Pretty disappointed with this Stihl

[jaya]

i think the gazillion 350 saws that husky either repaired or replaced is proof that is not a maintence issue,, 1st husky said change the coil, then leave out the ex. gasket, then do both, replace the p & c, , buy the new 3 bolt muffler and change the p & c, leave out the gasket again, after 900 dollars in warranty repair ,they should have just replaced the saw, nothing personal sawtroll, i think you should go back to collecting information, on something you know a little more about like what size springs go in a La-Z-Boy

 

[jaya]

The ones with or without A/V? And how does the vibration at the handle relate to the vibration at the muffler on a saw with A/V?

there just shouldnt be that much vibration period, can you imagine if cars vibrated like that, whether it be felt in the wheel,engine,anywhere it will cause a problem, these companies have been building saws for years, they cant figure out vibration?
ever go to a husky service school or update, they try to sell the product rather than educate their service techs, im husky certified, what a waste of time that was.however i do appreciate the fact they breakdown so much, to put food on the table for my family, so its not all bad:msp_biggrin::msp_biggrin::msp_biggrin:

 

[jaya]

Would checking and tightening the bolts after every 20 minutes of cutting be considered proper maintenance?

these saws were marketed towards the homeowner...

How much maintenance does the howmowner normally do on there own?

The MS250 is of equal quality build wise (wether or not you want to believe that is of no concern to me) and they hardly ever need mufflers replaced, and or intakes fixed....

i think after each cut would be proper maintence to avoid the muffler falling off and burning through the crankcase, then have the customer come into your shop and claim it has an oil leak, its much easier to just sell them a STIHL at that point:stupid:

 

[Chris-PA]

there just shouldnt be that much vibration period, can you imagine if cars vibrated like that, whether it be felt in the wheel,engine,anywhere it will cause a problem, these companies have been building saws for years, they cant figure out vibration?
ever go to a husky service school or update, they try to sell the product rather than educate their service techs, im husky certified, what a waste of time that was.however i do appreciate the fact they breakdown so much, to put food on the table for my family, so its not all bad:msp_biggrin::msp_biggrin::msp_biggrin:

It's a single cylinder engine, they have second order harmonic shaking that is not balanced. It does not matter who makes it, it is inherent to single cylinder engines.

You made a claim that was silly on it's face, and I asked you to clarify - which you've ignored. Saying Poulan cannot balance an engine because their saws without A/V vibrate your hands means absolutely nothing about how much vibration the muffler experiences. My 42cc Craftsman is a Wild Thing with A/V, and is very smooth and never makes my hands tingle - do you really think the engine vibrates less than the non-A/V units, considering it is identical? It runs just about identical to my dad's MS250, and you could not tell them apart vibration-wise if you had your eyes closed.

The 350 may be a turd - I don't know, I never saw one and don't like the construction so I won't. But does everything have to be turned into a silly brand war? It's not like plastic clamshell saws from one brand are much different than those from another.

 

[vw_motorsports]

just one way to raise compression in a clamshell,

others that come to mind are a piston with a different pin height, or a longer rod

nice!

 

[RAMROD48]

I've never had muffler problems on a chainsaw,,,

I did blow a "header" muffler off a '74 S3 Chevy Laguna when I was a kid..454 c.i.d of American beef and potato looking for "top end"..

Never owed a Husky 350 then huh?:msp_biggrin:

 

[vw_motorsports]

ill add another saw to the list if better built, less expensive saws. dolmar ps 540. i just did a thread on it tonight. 54cc, mag case, adj gear oiler, $360.
ill also say your right on about percieved value in this area. like you said, if i saw a 280 and pp330 on the side of the road with a free sign and i could only take one id take the 330 in a second, but 90 o/o of guys around here would drive over the poulan to get the stihl.
of course the best scenario is take both saws, run the poulan and sell the stihl for $$$ on ebay

Hey Joe,

perceived value:

Here's a good one, near your area up on 146N. On CL, a seller posted 2 stihl's and a craftsman. The stihls was a 290 and a 024...I called and the stihl's went quick and for good money. The seller tells me I have this green crapsman...runs good $50

The green crapsman...was the pick of the litter since it was a Solo. I begrudgingly bought the saw.

