New MS 180 ran good for 5 minutes

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It is very unfortunate that you happened to get a saw with a problem - I am sure that you, the dealer, and Stihl didn't want this to happen. I think that it is very good that it happened at a dealer - if you allow them to repair the saw or replace it with a new one under the proper warranty process everyone should come out a winner. Both the dealer and Stihl are in business to make happy consumers/customers.....they are not in business just to aggravate the people that buy their products. I would not feel anywhere near as safe if I had bought the saw on the internet or at a Big Box Store - and when given a chance I am reasonably sure they will do what it takes to retain a satisfied customer.

I am often surprised how quickly poeple can get upset on this site and get mad about issues. The saw was purchased on Saturday morning, the failure occurred in the afternoon and was first posted on this site on Saturday night, and the dealer has no knowledge of the problem until Monday morning when they open. Unless there is some immediate need for the saw (limb on house, saw is used professionally, etc.) I think the dealer deserves a reasonable amount of time to make the repairs or replacement. They attempted to repair it while the owner waited without success.....and if they can't repair it quickly.....then I think they should replace it with a new one. If the dealer isn't responsive and doesn't work with the customer then maybe it is time to find another dealer or saw manufacturuer - but I am not yet of the opinion that is necessary yet.

I have bought 5 new still saws for myself and others in my family over the last 10 years and everyone of the saws have peformed exactly as they are supposed to.......and that is how Stihl has obtained a good reputation. I bought a MS180 for my uncle about 6 months ago and it is working fine and he is happy with it and I am sure that when this one runs properly you will be happy as well. The local dealer for Stihl is very professional here and would repair/replace the saw as needed - there would be no reason to expect any difficulties in having Stihl or the dealer stand behind their product.

Hope to hear about this happy ending soon.......
 
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Slamm said:
Red, will be on here with the exact answer to your question. He held a Sthil once. His valuable knowledge will be here shortly, just hold on for a second........................
Click to expand...

LOL, you beat me to it........

Just ask Red: Its a POS, get your money back & go to Wal Mart & get a wild thing & dont look back.

Nevermind the fact that Stihl makes the #1 saw in the world.

Just make sure that when you get the wild thing that the chain is on the right way & when it gets dull, just take it back & ask for a new saw....

Im sure your saw will be fine. I have never bought a new Stihl, but I own a 026 pro & a MS 460 & I can tell you that my local dealer is top notch.

Ironicly I am thinking about the 180 myself.

Just give it some time & Im sure it will be OK
 
I just picked it up and they claim it was the adjustment screw on the carb. Personally I think it may have been a kinked fuel line. The first thing the guy tried this morning was to turn the adjustment screw and then check the fuel line for kinks. He told me when I picked it up that they must have changed from a right-hand thread to a left-hand thread because he was turning backwards. From the looks of his jittery hands I'd say his mechanic was hungover. Does anyone know if the screw direction has been changed recently? I'm not sure what to make of all this, I hope they told me everything. Does any of this sound reasonable? I'm going to run a couple tanks of gas through it today if I can and see what happens. I will say this is the most disappointing Stihl purchase I've made so far. If the thing runs ok then so be it, I hope it was glitch. I've owned an 028WB(still own that one), an MS 250, a 046 Magnum and none of them have ever exhibited anything like this.

oneoldbanjo said: "I am often surprised how quickly poeple can get upset on this site and get mad about issues. The saw was purchased on Saturday morning, the failure occurred in the afternoon and was first posted on this site on Saturday night, and the dealer has no knowledge of the problem until Monday morning when they open."


You make it sound as if I were jumping the gun and going for the dealers throat. I came here for insight on what the problem might be so I would be better informed when I got to the dealer this morning, nothing more, nothing less.
 
