Muddy42

Sounds in a lot worse condition than mine! I guess I am fine spending £50 a year on an old mower (and lots of my 'free' repair hours) on it. If anything happened to the engine or transmission, it would also probably be scrap as these parts are no longer available.

Yes 44mm. I don't have a compression tester. So I'll just see if it starts.

I have a 1994 14hp Bolens ride on mower (I think technically it’s a ride on tractor) with a heavy duty mulching deck. I don’t use it the whole time, but its good as a backup and for large areas of long grass that only need cutting twice a year. The machine is an absolute beast – I’ve given it a few hits on stumps and lumpy ground but it seems to shrug these off pretty easily. The deck is seriously heavy and robust. So far I have only replaced all the minor things - drive belt, timing belt, solenoid, battery etc.. I service it and replace the oil and oil filter every year. The engine and transmission seem fine. However the deck is beginning to rust in places and needs welding and the spindle bearings need overhauling and replacing. I weld and can do the work myself for about £50 in materials. I suppose even if the deck gets really bad I could probably find a second hand one and adapt the brackets to fit with the welder. I am keen to keep it going but need some encouragement. What are the major items that generally cause a ride-on to get scrapped?

I wasn't thinking properly! I'm just waiting for a new muffler to arrive and then we'll see if it fires up. Compression doesn't feel amazing (by hand on the starter cord) with the new piston, but I'm hoping that's just excess oil or lack of a break in period.

Sorry ignore me! The saw holds pressure and vacuum when sealed behind the carb with a piece of rubber.

i agree, 120 cc is even better! But what matters for the OP is simply that the required horse power is way beyond electric.

@openspaceman @Stubby I have rebuilt the top end but am now having issues with air leaks! Specifically the diagonal carburettor screw that holds the throttle and butterfly in. I have taken the whole screw out and cleaned it, but with no improvement. See video below. Is there a way to fix this? IMG_4736.mov

No. For a 20 inch plank, you need approx a 28 inch bar (to accommodate the mill and allow for corners and absolute minimum 70cc chainsaw, ideally more. There is no electric corded equivalent.

Nice work. I have a bloke, forwarder and a processor coming in a few weeks to help do mine. A few days of hard work and then the eco angus will have enough food for the winter. I stack in grain sacks in a big open sided shed. I've found that you as long as the wood is well seasoned you can bring it in wet in May and it'll be dry (about 15%) by the winter. We used to mess around manually with a tractor, trailer, chainsaw and a stone shed, but it took too long and the logs never dried properly.

I agree the 24 inch bar may be a stretch. If you do use it, keep the chain sharp, go slow and skip chain might help - all to avoid straining the saw.

Thank you. I hadn't noticed the silicone sleeve until now. I thought it was just part of the cylinder. Mine actually seems sound, but I will investigate sealing it or replacing it with a pipe that has a slightly narrower bore.

Old 1980s Husqvarna 50 Rancher (with the white top) Whilst I am waiting for the replacement piston to arrive, I have stripped the saw back, cleaned and then reassembled to pressure/vacuum test. I ended up having to submerge the saw in a bucket of water to diagnose the exact location of an air leak. The crank seals are good but air is escaping where this plastic impulse line pokes into the cylinder (see photo highlighted in red). To be clear this is the original MAHLE OEM cylinder and plastic intake partition. The plastic is a bit discoloured but seems sound, I think air is simply escaping round the side where it meets the cylinder. Is there some kind of liquid rubber sealant that I should use here to fix this? There was some rubber goo on here and the rubber intake boot when I took them apart. Thanks

This question doesn't really make sense. If by the "owner" you mean someone owns 100% of the business, they have the choice to either keep cash in the business, take it as dividends or pay out as salary. Its also currently very efficient to grow and sell a business via entrepreneurs relief. It all depends on the best tax treatment.

Thanks. That repair is Interesting, maybe one could braze in a new piece of metal? Yes I didn’t share a photo of the piston. Its horrible! Heavy scoring, skirt wear, a chip and too much movement in the cylinder. Thanks again all. I have some work to do which may take a few weeks. I will post an update.

Thanks. Yes, the cylinder looks like it has marks, but I cant feel anything with my fingers, so I was happy with it. I was concerned about the attachment point for the muffler giving way, but I like the idea of making an aluminium plug insert.

