keep your gas cans clean inside and outside, the dirt outside has a way of finding its way inside..I only use 100octane low lead '100LL' aviation gas and Stihl HP 2-stroke lube in my saws,nothing else,no compromise,no one elses gas mix,EVER! the two 1990's vintage 044's both run like tops with ZERO cab issues ever..bought one new back in 1993 and never had an ounce of issue with the carb..rebuilt the other 044 from the ground up,new jug,piston,polished the transfer ports in the jug and then port matched the jug to the muffler..worked out great but got a sliver of metal in my R eye had to go to the eye doc to get it removed that was $600 so that saw rebuild got more expensive..but old school adjustable Stihl carb on it turned the screws just a bit and used a Stihl digital tach to set the upper rpm limit at 11.5 they say they can go out to 13K rpm but I dont push em that hard..best saws Ive ever own probably hand em down to my nephew if he adopts the outdoor lifestyle. Rebuilt an old 1980's 084AV big boy which is a totally different saw personality, big and slower but torquey runs a 36"bar with big 404 chain..I have a 60"bar and chain for it,used it once,took all I had to lift and run that gawd what a hoss..still dont use or like it as much as the 044s. I dont know what Stihl is gonna do with the new designs,doubt they run like the old ones.Fuel injection sounds like trouble with built in trips to the dealer for service.
