Lightmart

I too have a Honda TRX350D Foreman quad.....brilliant little bike, but as you suggest, a swine to get parts for:thumbdown: I asked the question at my local Honda ATV dealer why this is and they said that Honda made so many of these bikes and then had to hold them in stock for ages awaiting sales. Eventually, they flogged them all off to the US dealers at knockdown prices......hence the bikes (and their parts) are much more prevelant in the US. I will need an engine liner and piston kit shortly too.....and I will undoubtedly be using the same US supplier, on Ebay, as you did....but the customs charge and the VAT will cripple the pricing I'm afraid:thumbdown: Regards Martin

Thanks for the kind comments to both of you. Yes...it would appear that we share a common (or not so common) surname Ben:thumbup1: After I had uploaded the 2 saw pictures, I remembered that I had an older saw in the collection....one that even I think of a vintage I still like it though:thumbup:

Hello All, More from the Stihl 041AV saga..... The pictures below show what I found or have done during the strip... First one, just shows new impulse and fuel lines fitted, carb has been rebuilt and float checked etc. Second one, shows the impulse connection that a previous person had broken off:001_huh:, so had to be glued back in!!! Third one, shows HT lead with section of insulation missing, right where the lead goes through the casing....it almost looks burnt through ??? Final picture is just a general view with flywheel puller fitted, ready for HT lead change, points check etc. Thats all for now folks!!! Any comments greatly appreciated:thumbup1:. Regards Martin Lightfoot

Hi All, I can't decide as to whether it is the Stihl 041 or the Jonsered:confused1: Are either of these classed as vintage ?? My son is pictured with the Jonsered.....so this saw is certainly vintage as far as he is concerned:lol: Either way, I like them both...or I would if the Stihl actually started:thumbdown: Regards Martin Lightfoot

Hi All, Oregon chains all the way here:thumbup1:.....as previous posters have indicated....I don't think there is a quality difference in Oregon products, I think it is just a reference to commercial as against domestic markets really. Regards Martin

Hello All, I haven't visited the site in such a long time:blushing: Anyway....what's on the bench at the mo....well This Stihl 041AV is.... The fourth picture is just the parts that need to go through the saw to "make good" as it were. It came to me as a "my husband took the carb apart to clean it....and now it won't start again" As you (hopefully) can see from picture three, the HT lead is broken and is probably earthing...as a quick spark check revealed not a lot!! I will try to post some more pictures once I am inside...if it doesn't bore everyone to death!! Incidentally, not that I need one for this job, but a copy would be nice.....where might I get a workshop manual for one of these....Stihl reckon it's too old a saw for them now!!! Cobblers says I Regards Martin

Loctite can be a good solution, but, only if it was originally specified in the joint. Loctite really screws (no pun intended) with the relationship between torque on the fastener and preload, and you can end up with a bolt which has had the right torque applied, but hasn't reached the right preload. If I were specifiying a joint to use Loctite, I would have to test the torque / preload relationship first to gain confidence. Any locking device which changes the friction relationship can be useful, but, the torquing procedure will be defined during design or development to account for it. Fitting such a fastener in place of a standard one, and then using the torque spec for the standard fastener is dodgy to say the least. Wire locking prevents the fastener unwinding - but, embedding failures and gasket settling can [and do!] give rise to joint failure without the fastener head rotating at all! Preventing fastener rotation prevents many, but not all joint failures. In mentioning embedding and gasket failures, I'm talking about joint relaxation which is of the order of a few tens of microns leading to near complete loss of tension in the bolt. Just to add fuel to the fire!!

Give Philidas or Aerotite nuts a try....like nyloc but without the girly nylon bit in them....all metal instead. Lightmart

Hi All, Just looking at this problem from a purely engineering perspective... We can be fairly certain that this is not a design problem, especially when you consider the manufacturers involved. It would seem from the above posts that people have had problems with both Stihl and Husqvarna saws dismantling themselves. Neither of these manufacturers are renowned for producing a cheaply engineered product. So, I can only assume that it is a dealer/maintenance/user issue here. Dealer: Saw not set up correctly. Not tested. Perhaps fastener locking mechanisms not installed correctly. Was the product just used straight out of the box perhaps ? Maintenance: Is the saw maintained commensurate with its work rate ? Is the saw maintained by someone who has the knowledge/training/experience to carry it out ? Is the saw maintained by someone who is mechanically sympathetic ? Genuine parts used in maintenance ? User: Is the saw used by someone who is mechanically sympathetic ? Is the saw used within its design parameters ? Are the pre-use checks carried out properly ? I mention these things because I see a grounds maintenance contracting company in action every day where I live, and the way the equipment is treated is disgraceful. It must cost the organisation involved a lot of money in repair and maintenance and probably get the manufacturer a bad name also. Obviously, I am not tryng to imply that people mis-treat their own equipment in any way, but there must be a reason for the problems encountered, when they are not suffered by everyone. Lightmart

I have only just read this thread. The truck belonging to Tommer looks cool....I wish I had one like that:thumbup1:. Lightmart

It's not unreasonable at all Andy, Good money is paid for the item...whatever it may be...and the consumer has a right to expect the item to do it's job. Lightmart

Hi All, There are a number of other options other than the chemical fastening that seems to be recommended earlier. The chemical fasteners are very suceptible to heat and if both surfaces to be treated are not chemically clean, the bond will not take, thus the fastener loosens again. As I mentioned above, the loosening of fasteners within the aircraft trade is an age old problem and a number of options exist:biggrin:. Nyloc type nuts are another non starter really:thumbdown:, as mentioned above, because they are also suceptible to heat and so become weak and useless. In the 21st century it is not really acceptable, from an engineering perspective, to have fasteners loosening on any equipment, otherwise what is the point in having them at all ? If anyone would like me to produce a repair solution for them...no charge...let me know. Lightmart

Hi Matty, I am a trained aircraft engineer by trade:scared1:. Dealing with vibration in fasteners is fairly stock in trade really:cursing:. I would be willing to have a look at the vibration/Helicoil problem for you if you can get the saw to me. I only mention this because you are (relatively speaking) close to me, as I am on the Herts/Bucks border. Just an offer. Lightmart

Your OpenOffice program (the application) is trying to open the document you want (the data), but the application doesn't recognise the format the data is in. Therefore it is trying to use an interpreter (filter) to make it happen. It should offer to search for a filter on the internet, if it hasn't got access to one already. Regards martin