Thanks @openspaceman @Stubby - exhaust side (after polishing a bit) - intake side - damage to muffler

Another photo

So this has happened, see attached picture. The saw is a 1980s Husqvarna rancher 50 (the one with the white top). It has been in the family since new and so has a certain sentimental value. It has been serviced regularly (until I took possession of it!) and has never really given any bother. It had adequate compression and seemed to run fine, even though the piston looked pretty bad. I know that the fuel line, carb kit, AV, kill switch and fuel filter have been replaced at some point. The picture shows that the rear of the muffler has given way, allowing the internal muffler strut to poke out of the muffler and wear into the cylinder to leave very little metal holding the muffler on. Also some exhaust gasses must have also been escaping. The muffler, piston and ring definitely need replacing. The inside of the cylinder could be cleaned up, but I think the damage to the outside of the cylinder means I need a new one of those as well? I have identified aftermarket ebay Chinese muffler and P&C kit (45mm piston) for £45. I haven't used Chinese parts before and can't seem to find anything suitable from the more reputable aftermarket suppliers - meteor etc. Thoughts?

I don't think the OP has bought any parts yet? Just time spent.

OP - you are right, people often quote the rules for petrol. Diesel being less flammable is more lax I believe. I can't find the rules online though!

Its best to approach this systematically. Please think hard about splitting the crankcase and eliminate all other problems first. It can be very hard to seal the bottom end properly and shouldn't really be necessary unless you have an air leak in the seals or some other issue down there. Pressure and vac test first.

Awesome. If you get your money back, you have a free saw! Regarding compression, you can get a pretty good idea from if you hold the saw by the pull cord. No compression it will drop quickly, enough compression it will hold or drop very slowly. Please get that decomp valve plugged for £2 so you can eliminate that as an issue: Decompression Plug for Stihl MS240 MS360 Chainsaws - Replaces 1122 025 2200 | L&S Engineers WWW.LSENGINEERS.CO.UK Decompression Plug for Stihl MS240, MS230, MS360 Chainsaws Quality Non Genuine Part Replaces OEM: 1122 025 2200

Yes I was referring to the fact that it looked like the flywheel had been rubbing on the crankseal. I am no expert but if that happens too much it could cause the seal to fail and an air leak in the crankcase. To test that you need to do a vacuum/pressure test. This is different from a compression test, which is what I think you have performed? Ideally I'd want to do both. Plenty of help available on youtube. - A vacuum pressure test tests the integrity of the whole crankcase, after blocking the exhaust and intake ports. If its letting in/out air, the tuning will be variable and you could cause the saw to run lean and hot. - A compression test, checks how much compression is generated, only in the smaller space above the piston. Yes 60 psi isn't enough compression. Have you ruled out the decomp valve and spark plug hole? Try pumping air into one of these and apply soapy water around the other, bubbles will form if there is an issue. As said before, the decomp valve can be stripped, cleaned and reapplied with grease. But also plugged with a blank nut. Did the piston and rings fit snuggly into the cylinder? The rings should have some springiness to them. Were there any marks or roughness on the cylinder or piston? I guess there could be a fundamental issue with the cylinder - the transfer ports in the wrong location etc.

I agree, the MS 360 writing looks totally wrong. I guess you now have to decide whether to give up, persevere with the diagnostics or even spend money on the thing. As a separate point, you can buy a small bolt to replace the decomp valve fairly cheaply. This bolt is quite useful to have because you can put it on any stihl to quickly diagnose issues with the valve (or while you order a replacement). I'd get the cylinder back on, pressure and vac test. I don't like the look of that seal, has it been rubbing on the flywheel? Assuming that's OK focus on getting the flywheel fitting properly with the right timing. Quality of spark/timing and flywheels are not my special subject (!) so I have a friend who looks at these aspects for me!

Wiggly bridge. 10ft by 7 inches thick. Made with the Alaskan chainsaw mill and Stihl 088. The oak beam that it came from was only just wide/straight enough to make this beam, so it took a fair amount of preparation - measuring and securing the ladder in exactly the right place. I made it to 12 ft and then chose the best bit. I think I have reached the maximum weight and length of timber that can be fitted in an estate family car (boot open/short distance on small roads). Having a loader is hugely helpful. At the other end we heaved the bridge into position with winches, leavers and quad/trailer. We still have some building up of the path to do either side of the bridge.