Cylinder & Piston Nightmare

[MrArb]

Both my MS260 and the BR550 have both got scored cylinders and are knackered. Cant beleive my luck. Iv had prices from my local Stihl dealer to fix, I nearly fell over.... I now realise Im going to have to buy new. ***UNLESS*** somebody reading this knows of a cheaper way to get these machines fixed, Id rather fix if possible because they are only 2 or 3 yrs old and almost look new.

 

Also, Is it worth stripping these machines down and selling as parts on Ebay, has anybody done this before? How much money can be achived by doing this?

[spudulike]

Both my MS260 and the BR550 have both got scored cylinders and are knackered. Cant beleive my luck. Iv had prices from my local Stihl dealer to fix, I nearly fell over.... I now realise Im going to have to buy new. ***UNLESS*** somebody reading this knows of a cheaper way to get these machines fixed, Id rather fix if possible because they are only 2 or 3 yrs old and almost look new.

 

Also, Is it worth stripping these machines down and selling as parts on Ebay, has anybody done this before? How much money can be achived by doing this?

 

Firstly it sounds like you have a fuel problem or a problem with your mixing oil to fuel.

 

The cylinders of both may be salvaged - have you stripped down yet - if so, post an imege of both and I will give an opinion.

 

You can use aftermarket parts on the 026 - the blower may be a problem but for Gods sake, know why they both failed before you fire up each machine with new parts.

 

I don't knoiw where you are in the country but check out my thread - "Whas on your bench" and I may be able to help but as always - the choice is yours.

 

If you sell - you will get a good residual price on both - stripping for parts may well give you a similar pay back especially on the carb and plastic parts.

[GardenKit]

Both my MS260 and the BR550 have both got scored cylinders and are knackered. Cant beleive my luck. Iv had prices from my local Stihl dealer to fix, I nearly fell over.... I now realise Im going to have to buy new. ***UNLESS*** somebody reading this knows of a cheaper way to get these machines fixed, Id rather fix if possible because they are only 2 or 3 yrs old and almost look new.

 

Also, Is it worth stripping these machines down and selling as parts on Ebay, has anybody done this before? How much money can be achived by doing this?

The only way to ensure a first class repair is to fit a piston and cylinder as a pair. This is quicker than attempting to recover a cylinder with deposits, so at dealer labour rates it is the only way to go. The dealer also has to warranty his repair, hence the need to fit new parts.

However, some very good repairs are done by skilled engineers working for themselves at lower labour rates than required by dealers. It is feasable in some instances to recover the cylinder where the labour cost is cheaper than the parts cost and may be considered worth the 'risk'

Just make sure the man knows his stuff, as this sort of fix, just like a ' new part' repair, has to be done properly.

Have a look at Spud,s thread if you want to see how a recovery job is done properly.

[Pedroski]

For the MS260 you can easily order new piston and cylinder via ebay - only £50ish. We've done this before and received top quality parts. Replacing them is a doddle with minimal tools. Fit the piston in the cylinder first (smear of oil in the bore to help) and then fit the pair together onto the conrod - it's less fiddly as it's easier to fit the piston with piston ring into the cylinder with the whole lot upside-down. Less than an hour.

[spudulike]

Just make sure the man knows his stuff, as this sort of fix, just like a ' new part' repair, has to be done properly.

Have a look at Spud,s thread if you want to see how a recovery job is done properly.

 

Cheers for the good rep:thumbup:

[spudulike]

For the MS260 you can easily order new piston and cylinder via ebay - only £50ish. We've done this before and received top quality parts. Replacing them is a doddle with minimal tools. Fit the piston in the cylinder first (smear of oil in the bore to help) and then fit the pair together onto the conrod - it's less fiddly as it's easier to fit the piston with piston ring into the cylinder with the whole lot upside-down. Less than an hour.

 

Just been working on a 064 where an aftermarket piston had the arrow stamped on the crown facing the wrong way - the rings caught in the exhaust port and smashed - fortunately the cylinder survived - second time I have seen this.

 

You don't mention fault finding the original problem - he may have an air leak or the carb incorrectly adjusted. To do the job properly I vac, pressure and compression check and finally tach tune the carb.....I run the saw for 20 mins min when taching to ensure the set up is correct!

 

To do the job is relatively easy, if the problem is straight fueling then you may get everything back together and sorted - it is when you have problems, some of them I list on "Whats on my bench" thread that the good and bad repairs are found out for what they are - Another common fault with aftermarket P&C kits is the forming of the ring ends making the ring either impossible to fit in to the bore or damn tight - everything is easy when it is going right:001_rolleyes:

 

You may know all this but calling this type of repair "easy" is a bit misleading after some of the problems I have seen and been involved with - check out my thread.

[Pedroski]

Fair points Spud. I guess we've just been lucky, and also knowing what had caused the failure meant we didn't end up with the same failure when repaired.