spudulike

To get to the route cause, I would pull off the clutch and two plastic side covers, pull off the oil pump and remove the oil tank feed pipe and filter to make sure it is clear, flushing the tank with petrol is a good idea. Check the inlet and outlet connectors on the pump are not plugged with fine woodchip - my money is on the pump inlet connector where it joins the pipe running in to the tank is plugged with fine chips. Check the oiler hole channel where it joins the bar and bast a bit of WD40 down it to ensure it is clear. Check the pinion gear is in good shape and that the oiler gear turns freely. Also check th eoil hole in the bar is clear. That should do it

I have used a 560 briefly on the "Boys day out", the auto tune is impressive in its power delivery, it gives the delivery in the midrange of a ported saw, slightly less top on WOT revs but there is a real difference in how they work to the earlier generation saws. The bad news is that if the saw plays up, you are much more unlikely to resolve the problem yourself or through guys like myself. It will be back to the dealer at dealer rates unless it is in waranty and that cost may get steep if it goes wrong in a big way. So the choice it whether you use latest technology without long term 3-5 years experience or go for older technology and not have quite the same wallop as the latest saws but a tune can be done by ear or with a £0.50p screwdriver and £70 tach! Currently I am comparing my 357XP and 346XP against a 560XP, the 357 was around 0.3 secs slower on a 7 second run but had a 17" bar copmpared to the 15" on the 560XP - my saws are woods tuned so a working saw tune up - same as Stubbys 346XP. The 346XP is a damn good saw, uses many parts that are used on other saws and is easy to work on!

Oh I knew what you were up to as soon as you said you were turning down that bar:thumbup: Nice fix - wouldn't want to spin it up too fast though:lol:

How much of that bar have you got left? May have some more work coming your way:thumbup:

Doesn't look like there are many Arbtalkers in to World Superbike - anyone going to the Peterborough BMF rally next weekend? Possibly going up on Saturday for a poke around! Been a while since I was up at Donnington, think Ron Haslam led the first lap of the GP on an Elf Honda last time I saw bike racing there!

No worries Barrie:thumbup: I will be at the Oulton Broad end of season bash again.....

It always worries me when saw parts are modified or changed and the basic setup and function of the saw is not understood - that being said...... The factory settings on the carb are a must for a starting point. First turn the L screw clockwise slowly until the revs increase and start to die off (if it stalls, set the screw back on factory and start again), undo the L screw slowly until the revs increase and begin to drop, at this point the saw will start popping and that is the point I look for. Then adjust the H screw, if you rev it flat out, it should hammer or fourstroke at the top end, if unsure give the H screw 1 1/2 turns out and it will be really strangle the top end - screw the H screw in until a hint of fourstroking is still audible. Cut some big wood and check the colour of the plug - coffee brown is good. white/grey is bad. You could write a book on how to tune saws and tuning by tach, fourstroking and in the cut but this is a good starting point. If you run it weak/lean - it will seize.

Alright for some - boats, fishing..... Anyway, back from my break, piston for a seized MS290 arrived - took a flanker and decided to get it in without inspecting the saw and was right to do so, the bore cleaned up well , pressure check and vac check to make sure all was airtight which it was. Breather and carb all OK so reassembled and tached at a conservative 11,500rpm, all good! We had another thread where a few of the guys including myself were not liking the MS390, the MS290 is very similar and the reason can be found in the pictures below. The whole saw needs to be stripped down to get to the piston/top end, you can see that the engine is a "clam" style engine where the base of the cylinder also forms the top of the crankcase. I have included an image of a cylinder from a 357XP for comparison for those interested - this bolts to the crankcase bottom end by four bolts and is much easier to remove:thumbup: On the MS290, the top handle and AV rubbers are a bit of a pig and the rear handle also needs to be removed to get to the top end - it is one fiddly mother of a job:thumbdown: To put it in to context, I could pull the cylinder off a 346XP in 15 mins, the MS290 - around 1hr 15 mins Grrrrrrr:lol:

They are Stihl ones, managed to get them off ebay for a good price, come with a number of fittings for different sealsvand should do an MS200!

Stihl 009 - not a true top handle saw but a capable and decent little saw. It wassaid to be the biggest ever selling saw in the US - got one myself and was my first saw. No AV but is good for small firewood although a pretty old design now.

I would be interested in a bit of investigation on the problem, sounds like too much heat is being retained around the muffler and is being absorbed by the handle. Possible solutions are redirecting the exhaust gasses, placing a heat shield between the muffler and handle or having a heat shield on the handle or changing the material/design of the handle. I will need to look in to the 242 and get back to you.

Just caught up with this thread, Mattys farts worry me as he is a mile down the road Stubbys suggestion of modifying the muffler seems like a very possible solution that will resolve the issue. My addition is that perhaps when cutting large wood, perhaps hot exhaust gasses are being blown back from the timber on to the front of the saw - could this be the root cause? The comments from Stihl make me chuckle, having worked for a German firm for 30 years, know just how it goes:001_rolleyes:

There appears to be a design fault with this saw in this area, refer it back to your agent - I think one fix is to fit a spur sprocket but other owners who have been through this issue will know more.

Got a yearning for spam fritters now - good healthy food. Now what was the post about....oh yes, sorry Andy:blushing:

OK, sounds like we had only two brake shoes expanding out so were putting undue strain on the clutch drum and bearing. Hopefully your "interesting" setup should work. As far as the carb goes, don't run it lean at the top end as it will really add to your woes Good luck with it and the offer of a carb re-tune is still there if needed.

345/350 Huskys both you will get a good one for under 200 quid, ran a 345 or my own firewood, great saw. Use both with a 15"bar

The depth is typically 5mm deep and the drive link is typically 5mm deep. A bar used for domestic firewood will last for years and can be made to last a few more with the advice Alec has given in the post above. The thing that finishes them off is play in the nose sprocket or the chain being run loose and wearing the rails just before the nose sprocket.

That's a one way breather that let's air in to the tank but doesn't let fuel out - unless broken. Haven't got my info on me but others will have the part number. You can get one from your local dealer, Gustharts or Mister Solutions to name a few. FR Jones may be able to help - common part and used on many saws.

Could be the carb adjstment - factory settings are one turn out on H and L screw, try this and adjust the idle. The hot starting may be mixture, blocked breather, possibly lack of compression or a number of other things. No telling what the ebay rebuild gave you.

I would inspect the cylinder and if umarked with no wear through on the plating, fit a new Meteor piston as they are very good quality. Inspect the parts you mention, add the fuel and air filter plus inlet boot and impulse line. Worth inspecting the sprocket, the clutch springs and sprocket bearing as well.

What have you done to it now? Seemed OK at the outing!

Bloody weather:thumbdown:

What was done to the carb as the problems described sound like carb issues. The impulse line can fail as can two components in the chain brake that are worth checking.

Do what Martin, you had a few bevvies:lol: