Makita 6401

[Bigrod]

I just picked up a Makita 6401 and was wanting to change out the grey covers for black like I havve seen on some of the other Makita saw's. Does anyone know where I can get these black covers. Everywhere I looked all I have been able to find are the grey ones. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. I haven't gotten it out to make any cuts yet. Didn't come with a bar so having to wait on one to try the saw out. From what I read they are to be pretty good saws.

 

[Wood Doctor]

This One?

Here's your saw I believe:

I have one that lies dormant. Good spark, seems to have good compression, and will not start. Can't even get a pop. I've seen Sachs Dolmar equivalents that run well, but mine is a dud. I have four other saws about the same size, so I use them instead. However, like all saw owners, it irks me to have one on board that I've never even heard. :bang:

 

[MCW]

I just picked up a Makita 6401 and was wanting to change out the grey covers for black like I havve seen on some of the other Makita saw's. Does anyone know where I can get these black covers. Everywhere I looked all I have been able to find are the grey ones. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. I haven't gotten it out to make any cuts yet. Didn't come with a bar so having to wait on one to try the saw out. From what I read they are to be pretty good saws.

The black cover over the engine is actually a Dolmar part, not a Makita part despite being the same saw. The black cover around the filter comes with the HD filter kit. The HD Filter Kit is excellent compared to standard, especially in dirty or dusty conditions.
You can buy them here...

Top cover...

hood cpl., black ps-7900 (deco - [038118291] - $17.98

HD Filter Kit...

Heavy Duty Filter Kit for Dolmar PS-6400, PS-7300, PS-7900, PS-7310, PS-7910 - [957173400] - $69.95

Kyle from Edge And Engine is excellent.

 

[ncfarmboy]

I just picked up a Makita 6401 and was wanting to change out the grey covers for black like I havve seen on some of the other Makita saw's. Does anyone know where I can get these black covers. Everywhere I looked all I have been able to find are the grey ones. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. I haven't gotten it out to make any cuts yet. Didn't come with a bar so having to wait on one to try the saw out. From what I read they are to be pretty good saws.

I sanded the cyl. cover w/ 400 grit wet & dry and painted it black to match the HDAF kit.
Shep

 

[Warped5]

I just picked up a Makita 6401 and was wanting to change out the grey covers for black like I havve seen on some of the other Makita saw's. Does anyone know where I can get these black covers. Everywhere I looked all I have been able to find are the grey ones. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. I haven't gotten it out to make any cuts yet. Didn't come with a bar so having to wait on one to try the saw out. From what I read they are to be pretty good saws.

Very good saws, easy to work on and parts are not hard to get. I really like mine; like cutting with a Buick! The only negative thing I've ever heard is that there's no unlimited coil readily available. On the plus side, no need for a MM unless you have a cat.

Kyle from Edge And Engine is excellent.

Those folks are absolutely top notch! Prices are reasonable and shipping is quick.

 

[nstueve]

Very good saws, easy to work on and parts are not hard to get. I really like mine; like cutting with a Buick! The only negative thing I've ever heard is that there's no unlimited coil readily available. On the plus side, no need for a MM unless you have a cat.

x2 on ease of maintenence. Only thing is... I thought only the 6421's had cat mufflers???

Anyhow, the BB kit only took me 1hr to change out on mine. And that's with measuring out squish a couple times (with and without the base gasket). I decided to go without a base gasket and used yamabond. The big detractor is the limited coil that retards timing at 13500rpms. If you're going to run stock then you probably won't care or ever notice the difference. However, for those of us that modify our saws, retuning is a bigger PITA. Here is the thread for modding to unlimited http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/164924.htm

IF any of you 6401 owners have interest in a bolt on unlimited... give a shout out here. http://www.arboristsite.com/baileys/195572.htm

 

[MCW]

I have one that lies dormant. Good spark, seems to have good compression, and will not start. Can't even get a pop. I've seen Sachs Dolmar equivalents that run well, but mine is a dud. I have four other saws about the same size, so I use them instead. However, like all saw owners, it irks me to have one on board that I've never even heard. :bang:

Wanna sell it?

 

[Wood Doctor]

Probably But...

Wanna sell it?

... I want to try a few more tricks up my sleeve before giving up on it. Overall, its visible condition is still good (no rust or corrosion, housing cracks, etc.) and I doubt there's 100 hours on it. I like much of the engineering.

I'll take it the next nearby GTG and see what the rest of the "boys in the know" think.

 

[kevin j]

Krylon has spray paint designed for plastic lawn furniture. spray cans at the hardware store, $5 a piece.
I used a grey to spray the HD filter black covers to make it match the old Makita gray. (I wanted the makita colors, just prefer the sleeper look with the 79cc under the cover.)

It works ok, I used the Krylon plastic clear coat over it and seems pretty fuel resistant, but scratches easily. I don't think it melts into the base plastic as well as they say. Seems a bit brittle coating. I did fine sand and use silicone remover and some other cldeaners before spraying the gray.

 

[Bigrod]

Thanks MCW I purchased the cover and HD filter kit from Edgeandengine. Have to see how that filter kit works out. I have several saws with 20" bars will this be a good fit for this saw or should I go up to a 24-25" bar for it. I already have many 72DL chains that I can use with the 20".

 

[MCW]

Thanks MCW I purchased the cover and HD filter kit from Edgeandengine. Have to see how that filter kit works out. I have several saws with 20" bars will this be a good fit for this saw or should I go up to a 24-25" bar for it. I already have many 72DL chains that I can use with the 20".

