spudulike

But that wouldn't cause it to over-rev, are you thinking it may have nipped/seized because of a possible air leak or is it a case of Chainsaw Techs Tourette's?......if it is..."GRUNION PINS"!!!!!

Not sure which 201 Dan was talking about but the Mtronic one is the best, early 201s were dire, they are not the same machine and there are a couple of significant differences making the machines completely different. The 201 throttle rods....come on....really, any tech who has done one MS200/201 will know to turn the machine on its side and if unsure, take the lid off carefully and take a pic of the parts on a smart phone!!! They are really not that difficult to strip! I could probably get a carb of a 201 in 1-2 mins. The 540......what shall we say, 5 minutes if you are lucky, probably nearer 10!! That 540 throttle cable.....what a sod, who invented that one, the fiddly wire connectors...Mmmmmm, all the breather and fuel pipes, the impulse issues, the over complicated inlet manifold!!! Break the handle and bang goes the fuel tank.....the 201, a £12 part and under an hour to fit

That sounds like a sticky throttle as an air leak may cause the idle to be higher than usual, the engine to rev much to high on full throttle, perhaps a lag in pickup and holding on to revs rather than snapping straight down to idle when the throttle is closed. If you rev the engine flat out and the revs stay flat out and trop very slowly than the first thing is to check the carb throttle assembly, carb throttle return springs etc are all clean and lubricated and make sure that when you release the throttle, the throttle valve (brass disk in carb nearest the engine) snaps completely shut. You can start the thing with the top cover off and manually push the carb closed with the small plate the carb throttle rod fits to after revving to make sure the mechanism does work and if the saw drops back to idle as it should, your throttle is sticky. If the engine still takes time to drop back to idle even with you pushing the throttle valve closed, it is most likely an air leak.

TBH - I have only done TS400s and not the later model - they seemed OK to me, typical Stihl inside. Done a couple of Huskys but swerve all stone cutters now, all that abrasive dust is much worse in the workshop than the oily crud you get out of chainsaws and if you think most chainsaws are abused.....stonecutters reach a new level of LOW!!! I don't think operators can grasp that the powder from cutting stone is highly abrasive and a clean air filter is your friend

If it is a primary saw, OEM parts should be used, if it is a secondary or rare use machine, pick and choose as some Chinese parts are ready for the bin before use. Fuel lines...OEM only, the AM ones can kink and cause restriction in flow!

From a repairers view, the Stihl MS201TC Mtronic is a much easier package to work on, the latest saw is far better than the early ones from 2013 that were dog rough. I personally find the 540 a pig to work on, parts are difficult to remove and get to due to that grey cover and the carb/handle mechanism is probably one of the hardest machines to work on. The strop/belt hooks on the 540 are a nice design - now I understand what the feck they do...thanks TreeDon for that! My choice is the Stihl....sorry guys - just bear in mind I don't climb with them. Other options - MS151 or Echo CS 2511TES - smaller, lighter and work well on lighter reductions.

Very good unbiased view there Andrew

"Checked the idle adjustment", are you saying you can undo the screw until it has no effect and the engine is over revving? If so, check the crank seals!

You may be able to add struts or angle iron to the parts that are bending but if it isn't right and within warranty then back to the dealer is best!

In real terms I would say it weakens it. Without looking I would say the hardness would increase in the bent area but if bent repeatedly, it will snap! Bending any metal repeatedly will break it.....apart from mercury in its fluid state

I have a Cscope CS4PI that was nearer £300 new, I also have a Whites Classic IDX that I modified in line with some fella called Mr Bills recommendations that livened it up somewhat. That one was £120 second hand. You will struggle to get a PI new for that price. Where are you going to use it? PI is good for the beach but would go for a discriminator on dry land.

All good, glad to hear it ended up OK. Thanks for the update....rare thing nowadays!

Blimey, never though I would see this recommendation You can often determine if it is a left or right hand thread if there is a bit of thread visible from the end of the shaft, just look at a normal bolt and you can see the start of the thread and then look at the shaft and see if it is the same.

Looks like the ring end has snapped off. Typical end gap is 7-15 thou with anything over being worn!

PI is pulse Induction and is used predominantly in wet sand and where there is high mineralisation as this sends normal detectors all over the shop. The down side is the PI detectors react to all metals and have no discrimination at all - not so great when looking for gold! A good detector will cost circa £100 - 300+ and you can expect it to detect from 6-12" with different metals reacting differently. They are surprisingly good and the more you use them, the better you get at sensing the metal and using the tool. Practice at setting the machine makes you get more out of the detector - same with most tools!

Speeding fines & tickets - How much do you have to pay? WWW.MONEYADVICESERVICE.ORG.UK Here's a summary of how much speeding fines are, plus some info on when they arrive, when you might get disqualified... May help?

I believe they have to contact you in 14 days with whatever misdemeanour you have done. I think if they don't, you may get away with it. Worth looking in to but think that is right for fixed speed cameras and am guessing the same for mobile. Been in a similar position a few years ago and would have been a ban same as yours but was lucky that day. If you do get done, may be worth turning up and pleading the NHS helper thing and have proof ready and push it lightly and succinctly, it may produce a hefty fine but no ban if the magistrate is sympathetic.

Probably best to buy new. A seller will get a saw in some sort of condition and every time they fit a new part, it impacts on their profit so they will skimp on using OEM parts hence the use of Chinese parts on many of the saws I get in because they don't work too well Other than that, you need to purchase from a reputable seller that may not offer a real nice low price but will offer a saw that is HONEST rather than full of issues like so many on eBay. Nothing in at the moment unless you want a vintage 80CC Husqvarna!

Goat curry.....now there's a thing!

Seals and carb kits are OK, have had some carb kits manufactured as a mirror image so totally useless but pretty obvious. These are some parts that are actually OK, many are worthy of the bin when they arrive.

Damn, sounds like me on a good day......as my customers know only too well!!!!

You can take an old plug, bend the end electrode away from the centre electrode so it is at around 45 degrees angle and see if the coil can jump the gap OK. It gives a bit of an indication but isn't a 100% check. If an old saw doesn't spark, sometimes closing the coil to flywheel gap can help.

It took me around a month to work out that the general public by cheap brands, worth nothing so the repair bill will generally come to more than the machine is worth. Cheap brands take just as long if not longer to fix, parts are much more difficult and the general public don't want to wait 3 months so buy new again. Good luck with it - look at his books carefully!

Get with it Andrew, we are on to sheep now...got some down the road and had a nice lamb steak last Sunday and Monday on the BBQ......they were that big....local butcher, very good!

I wasn't saying your husband was clueless - I don't know him, many arborists can't even adjust their idle speed and that is the point I was making. As the saw is new, it should go back to the supplier as mentioned by a few on here and as DS says, let us know the outcome although most manufacturers are a bit guarded on such things so probably we will never know. Hope it works out.