spudulike

Missed this little thread....the 357 is very prone to spinning the clutch off when you rev it and snap the throttle closed just after the clutch has been off. This has the effect of the clutch partially loosening and then doing up again out of mesh with the pinion. The way around it is to rev the saw up and snap on the chain break a few times or just rev the saw up and cut hard in to a big lump of wood both without letting off the throttle. This locks the clutch on.

Nice job and the advice I speak is one of experience...as always. I made a bee hotel and was amazed by the uptake BUT....the bloody birds liked pulling out the bamboo bits so...a piece of wire grill over the front sorts this out...or glue the bamboo in place - perhaps you have and I am preaching to the vicar. Good thing to do and they do actually work......a few long flowering salvias, cosmos, nasturtiums and marigolds nearby makes it really good.

The plug colour takes a while to form. Black colour may just be a dirty air filter, big mower and small garden where it isn't warming up, the mower may not be revving properly. I had issues with my Atco Royale yesterday, turned out to be water in the petrol....that's ethanol for you, all running well now.

Looks a decent swing though....just saying!

Black plug = running rich. Mower carbs are pretty basic and most rely on the main jet for fuel delivery and have little in the way of adjustment so....I would say that your choke may be sticking on partially which would make it run rich. I don't know how your choke functions but some have a heat activated solenoid, some have a manual choke lever, some operate off the throttle and some just have a primer bulb (No choke). You will need to whip off the air filter housing and see how the flap nearest the outer part of the carb is operated. Having done this, at cold and in the starting setting, it should be fully cold. Warm the machine up and when fully warm, it should be fully open. If it isn't, it is either set wrong or whatever opens and closes it has failed. BTW, typical carb issues are blocked main jet, emulsion tube holes blocked, crap in the float bowl or leaking needle valve. The OEM carb will generally be better quality than cheap Chinese.

In the first pic, it looks like the saw has been revved up without cutting as the oil is coming from the top of the cover. We will wait and see what happens now!

I would check the clutch shoes are moving freely as if they stick out they will cause the symptoms you have. Are the idle revs excessively high where you would expect the blade to spin on idle.

Glad it is all OK and it seems similar to the suggestions I made. I had similar on my Rover mower which wasn't switching of or starting well and turned out to be a dry throttle cable lacking full travel plus the obligatory carb issues...all good!

The problem would most likely be that the longer shaft gear is being pulled against the smaller gear when you are fitting the cutting head. You just need to work out why this is happening. I don't have the part in front of me but you need to work out why. Just looking at the parts list...bearing 9 could be too thin - are they OEM and fitted in the correct price. if washer "4" is missing, it would have the same effect. If bearing "8" isn't seated correctly then the same..... Is part "15" fitted as without it...the same condition as it would appear to secure the last bearing.

The saw never had a paper gasket in this area so it won't need one now. I would think that the oil pump may be leaking oil from the oil pump pinion shaft. I state this because I once had a 372XP in doing the same and it was just a worn oil pump and replacing it sorted it. Are you sure that it isn't just excess oil coming from a pump set too high? it should only need to be set that way if using a bar to the top of the spec - probably around 28". Is the saw leaking in use or standing? There are seals on the pump inlet and the outlet that are worth checking.

Look on eBay and look at the past sold prices - you can do this within the filters on the page if you search for "MS200t". Much depends on the condition and what is missing/worn out on the saw but £100+ for a real scrapper is very possible. You can split it up, coil £25, Flywheel £25, crank £25, cases £50, handle £20 etc

Feck me...use a fecking small roller and do the rest with a paint brush with whatever fecking shyte you want to splodge on your fence/shed/wooden garden construction. Anything that makes my wood last longer is good with me.....I can hear you tittering at the back BTW😉👍

The MS200T is a sought after machine and to use aftermarket parts on it will degrade its value. Saying that, you will be able to get away with some parts but not others. On the cylinder kit, getting an OEM kit is pretty much near impossible so Meteor is probably the best option now. Carb - the accelerator pump will need replacing or sealing, personally I usually replace the part, aftermarket carb kits are OK or purchase from Rowan Carbs. Bearings, the main bearings are pretty weird things so stick to OEM. I found aftermarket nitryl seals worked well. Some plastic parts may be OK but I used to try to get decent second hand OEM parts from eBay rather than Chinese and charge/inform my customers as such. Personally, a decent MS200T is worth a fair bit so would stick to OEM where possible.

🥱🥱🥱Can't you just start your own thread, call it "Bitching" or something similar and keep your arguments to that thread as nobody is really interest in who earns what, what cars they drive or any of the other shyte that is being thrown about this site on a daily basis. My pointer is hovering on the "ignore this topic" button....the same way the "Covid" thread went!

Funnily enough, it is and have had the pleasure (or may be the displeasure 😉) to meet many of the fellas on this site including Rich and Joe so no need to tell anyone who I am or what I do.....mostly complaining bitterly about the state of their and others saws👍.