OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Trimmers and Brushcutters Two Stroke Trimmers & Brushcutters Stihl FS200 clutch issue

I managed to find a cheap FS200 bullhorn brushcutter for sale. The fellow said it had not been used for a while. Upon collection I started it without too much drama.

I ripped the carb down and it seemed really clean inside. A fuel line needed replacing and the bulb is ify. The tap feed head was only good for the bin and the rest seemed ok. Compression came in at 140PSI. Upon replacing the line head and getting it running it presented with the cutting head not disengaging. When you stopped the machine the head would stop with the pulsing engine compression. Eventually it would free up and then do it again. Once coming off full throttle the whole machine would develop a good wobble down the entire drive shaft which was far from what I've experienced before.

I decided to pull down the clutch

The powerhead







I don't have a piston stop so I do it this way with a clean roll of rope I keep.




I noticed upon disassembly that the pivot point sleeves seemed fixed in the clutch shoe. I couldn't see how with these seemingly rusted in place how the shoes could pivot freely.


They were not budging at all. I am guessing this thing has sat for quite a while. The only info I could find was they began this model in 1998 so at worst it's 15 years old.

I had to use my vice as a press to extract the pivot sleeve.

It was really wedged in there


Eventually after some time I got it out


I used some rolled wet and dry to clean the two surfaces




After cleaning both surfaces I put them in the vice and swiveled them back and forth for a while to ensure the moved freely.


Upon reassembly I noticed that there was a sleeve/crush washer missing from the clutch housing cover so I made one up from a piece of dynabolt tube.


Fitted perfectly and allowed me to torque the bolts up evenly.


Next time I'm at Stihl I'll try and source an original.

Ran the machine after getting it back together and it ran like a charm. I guess sitting around and some moisture can get in there and sieze things up.

You can see in the third picture from the top of the thread that the clutch shoe is sitting proud of the front plate. It now sits below that edge without protruding at all.

If anyone has any info on the production years of this machine I would be happy to know. I'm guessing that Stihl has replaced it with the FS240 as it seems to have very similar specs.

It certainly seems to have quite a bit of power.

Did you put some lubricant or anti-seize on the bushes when you reinstalled them Aldo? It's more likely to resist seizing again if you do. There are various lubricants different people use for that kind of application. If it is in a fairly hot environment, which I think that clutch is by the look of it, I use Kopr-Kote for that kind of job, but I don't claim to know it is better than fifty other substances. At room temperature I often use graphite grease because it seems to resist water penetration fairly well, but I think that clutch has been getting hot. I notice the car manufacturers tend to use a strange black substance with unbelievably small glass beads in it, for screwing exhaust manifold oxygen sensors in so that they can be removed years later. I know Kopr-Kote doesn't do all that well on exhaust manifolds, which typically glow red at full power.

No Grumpy I didn't add anything as I was hoping that someone could offer an idea.

Due to the ease of accessing the clutch, around 15 minute turnaround I just wanted to get it together to make sure it worked. I initially thought the clutch springs were tired but they seem to be ok.

I will go back in though.