Gratefull11....Glad it worked out and hopefully the dealer still has your confidence. When I read that you had bought 4 saws from them I felt that they would not want to lose your business. I am sorry that my post/reply read like I was directing negative comments about your relationship with the dealer where you got the saw - that was not my intent. I guess that is part of the danger in sending emails and posting...it is very easy to write something that is read in a way it was not intended. Nobody in this thread said anything bad about the dealers or manufactururers........and most of the comments were to take the saw back and let them do the warranty work....no dealer bashing on this post.

I guess some of the other threads have made me jumpy and I was defending the dealer even before the negative comments were posted. I have read lots of threads where the dealer is never given an opportunity to fix the situation or defend themselves when they get bad press on this site. In one thread a fellow had his saw for 5 years and said that it never ran right (I will try and find that thread and post a link). The dealer was never given a chance to make the saw right and now is getting bad press about it five years later.

Sorry if "I" jumped the gun.....on defending the dealer.
 
Grateful11 said:
I just picked it up and they claim it was the adjustment screw on the carb. Personally I think it may have been a kinked fuel line. The first thing the guy tried this morning was to turn the adjustment screw and then check the fuel line for kinks. He told me when I picked it up that they must have changed from a right-hand thread to a left-hand thread because he was turning backwards. .
Click to expand...

I'm not going to say the tech was BSing you, but unless your 180 has a different carb then mine (C1Q-S57A) it's a fixed jet carb with only a LA (idle) adjustment. I'm having a hard time understanding how the LA could affect WOT performance.

Maybe Lake or one of the other guys that are experts will jump in....
 
Log Splitter said:
I'm not going to say the tech was BSing you, but unless your 180 has a different carb then mine (C1Q-S57A) it's a fixed jet carb with only a LA (idle) adjustment. I'm having a hard time understanding how the LA could affect WOT performance.

Maybe Lake or one of the other guys that are experts will jump in....
Click to expand...

Then again, today is...

MONDAY
 
Grateful11 said:
I just picked it up and they claim it was the adjustment screw on the carb. Personally I think it may have been a kinked fuel line. The first thing the guy tried this morning was to turn the adjustment screw and then check the fuel line for kinks. He told me when I picked it up that they must have changed from a right-hand thread to a left-hand thread because he was turning backwards. From the looks of his jittery hands I'd say his mechanic was hungover. Does anyone know if the screw direction has been changed recently? I'm not sure what to make of all this, I hope they told me everything. Does any of this sound reasonable?
Click to expand...

A kinked fuel line sounds like a likely scenario. However the BS about the carb adjustment screws make no sense. The only adjustment is LA and CW = faster idle (at least on all my Stihls). And how that effects WOT performance is beyond me.

Give it a good workout and let's hope is was something simple.

I had a similar issue with my Echo powerhead. It came from the factory with the fuel filter loose in the gas tank. When I refueled it for the first time there must of been a fragment of grass that got in the fuel line and caused it to run way lean. (I didn't even look inside the tank or notice the loose filter). I took it to the dealer and they fixed it quickly.
 
Well things are much better! I managed to find time to run 2 tanks of fuel
through it and I must say I'm impressed with the little saw. I'm cutting up a
white and red oak right and and that little narrow chain zips right through. I
think y'all are right it was just the kinked fuel and probably nothing to do with
the adjustment screw.

I want to thank everyone for the help and insight on this problem. I'm
going to use it some more this week if possible, icy weather is suppose to be
moving in midweek.

This afternoon's production! I cut up at least twice that amount, I was only
out there for maybe an hour and a half.

View attachment 62838

View attachment 62839

oneoldbanjo: Don't sweat it. It's just been one those days where I could have
read anything into anything. Between having to get rid of 8 head of cattle
when we really didn't want to and everything else that was happening around
here this past 3 days, I'm glad to see this evening come.
 
Good deal, Greatful11. I'm sure you'll like that 180, it gets high marks from a lot of us here.

Of course, hang around with this crowd and you'll decide you need about 5 more saws to keep that firewood rack filled.
 
