Trailoftears

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I couldnt possibly comment on Husky saws due to my complete ignorance and the fear of getting battered! But they have gone into my little black book due to their insistence on fitting b&s 'engines' to their mowers-never again.Just for balance,viking aka Stihl,made the same horrific error in fitting the same junky engines onto their range of 'high end' domestic mowers-one can only roll around laughing as youngsters are prone to say.

I've rather set my heart on an ms241 as a good all-rounder to keep in my works vehicle for the summer season.Most of my chainsaw work is Oct-March really. But I cant justify paying close to ms261 money for a new one tbh-its just overpriced imo. I've missed out on one or 2 tidy ones on ebay due to the vagaries of auctions. So, I've come across a ms240 on a 2nd hand machinery dealer described as privately owned/well maintained for £295+vat-so £350 odd,which is fine by me.Just unsure when the 240 turned into the 241? I'm guessing this item is pre 2010,which is fine,also assuming I'd get rubber rather than spring-based av system.Just cosmetically speaking, I'm not mad on the look of the air filter shroud catch which looks just like the 170/180 setup.Any thoughts opinions would be welcome.

Likewise, I've been using and (occasionally) abusing stihl pro stuff for 40+ Years,but generally speaking,try to look after them.But the failure of magnesium parts and its covering is definitely a thing-I wasn't intimating the structures delaminate entirely-its just a suprisingly poor bond for machines that will live their lives in pretty hostile environments/circumstances it seems to me.

Its odd in that,its not due generally to operater abuse as far as I can see,it just seems to be a covering that doesn't really seem to bond that well.Leaving aside petrol/oil spills-could there be some oxidizing occurring between the metal and the outer coating?

Interesting,whatever the coating-it does seem to fail/unbind/chip all too easily.

Agreed,l&s are a valuable resource.Dimly aware of the German site you mention and they seem good,but unsure of the brexit 'dividend' re: import taxes/duty tho?

Yep,its a saw worth cherising and its replacement ms 362? Would be what?upper £800's territory.Buy the best bits poss-meteor?Hyway stuff seems to have poor reviews.I sold my somewhat tatty looking but completely original/ working perfectly 038 a month odd ago for £275 via ebay and felt like I was giving it away!

Given how stihl pro chainsaws seem to suffer paint loss/chipping q.easily on the magnesium parts over time-inner/outer clutch covers/machine base areas etc.Anyone/stihl dealers know whether stihl do a colour match aerosol available to purchase and have the paint code/part no?Apart from keeping an older stihl pro saw looking tidy,it would be handy to have to jolly up a saw for resale.

This sort of thing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175777995611?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=mAhs6pLxQsi&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ddOCF9S7QRK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The bearing seating looks decent to me.As you mention,the centering of the crankshaft is critical,and may be the culprit here?I have seen a stihl wooden block part (not expensive) to ensure the crankshaft is perfectly positioned.Basically a piece of wood with an inner split.

I can only refer you to donny walkers series of excellent vids on YouTube re:tips and tricks/tools with assembly/case splitting/bearing seatings etc.Starts to look a v.expensive rebuild job now sadly.Unless you can find a decent for spares/repair saw on Ebay?Even then shop wisely!

Jeez-those photos are pretty ugly.I do know that finding woodchip on the interior face is entirely normal-I mean the interior external face of the air filter if that makes sense!?The photo's do seem to suggest free-floating metal elements in there.What a shame,hope its viable to fix,should be loads of piston/combo's out there.Assuming yours is the standard 038 av @61cc's you might struggle to find the original 48mm setup.But should be loads of 50mm kits which should be a straight swap.Essentially then you're turning the 038 into a 038 super,so an upgrade you might say.

Deepest apologies to the o.p. and the mods too! But re: Bill Tilman quotes-which I just cant resist.(He visited and shared in many cultures) The wise man sits over the hole in his carpet.A wife's advice is often bad-the husband who ignores it is obviously mad.The sight of a pony makes the walker instantly lame.The camel driver has his thoughts-the camel has his.The well known Mountaineers foot syndrome (the inability to put one foot in front of another at extreme altitude).Again, apologies to all!

