spudulike

The MS151 has a typical "Stihl" feel about it and the Echo is typically Japanese. The Echo did have some running issues on idle when vertical but managed to get a fix on that. The Stihl is less "finicky" than the Echo, both are manufactured relatively well, someone mentioned the air filter is better on the Echo but the MS151 does have a nylon mesh air filter available which many are not aware of. Power.....both will benefit from a little work on the muffler leaving you with nice saws...but avoid these silly big pipe mufflers. The Stihl is typically German, the Echo is typically Japanese....take your pick.

Not sure why you are asking. If you employ him, you are condoning drug taking and the consequences whilst in your employment. Only happened once in my past, all three gone within minutes. The correct decision then and the correct one now. If there is an accident on site and this comes out, it could ruin you and your business so why even contemplate it. There is no excuse for drugs and alcohol in a mechanised and dangerous industry! I am taking the assumption the little bag of white powder was drugs and not talc for his athletes foot....ask and take no shyte!!

Probably why Bill Clinton has that sparkle in his eye!!

The MS461 is a decent enough saw and follows nicely on from the MS460 in its weight, design and feel. The one advantage over the 500i is that the 461 is a relatively basic machine and can be maintained without plugging it in to a laptop etc so if you are maintaining it yourself...it is worth considering. Just make sure the top end is OEM and not some old aftermarket crap.

If you are asking about the gear, it is under the clutch and the big hole in the middle is for the crank shaft.

Funny you said that Andy, I did exactly the same, metal pump rather than Karcher cheapening up with a plastic one. My Nilfisk has done the job but don't use it that much so can't really recommend it for longevity but it works well for the £££.

I don't know the state of your saw but when I did get them in, I always looked at the oil pinion gear that has the arm on it that locates on the clutch drum. The arm on these can stop gripping the plastic pinion gear and you get a fall off in oiling. Once I saw this on a couple of machines, I would always check this on all the machines I had in. Yours may well be the solid nose bar issue as Rob D has pointed out but worth checking the oiler pinion for the issue mentioned above. The arm should be a nice tight fit and not move on the pinion without using a bit of force. Pic as below: -

What is the saw? Stubby's oiler idea seems a decent one to me. If it is an 880, let us know as their oilers are a bit fragile.

I used a compressor daily for 7 years to do exactly what you want - pretty low spec stuff. The compressor I had cost be £45 and was a bit of a bargain, nothing flash but does the job. Sure, there are loads out there that are quieter, better made but what is your budget, a lot always hinges on that.....hats off that you are actually using this on your saws...great decision. The compressor I have is one of those generic ones that everyone re brands as their own but is a 24L cheapo special, loads made and pretty reliable and if you want to run a high consumption tool like a big rattle gun, fit a BIG hose rather than a widdly one you may fit to an airline. My first one was a damn more expensive and lasted 1.5 years. This one lasted 3 times that and costed much less.....work that one out. This is the sort of thing...... SGS 24 Litre Direct Drive Air Compressor With Hose Reel - 9.5CFM, 2.5HP, 24L WWW.SGS-ENGINEERING.COM Introducing NEW Air Compressor from SGS - fitted with a special heavy duty 24 litre air receiver complete with a front mounted integral air hose reel holding 10 metres of PVC braided air...

And don't use aftermarket ones as they are pretty suspect at best. Find the OEM parts - L&S would be a good start followed by the likes of Garden Hire Spares and DIY spares etc

Exactly how I drain saws when I get them in and then flushing the tank out if it contains lots of crud....good advice.

I had a look at my chipper and the cap had a hole in the inside centre and it allows the tank to breath up this hole and down the holes around the underside of the inside edge of the fuel cap surround - like the one on the right of your last pic. For interest, try bunging up that breather hole with something and see if it leaks - you shouldn't run it like this but it will be interesting to see if the thing still leaks with the breather bunged up. If it doesn't, perhaps you can get a cap like this with a one way breather.....seems mad but......it is what it is!

And they have a gauze strainer within the carb to do a "belt and braces" filtration of the fuel!

Is it coming out of the breather rather than past the seal? There is a small area on the tank lip that looks a little low but the give in the seal should accommodate that. Will have to check the cap on my chipper to see how the breather functions. You could try swapping seals around on different caps of just pick the tightest cap and use the thickest seal on it. Looks like one of those problems where it really can't be that difficult but it is.

All fuel AND air should enter the engine through the carb. Your carb will have been set up on this basis. When a crank seal leaks air, it can let extra air in to the engine and this will make the saw run hotter at high revs and also cock up the idle. A leaking fuel line may show itself as an engine that just lacks power or won't rev out but if the line has a small leak that lets air bubbles in through the line rather than 100% fuel, this will mean that the carb may not supply the correct amount of fuel to the engine causing the engine to run hot and ........BANG!! It is very possible yours has been just been run on old fuel or the H screw was set lean but, having fixed up more saws than I care to remember, I learnt to do all these checks to ensure returned customer saws worked.