The "idle speed" adjustment screw on the MS180 is a air-bypass screw that affects the L mixture. It's not the conventional LA; it has a left hand thread and has been that way for years.

That however had nothing to go with your machine not getting gas at the high end.

My opinion - twisted fuel line in the tank... they dislodged it while looking at it.
 
Log Splitter said:
Good deal, Greatful11. I'm sure you'll like that
180, it gets high marks from a lot of us here.

Of course, hang around with this crowd and you'll decide you need about 5
more saws to keep that firewood rack filled.
Click to expand...

Thanks Lakeside53 I'm not sure what's going on with this dealer right now. The shop floor was
nearly empty and the everyone seemed skidish. Maybe he's getting ready to go out who
knows. There's lots of other dealers nearby but I've been dealing with this one so long I just
automatically went to him.

Log Splitter: I know what you mean about saws. Over the years I've owned an 028WB, a Husky
55, a Husky 371XP, a Stihl 046 Magnum and a Stihl MS 250. Both of the
Husky's, some other old saws and blowers were stolen when someone broke into
my garage. With my bad back I'm going to have to stick to the smaller stuff
from now on.
 
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Log Splitter said:
The MS180 is a fine saw for the purpose it is intended. You'll like it a lot once it runs.
Click to expand...


This must be the most frequently used phrase within the Stihl maffia for defending the more plastic saws of the Stihl product Range ;)

This makes me think of a Stihl maffia manual:

An infidel is bashing a Stihl consumer saw:
Reply with: "The MS XXX is a fine saw for it's intended purpose"

Btw, I have a fairly new MS170 and the thing is still running ok. It's good for clearing up in the garden (my garden is 4 acres, so quite much work every year). But I would easily trade it for a MS200 or 339XP ;)
 
peter399 said:
This must be the most frequently used phrase within the Stihl maffia for defending the more plastic saws of the Stihl product Range ;)

This makes me think of a Stihl maffia manual:

An infidel is bashing a Stihl consumer saw:
Reply with: "The MS XXX is a fine saw for it's intended purpose"

Btw, I have a fairly new MS170 and the thing is still running ok. It's good for clearing up in the garden (my garden is 4 acres, so quite much work every year). But I would easily trade it for a MS200 or 339XP ;)
Click to expand...

Just for the record, Peter, I'm not part of the Stihl mafia. I have a good dealer who happens to sell Stihl. So all my newer saws are Stihls. I try to post opinions only on saws I've owned, so you'll see me jump in with opinions on my Stihl models, and I'll talk about my old Mac 610 and older Poulans (especially my 3450 which I like) that I run as well.

Speaking of plastic, you only have to run the Mac 610 to appreciate the plastic on any of the modern saws. All that metal gets heavy in a hurry.

Glad to see you own a 170, and the fact you'd let it go for a MS 200 or 339XP shows good taste in saws. But I'll bet price was a factor when you bought the 170, and I see you agree it is a good saw when used for the purpose it is intended. :)
 
Glad to hear that everything got resolved and your satisfied with the saw. Nice to see green grass in your picture....I won't be seeing that around here for quite some time.
 
Log Splitter said:
Glad to see you own a 170, and the fact you'd let it go for a MS 200 or 339XP shows good taste in saws. But I'll bet price was a factor when you bought the 170, and I see you agree it is a good saw when used for the purpose it is intended. :)
Click to expand...

In fact I got it from a neighbour brand new since he thought it was too small for his needs. He changed to a MS230 and gave us this one. If I would have bought a new small saw it would probably be a 339XP because of the 0,325". It looks ugly as h**l but what the heck.
 
peter399 said:
In fact I got it from a neighbour brand new since he thought it was too small for his needs. He changed to a MS230 and gave us this one. If I would have bought a new small saw it would probably be a 339XP because of the 0,325". It looks ugly as h**l but what the heck.
Click to expand...
Thats one statement I can agree with you on ;).
 

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