Rebuild 288 top only, or top and bottom?

[Cowboy Tom]

Ok,

My 288 has a fried piston. So far the cylinder looks OK and should clean up. However, every mechanic I talk to says that if I replace the piston + ring I should rebuild the whole bottom end, which is more of an expensive PITA than the saw is worth.

So, generally speaking, when you replace a piston or the whole P&C, do you need to replace the entire bottom end. At this point it doesn't look like there is anything wrong down below but I will continue to investigate.

The only thing I've found wrong with the saw so far is that the carb may have somehow gotten a little too lean and I had a loose (readily turned by hand) muffler bolt.

 

[Cowboy Tom]

Hello.........Anybody............Did you all run out of opinions, thoughts, comments? Come on, you guys are the ones who got me into this. Looks like I may pick up a second 2100 in the last month. Both run strong!!! Got the first one running last night and serenaded my wife while she was taking a shower!!! It was a great rendition of the Blue Danube waltz!:rockn:

 

[excess650]

If the crank and rod don't seem to have excessive play, just do the top end. If the piston is scored, replace piston and rings, and hone the cylinder. If the cylinder is scored, not just having aluminum smeared on it, it will need replaced as well. It might be a good idea to at least do a pressure and vacuum test, or else just replace the crank seals while the saw is apart.

 

[bullseye13]

For the best results on replies, next time post this in the chainsaw forum down further on the home page.

Your best bet is to tear it down, and check the crank bearings, check for any excess play and crunchyness. If there ok, just clean up the cylinder according to the instructions on this site and replace the piston and ring. All shops around me say the same as yours does, but that is probably mostly because of potential customer come-backs.

Good luck