I feel the o.p.pain.And these old 'vintage' saws were built so well,its unlucky to have an issue like this.Obviously people like spud etc know more than I ever shall.But again what a futhermucker when these small machines let you down.I like the quote from the late/great Bill Tilman-possibly the finest explorer/mountaineer/yachtsmen this Isle has ever produced. in one of his many expeditions to the Himalaya, when he expressed his exasperation to the Indian driver of the ancient truck that had just broken down for the umpteenth time with all his gear on board.The driver looked at him almost pityingly and pointed out "but Sahib,it is but a machine",we should perhaps take that deeply philosophical point on board!

Trying to stay on topic 😉,he says being possibly the worst offender-and leaving cats alone-for now.As I was taught/understand it.Leaf mold is virtually nutrient-free.BUT,when it's 'right' and resembles friable peat is actually the perfect sowing compost-its as near as dammit sterile/weed-free.Also,in the literal sense,if you have the aged heaps-it is truly free!Ok,given its lack of nutrients-you need to move your germinated plants out reasonably quickly.But frankly,given the appalling 'quality' of some of the peat free composts on the market-at least you are getting a consistent medium-I wish I could say the same about some of the products being passed off as 'compost' in garden centres!As to home produced compost heaps-again,pretty low in nutrients and I wouldn't use it in say,seed composts.But IF its been processed/cooked properly it should be fine as a surface/dig in border mulch.The Gold standard of course is premium well-rotted f.y.m.Say aged/covered product from horses bedded with straw-hemp is ok but inferior to straw.Apparently,even the finest f.y.m. is suprisingly nutrient poor.Say,1.1.2. at best.BUT,the value lies in the fact its nutrient value is released slowly-almost the perfect match for most veg/plants ideal scenario.So unlike flinging growmore/chem.fertilisers about you are feeding plants gently and consistently over a growing season-this avoids the sudden quick fix of feed that molluscs/pests absolutely adore,also soft wet growth is more susceptible to even slightly lower overnight temps too.

Soo irritating with these 'simple' engines when all should be well-but it aint!Tried pouring a small amount of proper fuel mix directly into the chamber via plug hole 25/35ml odd?and pulling over with plug swiftly placed back in?If it will fire up briefly at least it then points to fuel starvation? Other than that is the attatched choke actuating gubbins attached to inner air filter body doing is job when using choke position on switch?

Another thought-and this has happened to me many,many times-usually with engines working hot and hard-with some hours on them.Free floating carbon from the piston top finds the spark plug gap and you're on stop.By the time you've taken the plug out-all seems well-good spark- carbon particle has dropped away from plug.I usually turn m/c upside down and try to pump carbon out of spark plug hole then fit new plug.If no new plug re-gap the old plug as much as you can- that makes it harder for the carbon bit to kill the electrode gap.

The sudden death syndrome does sound electrical related.coil/plug/timing etc.Never overlook the obvious tho-new plug would be my first step-its cheap,easy and one box ticked!

Another random comment!rip in the intake boot,not that likely tho.Still the rubbers on saws like this are what?35 years old and more.

Probably no help tbh.But when you take the back cowl/cover off to gain access to the a.filter.I seem to remember a translucent vertical fuel tube on the left as viewed from the back handle-old fashioned tank vent?Is that ok/clogged/disconnected or summat praps 🤔

Thats a really good summation of the difference 👍

Cheers,just idle curiousity tbh.

The one positive thing I would say about cats,is just occasionally you come across an expert mole catcher-they have the guile and patience it seems.On another note-what gives with moles?NOTHING eats them-the cats wont,nothing picks them up when I toss them into neighbouring fields or place them prominently on Farm posts,so that rules out birds/foxes etc Their b.o. presumably makes mine seem a trifling issue 😁

My Absolute nirvana in an ideal World-3 6ft deep square holes dug into the ground in reasonably close proximity,all with a shallow approach ramp for easy filling/retrieval.1 for compost/1 for f.y.m./1 for leaves,a bloke can dream....