I have to say that I agree. I must have purchased around 6 carbs in 7 years or repairing kit on a daily basis so hundreds if not thousands of machines. Most are fixable and if you know what you are doing, it is a relatively cheap repair compared to a typical £120 new carb. My weakness is to keep going where I should throw in a towel but manage to fix most to the customers relief. Difficult to recommend a definite fix from a distance but as we have both said...air filter is a possibility. Worth looking to see if the unit has an automatic choke as the mower I was working on did as if this auto choke has failed, this would cause it to run rich. Honda use a wax type auto choke to open and close the choke and it is embedded in to the cylinder behind the carb and is heat activated so if the machine is warm, the choke should fully open. Probably a manual choke I would imagine though.

And make sure the air filter is clean as a blocked air filter is the same as engaging the choke!

If you are up to it....take the carb off, remove the float bowl, unscrew the main jet and then remove what I refer to as the "emulsion tube" or nozzle and make sure the jet is clear and the holes in the emulsion tube are clear. The emulsion tube is a light push fit but can take a bit of removing - watch the Youtube vids for tips. I have just done a neighbours troublesome hunting mower and this was the issue. Lastly, check the float bowl sits level with the housing of carb where the bowl sits when the carb is held upside down - this makes sure the needle and seat are OK. Or just fit a new carb

The compression gauge is nothing to do with vac and pressure tests and if you purchase a compression gauge, don't get one for a car, saws need a much more sensitive gauge to measure the compression correctly. The saw you have is relatively old and old saws can develop air leaks through the crank seals (no need to change the bearings), inlet manifold etc. I believe the 181 manifold is a plastic type one and they can crack hence the test. The fact the saw has seized means it has happened for a reason. The typical reasons are poor fuel/oil mix, using old fuel/oil mix, issues with fuel delivery such as dirt in the carb, split fuel line etc or the carb high speed screw not being set correctly and the machine over revving or an air leak in the engine. Doing the leak down test is up to you. It is possible to protect the engine by tuning the carb to run a little richer but any decent engineer would ensure the engine is airtight on rebuilding it. I seem to remember the 181 having a stepped crankshaft making fitting seals an interesting experience for the uninitiated but may be wrong.

Dust through the air filter usually causes wear to the plating on the inlet side not the exhaust side.

Just to add a bit of info...these original rings were really thin and would have reduced friction to allow the saw to produce faster pickup and power. I guess the friction of two thin rings is probably still less than the single thicker ring just from the reduced springiness and I am now thinking that a single thin top ring would be an interesting experiment for a fast limited use saw. Is this 181 one of the ex army green ones?

I'm one of the "Some on here" that do salvage cylinders rather than bin them and have generally had good success doing so, no disrespect to Mr P...we all have our ways and didn't have an OEM supplier to keep happy. The cylinder doesn't look too bad - was this before cleaning the cylinder up...it looks like it. When cleaning it up, don't scrub at a small area with emery paper but do clean in larger rotations around the bore. The former can cause small concave areas in the bore and they can kill compression. The displayed damage looks like a partial seize or "nip up" that hasn't destroyed the cylinder but has caused some damage. I used to use a cylinder hone to clean the bore up but don't overdo this, you are only giving the new piston a rough surface to bed it in quickly. On pistons - use a quality brand, Meteor and Hyway are pretty much the best. As Mr P says - do pressure and vac check the machine checking the seals, rubber parts and manifold etc. Do service the carb on reassembly, do fit a new fuel filter and check the fuel line isn't split and finally....tach the carb to set the flat out running of the saw to ensure it isn't over-revving - you can do this by ear if you know your onions.

If we accept a favour or nice gesture and pay it back two fold....just imaging what the outcome will be. BTW - thanks to the driver that let me pull over in Norwich when I found myself in the wrong lane approaching the football ground!

Had similar problems with MS660 tanks. Try the wet and dry on a flat plate of metal and ensure the mating surface is flat and not deformed by rubbing lightly. You could use a bit of "engineering blue" on it to see what the surfaces are doing under compression. You could inspect the innards of the tank neck and make sure they are not deformed or damaged. You could try cutting another seal out of something like EPDM and placing it UNDER the existing one. Failing that, chuck a match in the tank and claim on the insurance It shouldn't be rocket science and can imagine a lot of swearing and laughing once you find the issue!!

I think he may have all he needs..... you being 12 years late to the party!