GardenKit

Last job of today (yes, early finish) was an MS170. It would not start for the customer, "Can you fix it?" he asked. "Yes, do you want it just started, or do you want a full service?" "just get it started, it is fine otherwise and I hardly use it. No service, just started. Definately" Well I hate these jobs, because I guarantee I will see lots of things wrong and be tempted to fix them, but of course the customer will not want to pay, so I have to leave them. Being a Stihl, it was of course going to be a poor starter, but surprisingly it was not the stale fuel issue I had suspected. It was empty. I fueled it up, pulled about 10 times, got a cough, put the choke in, pulled again and off she went. I stuck it in a bit of wood, but the chain was blunt (remember, "no other work"). Managed to burn through a stick and load it enough to be happy with the fuel system. But the chain was dry. "no other work", but i just had to put some chain oil in. So I took the oil cap off, it was full. But with red fluid grease:lol: So I expect I will end up with it back on the bench, but will he want to pay? Or will he take it away as it is and then complain to his friends that it has just been in for service?

Next up was a FS85 which would start but not rev up. Classic dirty carb. so an U/S clean and new diaphragms, but still no better. It was one of those nasty non adjustable carbs, so I fitted my test carb (the later adjustable type) and all was fine. Trouble is that now I dont have a test carb until another donor machine shows up.

Cooked the MS201T carb for 40 minutes at 50degrees in the U/S cleaner. Set the screws and refitted it . Tuned it up and its fine. The basic settings (without limiters) on this saw are 11/4 turns on the L screw and 2 turns on the H. This will get the saw running at round about 10000 revs. Then slowly screwing in the H will see the revs rise to 14000, but no higher due to the limited coil. Any further leaning out will not increase the revs but will kill the saw. I tend to take them to 14000, then back them off very slightly to around 13800 to be sure they are a little rich, rather than a little lean. You need a special Stihl tool to adjust the H screw, or a carefully ground small screwdriver.

Had a couple of scrap Mountfields in today. One has a Briggs Sprint engine with a crank so bent it wont go round! The other needed repair and service. Its a chinky side valve engine and needs a head gasket (as they do). "easily fixable" as they say on Ebay, which it is. But when we add the price of the repair to the service price its best part of £100, so he bought a new ALKO instead. A far better mower. So there are 2 good decks sitting outside waiting for the scrappy to call.

How did you mend it last time?

Also spent a while this morning quoting for 13 new Stihl machines. It seems the area was hit hard last night by some thieving scum. The phone was red hot this morning. Very sorry for the guys who lost their kit.

I spent too much of today on an Ms201T. Its nearly 2 years old and has until now been trouble free, far more reliable and consistant than the owners 200t's have ever been. But now it is playing up. It will not reach full revs, and will not hold a constant tune. it is the first time i have done any work to a 201T so I was keen to get stuck in. Had it been a 200T I would have had a known good carb on it in less than 5 minutes. This would have identified a carb fault or eliminated the carb, but in this case I do not have a good carb, so I re-kitted the original S188 carb and put it back on, but its still not right. So i got carried away and stripped it right down to check the exhaust (OK) and pressure/vac test, which was all ok. Piston good, So built it up again and will have to US clean the carb in the morning. I was impressed with the build quality compared with 200T. The plastic covers all fit well without twisting, the AV mounts are far superior and the inlet manifold is much better constructed, as is the impulse line. Much better condition after 2 years than any 200T I have ever seen. I just hope the carb cleans up OK or it might be a new one. Stihl have superceded this carb 4 times.

Oh, and an 8amp fuse should be sufficient to replace the fusible link. This MTD document may be of use to you http://service.mtdproducts.com/Training_Education/770-10578%20Must%20Have%20Book%203/SECTIONS/section_3.pdf

I must learn to count Mike! Firstly, scrub the fact that I put alternator in brackets after magneto. It has nothing to do with the alternator. The magneto refered to is the ignition module (coil) which is earthed out through the switch via the 'm' terminal to kill the engine. Secondly, I cannot remember the purpose of the 6th terminal. Test it with a multimeter to find at what key position it either opens or closes a circuit. Thirdly, this appears to be the same switch, but is fitted to a different MTD machine. On this machine the terminal in question is marked as 'vacant'. Sorry about the poor picture.

I must try harder I must try harder I must try harder I must try harder I must try harder......

I was breathing stale petrol fumes all day and my senses are numb. so i am a bit slow.

You said it first Dan. Post 13. Its all your fault.

Ooops, Sorry...

A 5 litre can of 2T Aspen retails at £18.98 Jon.

What a cracking good idea, old boy!

So they prefer you to use Motomix, their alkylate fuel, rather than petrol. No Motomix in the UK, so what can we do? mmmm...

Oh. must be true then.

Why would you want to put Stihl HP with Aspen Jon?

Pretty much the same then.

Good point.

I can, because I am an EX lifeboatman:biggrin: They can't sack me.

The bulb is in fact a purge bulb rather than a primer. Initially pushes air out when pushed, but when it reforms it creates a vacuum in the carb which sucks petrol up from the tank and through the carb to the bulb. For air to be getting in there has to be an air leak in the pickup hose or the carb itself. A trapped hose would stop the bulb reforming. Take it back under warranty

No, a very stupid man.

Hope the boat still starts:biggrin:

High octane fuels do not, as commonly believed, contain more energy. in fact it is the opposite. The octane rating is a measure of the fuels resistance to ignite. It is needed in high compression engines to prevent pre-ignition (pinking) where the high compression raises the temp and therfore the fuel burns to early in the cycle. So in fact, if you put it in a lower compression engine such as those we use in our trade it will result in late ignition and loss of power and also cooler running, which can cause extra carbon buildup. So its a total waste of money to use it and you will lose performance. The only benefit is that it has less ethanol , therefore absorbing less water and staying fresh longer.