best ebay barrel and piston kits?

[flatyre]

Hey folks I have a couple of saws on the bench that need new pistons and barrels. I know meteor and hyway are fairly close to oem pistons, do they also do barrels and are there any reputable sellers on ebay? I see a few but am sceptical about buying parts which are made in Italy being sold through places like Latvia, Israel etc. Some ebay sellers are offering new barrel and piston kits for as little as £18 which are probably utter shite, then there are kits on offer for £100+. Problem is the dearer kits could have come from the same Chinese factory as the cheaper ones. Some of the saws I keep and some I sell on to people I know so am looking for decent quality parts Saws in question are a Stihl 029 and an 028av. Not to sound rude but i'm not interested in whether or not you think these saws are worth fixing, I just want to know if you have purchased pistons and barrels off ebay, who you got them from and what they were like. thanks

[spudulike]

Hey folks I have a couple of saws on the bench that need new pistons and barrels. I know meteor and hyway are fairly close to oem pistons, do they also do barrels and are there any reputable sellers on ebay? I see a few but am sceptical about buying parts which are made in Italy being sold through places like Latvia, Israel etc. Some ebay sellers are offering new barrel and piston kits for as little as £18 which are probably utter shite, then there are kits on offer for £100+. Problem is the dearer kits could have come from the same Chinese factory as the cheaper ones. Some of the saws I keep and some I sell on to people I know so am looking for decent quality parts Saws in question are a Stihl 029 and an 028av. Not to sound rude but i'm not interested in whether or not you think these saws are worth fixing, I just want to know if you have purchased pistons and barrels off ebay, who you got them from and what they were like. thanks

 

The natural progression is OEM.........Meteor.........Hyway..............Other poop. In my opininon, I would choose Meteor well above Hyway as from what I have seen, the Meteor pistons and cylinders have e very good finish. I have just ported a new Meteor cylinder on a MS660 and the plating is everybit as hard as OEM.....in fact it was damn hard so a good sign.

 

The pistons use Caber rings and good quality circlips - I always use Meteor unless cost or availabillity is constricted by the owner/market.

 

The pistons from Max (Latvia), Leo (Greece) are fine and they are good sellers however you can now get most of them from the UK now.

 

If you are doing this type of work, I would recommend pressure/vac checking the saw and inspecting the fuel system as if you don't, the saw is likely to repeat it's failure:thumbdown:

 

The MS660 I have just done has eaten the OEM cylinder/piston and also an aftermarket one. The owner gave it to me and I have fitted a ported Meteor cylinder and piston, had it pressure/vac tested, carb overhauled and it is now working as it should and will last for years to come!

 

On the £15 pistons - you get what you pay for and would only use as a last option due to cost/availabillity. The rings and circlips can be suspect, the piston materials can be unknown and the sizing can be hit and miss. I have had rings snap/snag, ring ends be badly formed and even the arrow on the crown pointing in the wrong direction!

[Adamam]

I've used Meteor stuff loads of times, and it's always great.

 

Recently I've been trying out the stuff from Huztl which is ridiculously cheap. 'Farmertec' is the brand. Mostly for cheapo saws (Ms170/180,2350, 250, Husky 350/353 etc...that sort of thing) and also a 346 and two 357s.

 

All saws that wouldn't have been worth the time with fancy parts.

 

All turned out fine and are all still running, a couple in commercial environments.

 

Not saying the cheapo stuff is as good as Hyway/Meteor; obviously it isn't, but it's still absolutely possible to built a saw that runs well with the cheap stuff...

 

YMMV, naturally.

 

[Sandworks]

Ms 441 magnum keeps spitting out the plug, tried helicoil, timesert, 20 mins running and it spits the dummy again, what's next lads..... New pot and piston! Oversize plug?..... Fed up with it..... Thanks in advance....

[spudulike]

Ms 441 magnum keeps spitting out the plug, tried helicoil, timesert, 20 mins running and it spits the dummy again, what's next lads..... New pot and piston! Oversize plug?..... Fed up with it..... Thanks in advance....

 

If the Timesert is being blown out then the receiving thread hasn't been cut well - is the whole insert coming out or is it splitting in two or is just the spark plug coming out?

 

Generally the next option is a thicker walled insert. I use a thin walled stainless insert but if someone has already butchered it, there is the option of a carbon steel insert by Ezlok - the difficult bit always be reaming the hole and cutting the new thread plus you need a fair bit of land on these inserts.

[Sandworks]

Hi Spudplug and timesert come out as one, trouble is the ones used don't have thread all the way up, there is a gap between the leading 4 threads and the plug side, ( about 4 threads worth). it was a clean tap, with good seating and bond lock used also.

Any help appreciated, was considering a new pot but not sure what to go for, the 441 seems to have a limited variety available,so sourcing is a problem Probably just me being thick )😝

[Sandworks]

[spudulike]

See what you mean - I never use inserts that have a top collar on them, I grind them down so they are the exact length of the existing hole and use a high temperatere permanent threadlock compound and would warranty my repairs for life of the machine!

 

My advice is to fit a full length threaded insert or purchase an oversize one and grind to size and use a decent threadlock as above. If that doesnt work then I may be able to try a larger insert but would need the cylinder. As you probably know, having the insert is just one part of the story. Doing the machining work and having the correct tools is the other!

[Sandworks]

Cheers for that spud, will go annoy engine builders tomorrow

[slim reaper]

Did you use the driver tool that expands the insert into the receiving threads which should lock it in?

The insert you've used looks wrong to me , Ill show the pic to a mate of mine who is a Wurth rep if I get the chance.