It will run a 24" bar no worries. Not with as much authority as a 7900 but still pretty good.
Funnily enough the 25" bar description comes from Stihl. Their 84DL bar is called a 25" whereas every other manufacturer calls their 84DL bar a 24". That way Stihl owners feel tuffer from having an extra inch

 

[Wood Doctor]

It Runs Again!

I decided to revive this thread because Kenneth (Weekend Lumberjack) and I got my beat up saw going again with a new Big Bore cylinder and piston (54 mm). It took a little work and a couple of bowls of chilli to help out, but this saw now runs very nicely with a bunch of new power.

The NWP Cylinder Kit had a minor flaw: I had to tap the three holes in the cylinder head that are needed for the muffler mount screws. NWP drilled them out but forgot to tap the M5 metric threads. Simple for me because I have a metric tap and die set, but how many others probably will tear their hair out. One has to wonder how many hundreds of these NWP Cylinder kits are being sent out with unthreaded muffler mount holes.

All of this work will be on display at the Iowa GTG October 6 in Norwalk, IA (32" bar and all). This saw is my new beast. :msp_biggrin:

Weather looks nice. I"ll find some big Elm, buck it, and take a Pic.

 

[WKEND LUMBERJAK]

I decided to revive this thread because Kenneth (Weekend Lumberjack) and I got my beat up saw going again with a new Big Bore cylinder and piston (54 mm). It took a little work and a couple of bowls of chilli to help out, but this saw now runs very nicely with a bunch of new power.

The NWP Cylinder Kit had a minor flaw: I had to tap the three holes in the cylinder head that are needed for the muffler mount screws. NWP drilled them out but forgot to tap the M5 metric threads. Simple for me because I have a metric tap and die set, but how many others probably will tear their hair out. One has to wonder how many hundreds of these NWP Cylinder kits are being sent out with unthreaded muffler mount holes.

All of this work will be on display at the Iowa GTG October 6 in Norwalk, IA (32" bar and all). This saw is my new beast. :msp_biggrin:

Weather looks nice. I"ll find some big Elm, buck it, and take a Pic.

So have you got to put it in some wood yet?

 

[Wood Doctor]

So have you got to put it in some wood yet?

Yep, but the chain was a POS and threw powder, so I sharpened it tonight. Looks like I can make a new one with 104 drive links. Current chain has 105 (.063, .375) but there's lots of tension adjustment room. I think I'll try 104 DLs because evenly divisible by 4 means an equal number of cutters on both sides.

I raised the idle setting up a tad. High end throttle is on the money. Sounds like a mean horse with the muffler port bored out to 5/8". Lots of good breathing room. I also did a lot more cleaning. That thing was a tar baby and an ugly duckling but now its a ready to spread its wings and fly.

 

[SawTroll]

A 6400/6401 is in bad need of a 7900 top end, as it is too heavy for the original top end.

 

[nstueve]

Yep, but the chain was a POS and threw powder, so I sharpened it tonight. Looks like I can make a new one with 104 drive links. Current chain has 105 (.063, .375) but there's lots of tension adjustment room. I think I'll try 104 DLs because evenly divisible by 4 means an equal number of cutters on both sides.

I raised the idle setting up a tad. High end throttle is on the money. Sounds like a mean horse with the muffler port bored out to 5/8". Lots of good breathing room. I also did a lot more cleaning. That thing was a tar baby and an ugly duckling but now its a ready to spread its wings and fly.

Good to hear you got it fixed... there will be plenty of dolmar fans there. Andy, hedgerow, you and myself to name a few... I have a 24in total super bar on the 6401bbk right now and it screams through wood! nothing quite like a over powered saw on a little bar!!!

 

[SawTroll]

Yep, but the chain was a POS and threw powder, so I sharpened it tonight. Looks like I can make a new one with 104 drive links. Current chain has 105 (.063, .375) but there's lots of tension adjustment room. I think I'll try 104 DLs because evenly divisible by 4 means an equal number of cutters on both sides.

....

No chain really is .375, 3/8" chain really is .366 or .367, despite the 3/8" designation.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Great Advice

No chain really is .375, 3/8" chain really is .366 or .367, despite the 3/8" designation.

Thanks, to the Norseman. That explains a lot, believe it or not. Last year I was setting up a measuring jig for cutting chain using 0.375" for 3/8" pitch chain. The idea was to eliminate the need to count drive links.

However, comparing new chain to used was like night and day. I imagine that used chain might eventually stretch to 0.375", and perhaps if I had used 0.367" to set the lengths for new chain, the jig might have worked. However, I gave up on the notion because when the bars got long, error becomes substantial. If you are working with 100 drive links or more, the total error could run as much as 2" for chains with the same number of DLs.

So, I'll stick with 105 DLs for my new chain for this 32" bar. That still yields the same number of cutters on each side with only one skip. Then if I deciode to go with an 8-pin sprocket, I'll still have enough chain length.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Good to hear you got it fixed... there will be plenty of dolmar fans there. Andy, hedgerow, you and myself to name a few... I have a 24" total super bar on the 6401bbk right now and it screams through wood! nothing quite like a over powered saw on a little bar!!!

The 24" does seem ideal for this saw now. The original owner put a 32" bar on it before he blew the engine. I won't use this bar very much, so I'm shopping for a shorter one for most of my work. I might even drop down to a 20" to create a "hot" saw like Kenneth's.

I note that this Big Bore 54mm cylinder might goose this thing up to give it about the same poop as a Stihl MS 650 or the older 066. There might be a few of those around at the Norwalk IA GTG.

 

[ancy]

I will have my 7901 and my old 066RL there!