Is there any hope for our Ms 880

[combined tree services]

Recently we found that our Ms880 would not idle , this was not a great problem when cross cutting but was a PITA when felling ! so the saw was dropped off to our local macinery repair firm who had a look and could identify the problem i had been experiencing . After several days of taking it appart , pressure testing , vacume testing , checking the crank seals etc etc they were no further forward ! I asked if it could possibly be the carb ?? i knew i had a spare carm from an old 088 so i offered to drop it in to see if the saw would run any better , it was dropped in and hey ho with that carb fitted the was ran like a dream and probem solved (or so i thought). This week we take the saw out on site for the first time andlike any other day we filled it with the same fule as the rest of our saws run on , started it and warmed it up and then sent it up to the climber, the saw is cuttin fine untill the climber pauses to re position and while the saw is ticking over we heard a small pop?clunk and the saw stoped ! it soon became clear that the saw had siezed and there was evidence of aluminium on the spark plug to make it obvious !!.

 

My problem is that it went in to have the idle problem solved and as come back to us working and then siezed. this saw is not that old at all and has not done that muc work (2 chains on a 48 inch bar). im wonering if it is something that has happend due to the saw being striped down or ????

 

Any advice would be great .

 

cheers

 

Dave CTS

[Rich2484]

Spud where are you??!

 

Send spudulike a pm. He the saw man.

[agg221]

I think a lot will depend on your relationship with your dealer.

 

The information you've provided indicates the original problem to be a weak mixture.

 

If you assume that the original assessment was done properly, by experienced people, then it suggests that there is an intermittent problem which wasn't picked up in the original assessment, something like a partial fuel line blockage.

 

I would be slightly concerned that they didn't think to investigate the carb - I would have expected them to work their way systematically through the fuel delivery system, but maybe they hadn't got to it yet - you'll know better than anyone else.

 

What you also don't know at the moment is whether the ultimate catastrophic failure is due to the same cause having got instantaneously worse, or due to a different fault caused during reassembly. It could be either, although the fact that it idled, then went pop, and then you're seeing aluminium on the plug suggests maybe a different cause.

 

If the dealer is anything like some of the ones I've dealt with round my way, their first move would be to deny everything and try to blame me for the failure (this is why I no longer use them!) Note - I'm quite happy to acknowledge when it's my fault, but it's not helpful in solving the problem to simply point fingers, either way. However, you may have a decent dealer with a professional approach, or a reputation to protect, and you may put enough business their way to want to keep you as a customer.

 

I would be inclined to take it in, otherwise untouched, explain the series of events and ask for their assessment. You don't lose much this way - if they acknowledge they worked on it so may have caused a problem then at least it gets assessed, if they deny everything as soon as you walk through the door then you're unlikely to get any further but at least you know what they're like. The only thing I would add is, ask them up front to please not throw away any of the parts - even the damaged ones. If you do end up going somewhere else for the repair, examining the parts can give a clue as to what failed and how, and to any secondary problems (e.g. scuffing on the lower skirt of the piston indicates problems with the air filter leaking etc). You also, with luck, may be able to recover the pot, which will save a lot of money.

 

Good luck

 

Alec

Edited September 2, 2012 by agg221

[Rob D]

I'd PM spud for his advice - the only thing I think is a bit strange is why all the taking apart and pressure testing before looking at the carb?

 

Poor idling - I'd have thought first change the spark plug, then start looking looking at the carb.... then if that doesn't solve anything start taking the engine to pieces.

[burrell_]

pm spud u want to be quick as i no he is going on holiday

if u want to have a look inside to see for ur self take the spark plug out and take the exshaust of u may be able to see whats gone on

DONT try forcing the crank round to move the piston

if u want to look inside take the pot off compleatly

put oil or wd down the plug hole before pulling the pot of the piston(thats what i would do)

post pic on here and we can see more and try to help more

spudulike (spud or steve) same person would try to take the ally tranfer out the pot so all u will need is a new piston and rings

best bet pm him he is a top bloke and will talk u though it

[gensetsteve]

Did anybody check to see if the little brass filter in the fuel tank was able to drop down when saw was laid on its side. If it struggles to pick up the fuel it will run weak and have idle problems.

[burrell_]

u can get idle problem through air leak. this is what i would have done

pressure check it easy takes half hour but worth it if there is no leak not worth spending time changing oil seals etc

while the exshaust was off look at the rings (ur saw ent done no works so would not be a problem)

then would vac test just to make shore everything was air tite

put it back together then start looking at the carb (and carb settings)

and make ur way back the the fuel tank (pipes)

[blackopsarborist]

If possible, make friends with a Stihl engineer. I had a similar problem with a 460, but hey, new found friend fixed it. turned out to be a diaphram in the carb round the wrong way.

[combined tree services]

i am tempted to sent it strait to stilh technicle and get it looked at by them to get a clear oppinion as to what has happened

[MattyF]

Take straight to stihl ..Saw has only done two chains ?? Stihl will be reading this and will be in there interest to sort it out for you as we are all watching now as well .

For a grands worth of saw its pretty poor.