 

[vw_motorsports]

The purpose of marketing and advertising is to create demand where none otherwise exists. The terms pro saw and homeowner saws are examples of this - they're marketing terms and have no real meaning. Semi-pro is even more meaningless. No one agrees on what features make a saw a pro saw. Chainsaws have become commodity items, and there are a few basic materials and construction techniques that the designers pick from, and these are used in various combinations on all saws. I would say that the various typical materials and construction techniques all can work in general, although there are certainly specific designs that have failings.

If you have particular construction techniques and features you prefer, or materials you don't like used in certain places, I would suggest you look at an IPL before you buy a saw to see if you like how it's made. Relying on vague marketing terms will tell you nothing. This is what I do, and I have been quite surprised in both directions - I've seen what I regard to be really lame stuff in what are supposed to be high end saws, and really nice stuff in what are known as cheap plastic crap.

Well said,

In regards to the 350, all things considered the saw is a very good saw, good power to weight, adj. oiler, good air filtration, few issues.

the two issues:

the intake...needed a metal clamp, or husky's fix new clamp and partition, the clamp seemed to be only ann issue as the saw aged, the plastic clamped fatigued over time...just long enough to get out of the warranty period...ouch.

muffler bolts needed either blue loctite, a bracket to the cradle, or husky's fix an extra mounting point. bracket is a very easy fix and factory btw.

What makes it a good saw to me is because it's very upgradeable saw, depending on budget.

cheap, early non-cat muffler

reasonable, 353 flat top piston, base gasket deleted

expensive, 346xp P/C, the aftermarket ones seem decent...q/c is the problem

Less issues than the ms280, it was less expensive to buy, easier to work on and parts more readily available. And I've replaced 3 coils on a 270/280. Which doesn't seem high until you realize that I've worked on 6 total. And one needed an oiler as well on a meticulously maintained machine. The owner owns a 361, 660, and 192T. Diehard stihl man.


"tree monkey

i have ported a few ms 280's
swap piston to raise comp
weak mounts can be fixed
muffler not a problem
not a race winner but get real good gains"


If saws become a hobby like virtually everyone here on this site. The 350 is a good first saw that can be modified to run with any 50cc saw. That's not a bad saw.

 

[tree monkey]

Well said,

In regards to the 350, all things considered the saw is a very good saw, good power to weight, adj. oiler, good air filtration, few issues.

the two issues:

the intake...needed a metal clamp, or husky's fix new clamp and partition, the clamp seemed to be only ann issue as the saw aged, the plastic clamped fatigued over time...just long enough to get out of the warranty period...ouch.

muffler bolts needed either blue loctite, a bracket to the cradle, or husky's fix an extra mounting point. bracket is a very easy fix and factory btw.

What makes it a good saw to me is because it's very upgradeable saw, depending on budget.

cheap, early non-cat muffler

reasonable, 353 flat top piston, base gasket deleted

expensive, 346xp P/C, the aftermarket ones seem decent...q/c is the problem

Less issues than the ms280, it was less expensive to buy, easier to work on and parts more readily available. And I've replaced 3 coils on a 270/280. Which doesn't seem high until you realize that I've worked on 6 total. And one needed an oiler as well on a meticulously maintained machine. The owner owns a 361, 660, and 192T. Diehard stihl man.


"tree monkey

i have ported a few ms 280's
swap piston to raise comp
weak mounts can be fixed
muffler not a problem
not a race winner but get real good gains"


If saws become a hobby like virtually everyone here on this site. The 350 is a good first saw that can be modified to run with any 50cc saw. That's not a bad saw.

i never said anything about any saw other then the ms280.
the few problems the 280 has is realy no big deal
and use a ms361 coil next time

scott

 

[joe25DA]

Hey Joe,

perceived value:

Here's a good one, near your area up on 146N. On CL, a seller posted 2 stihl's and a craftsman. The stihls was a 290 and a 024...I called and the stihl's went quick and for good money. The seller tells me I have this green crapsman...runs good $50

The green crapsman...was the pick of the litter since it was a Solo. I begrudgingly bought the saw.

Next time you up that close, PM me, you can see how the "poor people" do with CAD

 

[vw_motorsports]

i never said anything about any saw other then the ms280.
the few problems the 280 has is realy no big deal
and use a ms361 coil next time

scott

Scott,

No offense, I was just pointing out the 280 does have it short comings like the 350, every saw does. It seems a few saws always get slammed, the 350 is not a bad saw. On the other hand the husky 235 and 240's x-torques are both POS and deserve to get slammed.

thanks for the tip on the coils.

