spudulike

Just checked the pics to see if the piston crown has been cracked...common when solid screw in piston stops have been used but it looks clean. I reckon the issue is with the compression tester. It looks like the valve in it may be close to the top of the gauge so the tube going up to the actual gauge is forming part of the combustion chamber lowering the reading. You lose so much when you can't pull the engine over to feel what it has on the recoil handle!

13 thou is OK and should give reasonable compression.

Sorry, a leak down test on a two stroke bears no indication of secondary compression (the compression between the piston and combustion chamber) and shows no indication of engine wear on the cylinder and piston. The way you determine wear of these components is inspection, measurement and if the engine is not in bits, you measure the compression on the cold engine after one pull and many pulls with a good engine giving 1/2 of its maximum compression on the first pull. Gauging the drop of compression from cold to hot is a good indication of engine wear - expect around 20 psi drop. The leak down test (pressure and vacuum) is used to check the integrity of all the gaskets, mating surfaces, seals and gaskets - a two stroke should not leak from these areas for a predetermined time as the only air entering the engine should be via the carb. Not having a go, just stating fact, perhaps you are meaning four stroke leak down which is another matter!

Back on topic...list some pics of the cover, clutch and chain....may spot the issue straight away and save all the Badger talk light relief!! The chain is probably as blunt as a bag of wet mice

Take the plug put and see if the flywheel/crank spins freely. If it does...are you using the decomp valve? If you don't use it, this damage will occur more often having sen it on 560s before. Other than that, when starting, pull the recoil handle lightly against the compression of the engine before pulling the handle rather than yanking it in any position as it may be the initial slip and slam in to the pawls doing the damage. Not sure there is much to gain in pulling the flywheel off if it isn't an XPG unless you suspect the broken pin is behind it - bit of a job for a novice without a puller!!

Sorry, missed this. You are good to go, the rubber is just tighter on the shaft and is gripping it a bit - more noticeable on a small engine but is fine - you have end float so just reassemble it.

A compression gauge for small engines will typically have an extremely light gauge schrader valve mounted in the part you screw in to the engine. The valve type is chosen because you can only spin the engine over for a few revolutions unlike a car engine that you can hold on the starter for a few seconds. The valve being close to the engine stops the tube acting as part of the volume of the combustion chamber and lowering the compression. Car type compression gauges can have bicycle type schrader valves in them and will give lower readings than small engine gauges. The Gunson "HiGauge" is one that works although I modified mine to take Presta valves as I was destroying the schrader ones with modified engines making 200psi+ The rings.....put them in the cylinder, make sure they are nice and square, measure the gap and it should be 7-15 thou, much more and the compression will suffer badly. The light part of the cylinder ADW mentions may well be the Nikasil plating worn through - try scratching with a craft knife and if it scratches on the light part, it is through to the aluminium. If you have another of these machines, just pull them over slowly and compare them. 75 or even 105 psi is pretty low. An engine in good condition will make 170psi.

Is there an ISO or BS rating on the bluntness of a badgers arse, does it include the tail or just the arse area in general?

How are you measuring the compression and with what gauge? Some gauges are meant for cars and a small engine won't register the correct compression measurement. 75psi, if correct and measured on 5-7 pulls is terrible. It should be 150+ and 75 on the first pull. Stone cutters usually are not looked after, the stone dust is very abrasive and it is easy to abrade the ring, piston and cylinder to the point you don't have much compression. If you rest the cutter on the ground and lift it by the starter handle, does it fall to earth in a second or two or can you lift it by the handle and have a few seconds of suspension each time the piston reaches top dead centre (compression)? No disrespect but a cylinder and piston "looking fine" by a novice may not be what an experienced engineer may think. It is possible the ring end gap is too large, the bore nikasil plating has worn off or the piston and ring have been abraded badly....as I said, stone dust is extremely abrasive and these machines are usually abused.

I think we should have a whip round for the poor fella!!

Nope....but I feel some modification happening very soon!!

