ms250 rescue effort -- newbie

[misstobers]

A friend (very non-technically inclined fellow) asked me what chain saw to buy. I told him a Stihl ms250. He went to the dealer: got chaps, gas can, saw ... the whole works. About 6 trees into it he decides to cut up a creosote laden telephone pole in his yard. Not sure what happened next, but pretty soon the saw was smoking like crazy and wouldn't run. Brought it to the dealer. They said it was "toast." And, since it was "user error," they refused to honor the warranty. I saw him at church today; he saw he just put it in his trash can. What?? I went and got it from him. Looks brand new. Here's all I know: 1. it isn't locked up. 2. if you pull on the rope it will come an inch or two, then fight back, then come a little more. It would break your arm if you tried to pull it enough to start it. 3. if you remove the spark plug, the rope pulls fine/cylinder moves fine. 4. I could only get 30 psi on my compression gauge (but I can't reconcile this with #2). 5. I removed the muffler -- looks good to me (but I'm not sure what I'm looking for). I could just start taking it apart, but I thought I'd ask for wisdom here first. Thank you. Rick

 

[Oleo-Mac 999]

If you are within the warranty period, the seller will have to forcibly activate the warranty. If the seller refuses, you can make a claim for Stihl in Germany and refer to the disservice and the bad name that the seller is going to the Stihl brand.
Sellers are not just to sell new machines, serve to activate the guarantee where appropriate.

 

[Rockjock]

If you are within the warranty period, the seller will have to forcibly activate the warranty. If the seller refuses, you can make a claim for Stihl in Germany and refer to the disservice and the bad name that the seller is going to the Stihl brand.
Sellers are not just to sell new machines, serve to activate the guarantee where appropriate.

Without knowing what s the matter with the machine it is not easy to comment. As a dealer we often see people bringing back saws that they have " blown up " and demanding warranty. OP find out what the dealer said, details can make the difference. IF the saw was run to the point where the chain was so dull it did not offer any load this can toast a saw.
30 PSI is extremely low. I would hazard a guess that the piston is scored ( photos would help )

Oleo-Mac 999 the warranty does not cover operator error. IF what I outlined above is true then the customer is just going to have to get another saw. At the very best there might be a chance for a goodwill repair. Parts covered labor of of his pocket. More details are needed.

 

[Oleo-Mac 999]

Exactly, the guarantee only covers manufacturing defects.
I do not believe that a person at the end of a half-dozen hours can kill a new chain saw! Well, if so, the best thing is to not move in any other chainsaw. But I do not believe this hypothesis.

 

[Rockjock]

Exactly, the guarantee only covers manufacturing defects.
I do not believe that a person at the end of a half-dozen hours can kill a new chain saw! Well, if so, the best thing is to not move in any other chainsaw. But I do not believe this hypothesis.

A person can kill a chainsaw in far far less than that. As I said photos would tell us a great deal in this case.

 

[Oleo-Mac 999]

 

[pioneerguy600]

The most often seen problems with these saws smoking when running is the plastic melting around the clutch side caused by overheating the clutch. Usually caused by running the saw with the brake set or just overloading the clutch causing it to slip creating a lot of heat. If the OP can pull off the bar and chain, have a look behind it.

 

[Stihlofadeal64]

The most often seen problems problems with these saws smoking when running is the plastic melting around the clutch side caused by overheating the clutch. Usually caused by running the saw with the brake set or just overloading the clutch causing it to slip creating a lot of heat. If the OP can pull off the bar and chain, have a look behind it.

+1 for me. I've seen scores of them this way.

 

[misstobers]

+1 for me. I've seen scores of them this way.

Pulled the bar. Clearly this has gotten very hot. I'm guessing it ran with the brake on.

 

[Stihlbillie]

Holy sheit, gotta lil toasty

 

[deezlfan]

Expensive lession. Can't blame that on the saw or an incooperative dealer. Thank goodness the dealer at least took the time to sell the personal protection gear with the saw..... it could have gotten even uglier with an inexperianced operator like your friend.

Too bad you suggested a saw that was on the higher end of the value scale. Darned if you do and darned if you don't, I suppose. You made a suggestion that most people here would have, get a saw that will last the average homeowner a lot of years, not knowing that he didn't really know how the saw functioned. The poor guy could have destroyed an El' Cheapo Chinese clone for much less money. They say that no good deed goes unpunished, hopefully your friend doesn't hold your advice against you.

 

[Oleo-Mac 999]

Really! how a person can murder a machine like this? http://s682.photobucket.com/user/francisco-069/media/Novos smilies/naodigas.gif.html

 

[Franny K]

If you (Original poster) are asking for wisdom here based on what is in post 1 best I can come up with is as follows.

I can not think of a scenario where it will not pull over with the spark plug in but will pull over with a compression gauge. "(but I can't reconcile this with #2)" Maybe a foreign object or part of an original piece came out in the interim.

Did 6 trees then died on the phone pole. "pretty soon the saw was smoking like crazy and wouldn't run."

Any special reason you recommended the 250 over the 251?

I am guessing the owner does not really care about the $ as if it really looks new folks part them out on ebay.

 

[logeeland]

I am working on one right now that toasted the plastic behind the clutch. It is salvageable. But, replace the oil pump gear with the finger on it, sand down the melted plastic and get a new clutch. All parts are cheap. I am sure the crap from the pole got into the clutch and drive side.

 

[smokey7]

I got one here I redid with duraglass. It's been good for a couple years. What a pain in the but with all of the plastic tho. I wonder how someone can run em with the brake on? Also they know to fill the gas but that other hole is a mystery.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

These are like other homeowner type saws, too much plastic to be using constantly in big wood. These saws are great for the occasional limb in the yard type stuff though. Expensive way to remove one limb or two though. A used 346XP or 353 for the same price might be the way to go but he'd probably find a way to tear them up too.

 

[pioneerguy600]

I have seen many that were melted like this saw, they didn`t have the brake engaged but they were run with a dull chain and the clutch slipped enough to cause the clutch to get really hot and melt the plastic behind it. Take the brake band out and look for hot spots where the band rubbed on the clutch shoes. Either way there has been a lot of heat created in that area.