John Deere CS56

[Lee192233]

Hey guys and gals,

Anyone have any experience with a JD (EFCO) CS56? I found one for $125. Seems like a fair price for a 56 cc saw. I have zero experience this brand. Are parts available for these? There's a couple EFCO dealers in the area. Just curious what your experiences are with this brand.

Thanks,
Lee

 

[TLG]

I like em for sure. Yes most parts are available from your Efco dealer. Reddish orange and grey plastics though. Only shortfall with the 56 and 62 Is PTO side air leaks when continuously ran on there sides. Haven't figured out why but as a firewood cant saw they are hard to beat. Still worth more than your figure in good shape and fully functional.

 

[Lee192233]

I like em for sure. Yes most parts are available from your Efco dealer. Reddish orange and grey plastics though. Only shortfall with the 56 and 62 Is PTO side air leaks when continuously ran on there sides. Haven't figured out why but as a firewood cant saw they are hard to beat. Still worth more than your figure in good shape and fully functional.

Thanks for the info! Plastics all look good and he says it runs and oils like it should. How are they to work on? I will do a pressure/vac test if I get it. I assume it's a "pro" style magnesium case saw. I'm looking for a good cabin firewood/trail saw.
Thanks again,
Lee

 

[TLG]

Very straightforward to work on. Hardest trouble I had the first time was removing and installing top cover base. Air filter inlet snorkel and not pinching the kill switch wiring is a little challenging at first.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

 

[Lee192233]

Damn thing sold. Gotta act quicker.

 

[Lee192233]

Might go and have a look at the EFCO saws. Any recommendations on a good model?

 

[TLG]

8200 if you can still find em.

 

[Lee192233]

I'm thinking a saw in the 50 cc range. I have a MS660 that covers the big saw range.

 

[Brushwacker]

I have run and kept several around long enough to use and like them. I forget exact numbers , but i liked I think was 60 to 65cc 6200 maybe, I had very well. Not the most power for displacement but a good power to weight ratio. Ran 24inch b&c on it. Excellent all round saw. Had a JD 80ish cc around 2 years, worked and handled pretty near as good as any Stihl i had used that cc range. Sold it on ebay eventually and the buyer contacted me some time later to tell me how impressed he was with it over a similar size Husqvarna saw he bought it to replace. Used a few and still have a couple smaller Efco's, the smallest 3700 i think i like the best in the lower cc range. 4200 is a little rascal to pull, and cold booded, but been a decent strong enough saw for its weight, used it some last year but it's been mostly parked since.Would sell it. I have had I think 2 of the 50ish cc models that I bought and flipped after using them a bit. They were good performers but a little cheaper built then what I like structurally. I do think the 60 + cc have a professional build where as the 50ish and lower are inbetween consumer and pro grade.

 

[TBS]

If you are wanting new in 50cc that leaves you with mt5200, mth 5600, and the mth 5100. The MT 5200 is made and designed by efco and has some good reviews. The later two are old zenoah/redmax designs like the many chinese saws found on ebay and amazon, as for build quality they have magnesium crankcases but outside of a few short youtube vids I haven't seen anything about them.

 

[Lee192233]

If you are wanting new in 50cc that leaves you with mt5200, mth 5600, and the mth 5100. The MT 5200 is made and designed by efco and has some good reviews. The later two are old zenoah/redmax designs like the many chinese saws found on ebay and amazon, as for build quality they have magnesium crankcases but outside of a few short youtube vids I haven't seen anything about them.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to look at a MT 5200 this weekend. Looks like a pretty good saw for the money. I'm probably going to look at ECHOs and Stihls as well. I'm not a huge fan of the Stihl clamshell saws and don't think I want to fork out the dough for a MS261 occasional use saw. Nothing I like better than looking at chainsaws!