Same make as the piston I used. I did have one sent in with a VEC top end and TBH, it did have decent compression and ran well. Perhaps use this kit and use OEM circlips!

Nice job and should last. All us mere mortals have is JB weld which may have worked. The costs of doing this sort of work is why it isn't the usual way of repairing cases...an hourly workshop rate verses the cost of a new part. Looks like a nice job....you may get a load of requests now....may be a new business😉

The bakelite seal has a flexible material part and that is the other part you show. I use nitrile coated metal seals as they are far easier to fit than the Stihl ones but you have no issues there. Just make sure the bearing plastic needle retainer is intact before you fit the seal and do the pressure and vac tests on assembly.

BTW, you can pressure check the oil tank relatively easily

There is no smoke arrestor on the 201. Smoke is generally too much oil in the fuel, usually found on home owner kit. The saw can run rich but there are limiters on the H screw stopping it running too rich....rich means too much fuel mix entering the saw causing it to not rev out correctly...ignore the "too much oil being lean" comments as it is loosely technically correct but not the way anyone involved with two strokes and their tuning would describe "lean". You could turn the H screw all the way clockwise up to the limiter, make sure you are using decent oil 50:1 mix and see how it goes It is possible the saws oil tank is leaking in to the crankcase, not seen this on a 201 but if it still smokes after the above, empty the oil tank fully and run the saw up without the b&c and see if it goes away.

The Mtronic version has no holes in the handle or filter cover. If someone has used the incorrect handle on yours.....it has no channels for the wires, no holders for the connection blocks, no connection port for the diagnostics interface and the throttle and choke levers and controls are incorrect. Just fit the correct mouldings rather than lash it up. The Mtronic has no adjustments on idle or L&H, the Mtronic carb and coil deal with it. You can tell which version you have by the small plastic cover and cut out near the oil cap being the Mtronic model!

Check to make sure your loctite type fills gaps well as some are just for retaining and some fill up small cavities. I reckon you will get away with it unless the new bearings are really sloppy in the cases. If this doesn't work, you may pick up some second hand cases if you are lucky....ebay does work sometimes.

Loctite 620 or 638 would seem to be about right....638 has a slightly better gap filling performance at 0.25mm!

Thanks for the flippin Apple movie, taken me 10 mins to view it!! I think I would try degreasing the bearing and its seat in the case and then use a smear of JB weld and let it go off with the bearing in place if the gap between bearing and case is large but if it is relatively close, a Loctite bearing retaining compound should do it. Look for one that will fill a relatively large gap, will work at temperature and is high strength. Don't get any of either compound in the bearing as it will kill it....perhaps stuff it with grease before inserting it to keep the compound out. Let the compound go off fully before reassembly. If this doesn't work then it will be new cases time and may be worth fitting a new bearing when effecting the repair as I have seen worn gudgeon pins in pistons where the alloy has survived and the steel has worn...strange but true!

OK, missed that bit, is there gun law there

Let us know when it finally gets resolved. The fact they have admitted bearing failure and are replacing the unit is a very positive result but lets see how long it takes to fulfill the replacement.

I never understand how neighbours think they have a right to trespass and cut back trees or shrubs without the owners permission. Trespass, criminal damage and replant is the legal process. If you don't go through the legals, I would at least point out the law, how the neighbour has broken it and demand a replant of a tree as close to the size of the dead one....assuming it is a UK case. It depends on how much you like the neighbour but my opinion is that people like that need the law pointed out to them and the lines drawn so they are under no uncertainty that you won't tolerate their idiotic actions.

Depends on what the saw looks like....I have seen "light use" look like it has been dragged out of a village pond before. If it looks nice, £250 is probably a bit light and would think £250-£320 if the plastics, bottom and stickers are nice and it has a lightly used bar, chain and scabbard. eBay sales generate good prices but you can get done over by ebays lack of love of trusted traders!!

Mmmm, just checked the piston and it is a VEC one, I probably couldn't get a Meteor one at the time and charged accordingly. Looks like the circlip lasted for a couple of years and let go....didn't last as long as it should but at least it earn't its money back!!