 

[PhilMcWoody]

Ha. I came to this thread as part of trying to figure out why my new Stihl MS250 was binding and didn't seem to be oiling the chain too well, after just 4 or 5 cuts. Guess I got a few answers that you don't find on the usual consumer websites.

Thanks for a very illuminating end entertaining discussion.

 

[BIGBORE577]

I'm mostly a Stihl and old giant saw guy. But I picked up a seized 350 and put a flat top 353 piston in it. I like it! It's not like my woods ported 346 but it's got plenty of guts for the around the house stuff. Although, my trees aren't that big!

 

[Modifiedmark]

I'm mostly a Stihl and a old guy!

Hi Jay, glad to see ya and I fixed that for ya!

 

[FastGame]

Ha. I came to this thread as part of trying to figure out why my new Stihl MS250 was binding and didn't seem to be oiling the chain too well, after just 4 or 5 cuts. Guess I got a few answers that you don't find on the usual consumer websites.

Thanks for a very illuminating end entertaining discussion.

What answers did you get ?

Even old MS 250's don't bind unless the user does something wrong and they damage the bar & chain, this can happen to any brand of saw. If your oil pump doesn't work and the saw is new then take it back to the dealer for warranty work. Make them cover (under warranty) the bar & chain if they were damaged because the oil pump failed.

 

[PhilMcWoody]

What answers did you get ?

Even old MS 250's don't bind unless the user does something wrong and they damage the bar & chain, this can happen to any brand of saw. If your oil pump doesn't work and the saw is new then take it back to the dealer for warranty work. Make them cover (under warranty) the bar & chain if they were damaged because the oil pump failed.

Thanks for the information and advice.

I got it rolling again after I found what was clogging the nose sprocket (right at the end of a successful cut, where it seemed to slow a bit toward the end). Will test again tomorrow to see if it is oiling properly. If it's not spitting oil off the chain like it should, I'll take it back to the dealer.

 

[BIGBORE577]

Hi Jay, glad to see ya and I fixed that for ya!

Glad you fixed it as you are quite correct!

 

[PhilMcWoody]

What answers did you get ?

Even old MS 250's don't bind unless the user does something wrong and they damage the bar & chain, this can happen to any brand of saw. If your oil pump doesn't work and the saw is new then take it back to the dealer for warranty work. Make them cover (under warranty) the bar & chain if they were damaged because the oil pump failed.

First let me say, I'm not disappointed with the MS250 like the OP.
It has been busy.

The nose sprocket "bind" I solved after cleaning wood debris out of the nose sprocket, twice. And I am careful, if not obsessive not to touch ground.

However, since it repeated itself a few times. I suspected a lube issue. I ran it with the bar/chain off and it was pumping oil. So either the inlet port on the bar was blocked, or the oil was not getting from the port to the bar groove.

As I was also having issues with really hard starting since day 1, and finally a moving chain at idle, I decided to take it back to the dealer.

They fixed it no charge and it's now starting nicely and cutting well.

But ... it's still not "spitting" oil off the tip like the manual says. The chain/bar is definitely oily (I'm using Stihl bar/chain oil), but hard to tell if it's enough, as I have little to go by.

I've cleaned the ports, and I'm guessing they did too, but I will be monitoring closely. I still wonder if there's something impairing the flow of oil, or whether it's just a bit stingy with the oil, or whether it supplies "just enough".

Unfortunately it was late and the person who I picked up from could not tell me what adjustments/changes had been made.

As for what did I learn here(?), I found:this thread about a similar problem interesting.

 

[1Alpha1]

Fascinating thread...........opcorn:

 

[angelo c]

No, but those small inserts/shells doesn't count as a case - the basic case is plastic.

Quite possible that there is confusion as to what a crank"case" is and what a cradle is and where the actual combustion process has an affect on the crankcase or cradle. I am not sure how many MS 250s you have rebuilt but on the ones that I have, and the one currently on my bench there is NO plastic involved in the combustible process. The bottom half of the crankcase when sealed properly sits in a plastic cradle/tank/holder and it is NOT plastic.

Thems facts jack.

Feel free to point to the IPL that shows plastic in the "crank"case on a 250