To rebuild or not, MS290 question.

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powerstroke73

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Hello everyone. Just looking for a few other opinions.

I recently got my hands on an MS290 that had "just stopped working, but it had good gas in it!" It turns out the piston and cylinder look like someone has taken a grinder to them. I would bet they put straight gas in it and toasted it. Its a shame, the rest of the saw is in excellent condition.

I am trying to decide to repair it, flip it for something else, or just sell as parts. It looks like an absolute nightmare saw to work on.

Are the Chinese pistons and cylinders worth the money? If i went to that trouble, I might as well do the bearings and I have seen that the OEM circlips are recommended over the aftermarket ones.

It does seem like the 290 gets a lot of flak for being under powered vs its weight. So I am hesitant to dump a lot of money into it without knowing more.

I am just curious as to what anyone else thinks. Thanks.
 
You can put an ms390 engine in it. Not sure who makes the best aftermarket offering but someone will be along shortly with the info
 
My ms290 is an excellent saw. The power/weight is poor, but it cuts with a 20" bar like a dream. Mine is going on its 8th year and last year it had 140psi compression. I expect it will go anther 8 years before I have to rebuild it. AM kits are complete will all parts, bearings include, for around $50. I agree it is an intimidating machine to tear down, but take your time and it is doable, and there are lots and lots of videos to help guide you. For $50 what can you lose? Worst case it doesn't last 10+ years.
 
Rebuild it, upscale it- the choice is yours.
If you have not tinkered much with the mechanical side of powerheads before- dive into it. Lots and lots of information out there and in here to help cover the "how to"parts if it all looks a bit confusing when you pop the top cover off. Take lots of photos as you pull bits off and use them as a reference when you go to put it back together and cannot remember exactly what goes where!
If you want to rebuild a quality saw that will last a long time but cost you plenty- go OEM parts.
If you want a saw that is near as good as OEM, but easier on the wallet- use Meteor parts.
If you want to build the saw just so you can prove to yourself you can do it and you do not need to worry too much about quality, because the saw is not earning you a paycheque- put a Farmertec top end on it.

If you have not yet rebuilt a powerhead top end, you have the perfect candidate here- because it aint a whole lot of use as it is.
A few basic tools, an aftermarket top end, some time, some learning and some fun (maybe the odd cuss word) later and you will have a running power saw- maybe even upsized in the CC department as mentioned above to help balance out the weight to power ratio.
 
Hello everyone. Just looking for a few other opinions.

I recently got my hands on an MS290 that had "just stopped working, but it had good gas in it!" It turns out the piston and cylinder look like someone has taken a grinder to them. I would bet they put straight gas in it and toasted it. Its a shame, the rest of the saw is in excellent condition.

I am trying to decide to repair it, flip it for something else, or just sell as parts. It looks like an absolute nightmare saw to work on.

Are the Chinese pistons and cylinders worth the money? If i went to that trouble, I might as well do the bearings and I have seen that the OEM circlips are recommended over the aftermarket ones.

It does seem like the 290 gets a lot of flak for being under powered vs its weight. So I am hesitant to dump a lot of money into it without knowing more.

I am just curious as to what anyone else thinks. Thanks.
You really need to tear the thing apart to see the extent of the damage and THEN make a decision on what to do. The cylinder may or may not be salvageable but you won't know until you get into it.

If it is not I would look for a used (eBay) 390 p&c and don't look back!
 
My ms290 is an excellent saw. The power/weight is poor, but it cuts with a 20" bar like a dream. Mine is going on its 8th year and last year it had 140psi compression. I expect it will go anther 8 years before I have to rebuild it. AM kits are complete will all parts, bearings include, for around $50. I agree it is an intimidating machine to tear down, but take your time and it is doable, and there are lots and lots of videos to help guide you. For $50 what can you lose? Worst case it doesn't last 10+ years.

If you want a saw that is near as good as OEM, but easier on the wallet- use Meteor parts.
If you want to build the saw just so you can prove to yourself you can do it and you do not need to worry too much about quality, because the saw is not earning you a paycheque- put a Farmertec top end on it.

If you have not yet rebuilt a powerhead top end, you have the perfect candidate here- because it aint a whole lot of use as it is. A few basic tools, an aftermarket top end, some time, some learning and some fun (maybe the odd cuss word) later and you will have a running power saw-

You really need to tear the thing apart to see the extent of the damage and THEN make a decision on what to do. The cylinder may or may not be salvageable but you won't know until you get into it.

If it is not I would look for a used (eBay) 390 p&c and don't look back!

Thanks for all the insight. I haven't had the pleasure of rebuilding a powerhead yet, all my old Partner saws have been lucky enough to have good pistons. Just needed fuel, ignition wiring and physical work. No problems turning a wrench. Its a hobby for me. I in no way make a paycheque from any of my saws. I don't even have a wood stove hahaha.

I have read about upgrading to the 390 setup and very well may go that route if I do repair it. I have only looked on ebay for AM kits, ill check out Farmertec and meteor and look at the offerings.

I am not super concerned about how heavy it is, just seems like a lot of points on the internet about it being a bit of a pig. I'm sure there are many more who don't talk about them that love them. Most hate on the MS170 but that was my first saw and it broke me into the hobby and I love it to this day.

I do agree that it needs to be torn apart before fully realizing the extent of the damage, but I can see extensive damage to the cylinder wall above the exhaust port from the spark plug hole, and damage to the wall above the intake port through the muffler, so I'd guess it would need both.

Thanks for everyone's opinions. Good to talk it out a bit with knowledgeable folks.
 
If you do decide to fix it, no matter which route you take, if you open the ex holes in the muffler, the saw wakes up.
I opened my up to 5/16 for each hole. The carb on that saw could probably be used on a 460, so that end won’t be a problem.
 
I do agree that it needs to be torn apart before fully realizing the extent of the damage said:
You will probably find the bottom end is okay- IF it was straight fuel that killed it. If it was an air leak, you might need to tear it down further and look at crank seals etc.
If you decide to go the cheaper route- buy the cylinder and piston kit of your choice, at the price they ask it is not a huge outlay.
Keep the original cylinder as it might be able to be cleaned and reused at a later date.

As you start tearing into it to remove the cylinder, pay careful attention to the rubber bits, like hoses and manifold. If they seem suspect to you, I would replace them while you are at it and with rubber bits, I personally like to use OEM parts rather than cheaper aftermarket options- some areas it pays to not cut corners and pinch pennies.
 
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