MS180 Chainsaw Fuel Line and Filter Replacement

In this Instructable I will show you how I fitted a new fuel line and filter to my Stihl MS180 Chainsaw and probably saved myself around £50/$61 or maybe more in the process.

The Chainsaw doesn't get used much, personally I hate the things but it has been handy as we are surrounded by trees, and at times things need to be trimmed etc.

I don't have as much correct PPE for Chainsaw operations as I would like, but I do wear Eye and Ear Protection and some fingerless gloves, every cut I attempt I have to be comfortable with.

Anyway the reason I'm changing the Fuel Line and Filter is because the Chainsaw would struggle to start, when it did start it wouldn't rev and it wouldn't tick over, the first thing I tried was a replacement sparkplug out of the strimmer and it was still the same so that led me to think it was more a fuel issue.

The actual parts to buy were £4.25 inc postage $5 which is really cheap, had I taken this to a Garden Machinery Repair Centre, an hours labour would have been £50/$60 plus parts and probably Tax as well, making it a fairly expensive cost for something which is a pretty easy fix if you have the tools of course.

To the main part, strip down and replace:

Stihl MS180 Fuel Line and Filter.

T27 Torx screwdriver or bit, I had a bit in a set of Draper multiple use bits.

Long Nosed Pliers

Cloths to clean as you go along.

The first process is to empty the fuel out of the tank if its full, there was a smidge in the bottom of mine so I left it, the Oil tank doesn't need to be emptied

1..Remove the top cover by turning the knob anti clockwise with a screw driver, push the choke lever as far down as it will go so the cover can be removed, put to one side.

2.. Turn the Chainsaw on its side so the fuel and oil tank Caps are facing up.

3.. Undo both the Petrol and Oil Tank Caps and taking a piece of hooked wire or long nosed pliers, manoeuvre the Cap retainers into a position so they can be removed, put these to one side for now.

4.. Looking at the starter handle cover you will see 4 T27 Torx Head Bolts, 3 in the body(All the same) and 1 securing the brake handle(This is a different type) Using the T27 bit or screwdriver unscrew these and put to one side.

5.. Pull up on the brake handle and push it out of the way for side cover removal.

6.. The cover is loose now and can be manipulated until it's released, its a bit of a faff but it does come away eventually it's just finding the right angle, put this to one side and replace the Oil cap, not the fuel cap.

7.. The choke lever needs to moved from its snap in mounting( Take a photo of this prior to moving it) to do this, get a screwdriver and using it as a lever apply vertical pressure to release the lever, leave it like it is.

8.. Follow the fuel line where it exits the tank, this is a push fit onto the nipple on the carburettor, with a screwdriver just push this back and away from the nipple, the fuel line needs to come through the gap where the choke lever sits, I used long nosed pliers, it's tight but it's flexible to move easily, the fuel tank can now be pulled up away from the chainsaw body.

9.. The fuel filter needs to be removed so using a metal hook or long nosed pliers, pull the filter out of the tank and holding it, pull the fuel pipe off the filter, discard the filter, the fuel pipe can now be removed from the tank, apply pressure and pull up to remove twisting it, discard this as well.

We are now ready to fit the new fuel pipe and filter, as I had the chance I rinsed the fuel tank out with some fresh fuel, it looked really clean anyway but it doesn't hurt to do this, in case there is some contamination from the removal procedure.

To the rebuild:

We can now start putting the chainsaw back together.

1.. Taking the new fuel line, push the end to go onto the filter through the hole and then gently using something not to sharp, push the fuel pipe retaining part into the hole, the tab should be facing the vent on the tank, with this in place the end can be pulled out of the tank with long nosed pliers and the new filter can be pushed onto it and then push the filter back into the tank.

2.. Refit the fuel tank back in it's recess, and then doing the opposite to how the fuel pipe was removed, push it back in to where the fuel nipple is and push it home, I did this very carefully using the long nosed pliers.

3.. Push the choke lever mechanism back in place, pay attention to where the steel spring clip is positioned in the photo you took on the strip down.

4.. Starter cover fitment, much the same procedure as the removal, remove the oil tank cap and manipulate the cover back into position, a few tweaks and it's seated, push the brake handle back onto it's mount and tighten the 4 Torx Screws, refit the Oil cap.

5.. Top Cover fitting, push the front cover pins into the 2 slot mounts, and depressing the Choke lever all the way down push the top cover into position and tighten the knob clockwise.

6.. Replenish the fuel tank and replace the fuel cap.

Testing and summary.

With the Choke lever clicked in the fully down position, 2 pulls on the cord and the chainsaw springs into life, it sounded better straight away, rev's were good and it ticked over, a result! Just how I like it.

So there you have it, I do have some mechanical experience but I'm no expert, but this is a very easy cheap fix and like I said it could save you quite a lot of money, It may have been prudent to replace the spark plug at the same time but to be honest it looked new, the chainsaw is not used much at all.

But at the end of the day and with a new chain fitted as well, Like Doug say's in Forged in Fire "This Saw will Cut"

I hope this Instructable can be of help to people like me in my situation, always satisfying when you can mend something yourself.

Thanks for looking.